Teacher Credibility Research Articles

The effects of teacher self‐disclosure via Facebook on teacher credibility

Research suggests that teachers who personalize their teaching through the use of humor, stories, enthusiasm, and self‐disclosure are perceived by their students to be effective in explaining course content. This experimental study examined the effects of computer‐mediated teacher self‐disclosure on perceptions of teacher credibility. Participants who accessed the Facebook website of a teacher high in self‐disclosure reported higher levels of teacher credibility than participants who viewed a low self‐disclosure Facebook website. Implications for classroom pedagogy, technology use, and areas for future research are discussed.

The Effect of Perceived Teacher Burnout on Credibility

This study investigated the effect of perceived teacher burnout on perceived teacher credibility. One hundred eighty-two college students were randomly exposed to a written scenario manipulating the level of perceived teacher burnout (high or low) and responded to a scale measuring perceived teacher credibility in reference to the scenario. Results of one-way multivariate analyses of variance indicated that perceived teacher burnout has a negative impact on perceived teacher competence, caring, and trustworthiness. Low-burnout teachers are perceived as more credible than high-burnout teachers.

“Cool” Communication in the Classroom: A Preliminary Examination of Student Perceptions of Instructor Use of Positive Slang

This study explored participants' perceptions of instructor use of positive slang (e.g., “cool,” “awesome,” “sweet”) and its perceived impact on the classroom environment and teacher's credibility, as well as the rules governing its usage. Participants viewed a video of a positive slang-using teacher and then responded to several open-ended survey questions. The results demonstrate that students generally appreciate teacher use of positive slang and cite the potential benefits of its usage. Implications of teacher use of positive slang are discussed.

Organizational Orientations in an Instructional Setting

Research on organizational orientations has determined that workers can be categorized into three groups on the basis of their trait orientations toward working in organizations: “upward mobiles,” “indifferents,” and “ambivalents.” Because workers’ organizational orientation is predictive of their success, we reasoned that students’ orientation would be similarly predictive of their motivations, perceptions of teacher credibility and immediacy, affect toward the teacher, subject matter, and school, and cognitive learning. The results indicate that students’ orientation toward school may be akin to those of workers in organizations. For the most part, upward mobile students were associated with greater success in school and perceived their teachers as more credible and immediate. Indifferent and ambivalent students were more negatively associated with success in school and reported their teachers to be less credible and immediate.

Through the Years: An Examination of Instructor Age and Misbehavior on Perceived Teacher Credibility

This study used descriptions of a hypothetical instructor to test the effect of instructor age (young or old) and type of teacher misbehavior (offensive, indolent, or incompetent) on three dimensions of perceived teacher credibility (trustworthiness, caring, and competence). Older instructors were viewed as more credible than were younger instructors. In addition, offensive teachers were judged to be more credible than indolent or incompetent instructors; and indolent instructors were perceived as more caring and trustworthy than offensive or incompetent instructors. Results are discussed in terms of implications for student-teacher interaction.

Establishing credibility in the multicultural classroom: When the instructor speaks with an accent

AbstractApplying theories of cultural dimensions, teacher credibility, and nonverbal immediacy, this chapter explores classroom management techniques used by Asian female teachers to establish credibility.

Instructors Who Resist “College Lite”: The Neutralizing Effect of Instructor Immediacy on Students’ Course-Workload Violations and Perceptions of Instructor Credibility and Affective Learning

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of an instructor's nonverbal immediacy behaviors and course-workload demands on student perceptions of instructor credibility and student higher-order affective learning. H1 and H2 predicted that an instructor's nonverbal immediacy behaviors would neutralize the instructor's violations of students’ course-workload expectations in a manner that would preserve students’ perceptions of instructor credibility and higher-order affective learning. H1 and H2 were supported. H3 predicted that students who experienced a highly immediate instructor with moderate course-workload demands would report significantly more higher-order affective learning than students who experienced a highly immediate instructor with low or high course-workload demands. H3 was not supported. Implications for instructors are discussed.

Investigating a New Education Frontier: Instructor Communication Behavior in CD-ROM Texts—Do Traditionally Positive Behaviors Translate into This New Environment?

The non-interactive video learning environment, or CD-ROM texts, that feature video instructors delivering course material are becoming increasingly popular in institutions of higher education. Instructor nonverbal immediacy and humor have been proven to enhance instructor credibility and motivate student learning in the traditional and distance learning classrooms. Framed by the media naturalness hypothesis, this experimental study investigated the effects (instructor credibility, student motivation, and learning) of these behaviors when mediated. Results indicate that nonverbal immediacy and humor do not have a significant effect on student learning in virtual instruction but do have a significant effect on student motivation and perceptions of instructor credibility. Highly immediate and highly humorous instructors appear to be more motivating and credible, with nonverbal immediacy having the greatest impact.

Perceived Instructor Credibility as a Function of Instructor Aggressive Communication

The purpose of this study was to examine how an instructor's perceived use of argumentativeness and verbal aggressiveness affects students' perceptions of instructor credibility. Results indicate that students rated the instructor who was high in argumentativeness and low in verbal aggressiveness as higher in competence, character, and caring than the instructor who was low in argumentativeness and high in verbal aggressiveness, low in both, and high in both. Results also suggest that any form of verbal aggressiveness on the instructor's part creates lower levels of character and caring despite the instructor's argumentativeness.

Enhancing Student Perceptions of Fairness: The Relationship between Instructor Credibility and Classroom Justice

The present study investigated the relationships between college students’ perceptions of instructor credibility (competence, character, and caring) and their perceptions of classroom justice (distributive, procedural, and interactional justice). Results indicate that perceptions of instructor credibility positively predicted perceptions of classroom justice. Specifically, instructor competence predicted interactional justice; instructor caring predicted procedural and interactional justice; and instructor character predicted distributive, procedural, and interactional justice. In short, instructor credibility was most strongly related to interactional (versus distributive and procedural) justice and instructor character (versus competence or caring) was the most consistent predictor of classroom justice.

I'll See You On “Facebook”: The Effects of Computer-Mediated Teacher Self-Disclosure on Student Motivation, Affective Learning, and Classroom Climate

This experimental study examined the effects of teacher self-disclosure via Facebook on anticipated college student motivation, affective learning, and classroom climate. Participants who accessed the Facebook website of a teacher high in self-disclosure anticipated higher levels of motivation and affective learning and a more positive classroom climate. In their responses to open-ended items, participants emphasized possible negative associations between teacher use of Facebook and teacher credibility. Participants offered recommendations for teachers regarding the use of Facebook and other weblog services.

Students’ Reactions to Teachers’ Management of Compulsive Communicators

Using Expectancy Violations Theory as a framework, this study examined students’ perceptions of how teachers manage compulsive communicators (CCs). College students (n=265) were given one of three scenarios describing a teacher managing a compulsive communicator. After reading the scenario, students were asked to rate the expectedness of the teachers’ management behavior, along with their perceptions of the teacher's credibility and their affect toward the teacher. Results indicated that students have specific expectations for how teachers should manage CCs in the classroom. Moreover, the type of management strategy employed influenced students’ ratings of credibility and their affect toward the teacher. Pedagogical implications, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.

Perceived Understanding as a Mediator of Perceived Teacher Confirmation and Students’ Ratings of Instruction

This study tested two theoretical models of perceived understanding as a potential mediator of perceived teacher confirmation and students’ ratings of instruction. Participants included 651 undergraduate students who completed survey measures. Results of structural equation modeling provided greater support for the confirmation process model, whereby students’ perceived understanding partially mediated the effects of perceived teacher confirmation on both teacher credibility and evaluations. Further, perceived teacher confirmation accounted for 64% of the variance in perceived understanding, and both confirmation and understanding accounted for 70% and 72% of the variances in teacher evaluations and credibility, respectively. Among the more important implications of this research is the finding that confirming behaviors have both direct and indirect effects on students’ ratings of instruction.

Teaching and Learning in Diversity Classes: The Significance of Classroom Climate and Teacher Credibility

This study examines the pedagogical conditions that contribute to a productive teaching and learning experience in diversity courses, using the University of Utah (UU) as the case study. The purpose of this research is to assess whether diversity courses are effective (successful) in helping students gain more information about nondominant groups that might influence their attitudes about and behavior towards disaffected members of American society; or, whether diversity courses engender student resentment. A survey of the literature identifies classroom climate, course content, and teacher credibility as having explanatory value. These constitute the study's independent variables. Two dependent variables are measured, “successful teaching” and “student resentment.” A random sample of 26 diversity courses (including five political science classes) was selected for analysis. The methodology includes classroom visits, quasi-structured surveys of faculty and students, interrogation of student course evaluations, content analyses of syllabi, textbooks, exams, and other teaching materials, and aggregate data analysis. Findings support the significance of classroom climate and teacher credibility, the importance of course size and instructor rank, and the weak influence of course content. Of the total sample, political science courses are the least successful in delivering the diversity message. Despite concerted efforts to promote diversity in their teaching and an intellectual bias towards tolerance, teachers in the discipline often fail to create an environment that models respect for difference in practice.

The Effect of Teacher Nonverbal Immediacy and Credibility on Student Motivation and Affective Learning

This study hypothesized that teacher nonverbal immediacy and credibility interact to impact student motivation and affective learning. Utilizing an experimental 2×2 (immediacy high/low, credibility high/low) factorial design, 586 students were exposed to one of four written scenarios and completed motivation and affective learning scales. Results indicate that students experience more affective learning and motivation with highly immediate, highly credible teachers and experience the least motivation and affective learning with low-immediate, low-credibility teachers. Further, students experienced more affective learning with low-immediate, high credibility teachers, compared with high immediate, low-credibility teachers. This study indicates that effective teaching is a function of both personal communication between teachers and students as well as teacher credibility.

The Relationship of Ethnicity and Sex to Professor Credibility at a Culturally Diverse University

This study examines the extent sex and ethnicity play in perceptions that university students have of teacher credibility. Students were sampled at a university with a predominately Hispanic population. A multivariate effect was found for teacher ethnicity on perceptions of competence and caring, with Caucasian instructors rated higher than Hispanic instructors. However, effect sizes were minimal. On the other hand, nonverbal immediacy, which was used as a covariate, accounted for much more of the variance in student perceptions and was strongly correlated with all three dimensions of teacher credibility. In addition, teacher variables such as immediacy and expertise, as opposed to ethnicity and sex, were major contributors to perceived student learning.

The Effect of Teacher Misbehaviors on Teacher Credibility and Affect for the Teacher

This study investigated the effect of teacher misbehavior on student affect for the teacher and teacher credibility. Participants completed an Affect Toward Teacher Scale and a Source Credibility Scale in reference to one of four experimental conditions. The first two research questions examined the effect of misbehaviors on student affect for the teacher. Each misbehavior type was shown to have a significant impact on student affect for the teacher. Teacher “offensiveness” was found to impact affect the most. The second and third research questions examined the effect of misbehavior on teacher credibility. Credibility was significantly impacted by each individual type of misbehavior, with competence impacted the most by “incompetence,” and caring and trustworthiness impacted the most by “offensiveness.”

Students’ Attributions of Instructor Credibility as a Function of Students’ Expectations of Instructional Technology Use and Nonverbal Immediacy

This study examined the interaction effect of nonverbal immediacy and expected instructional technology use on students’ initial reports of instructor credibility. Participants included 549 college students who were randomly assigned to one of eight scenarios depicting first-day class sessions across four levels of technology use and two levels of nonverbal immediacy. A 4×2 factorial MANOVA revealed a significant multivariate interaction effect for instructor credibility, as well as significant multivariate main effects for both expected technology use and nonverbal immediacy. Univariate procedures revealed that the interaction effect and both main effects were significant for all three dimensions of instructor credibility. Finally, planned cell comparisons revealed different trends among dimensions of credibility for highly immediate vs. nonimmediate instructors.

Teacher Influence in the Classroom: A Preliminary Investigation of Perceived Instructor Power, Credibility, and Student Satisfaction

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between perceived teacher power, teacher credibility, and student satisfaction. Respondents were 67 undergraduate students (30 males and 37 females) enrolled in Communication classes at a southwestern university. Students’ perceptions of their teachers’ expert, referent and reward power use were found to be positively related to their perceptions of their teachers’ competence, caring, and trustworthiness. Teacher power use contributed to the prediction of a significant amount of variance in teacher credibility. Additionally, student satisfaction was positively and significantly related to both teacher referent power and expert power. Surprisingly, students’ perceptions of coercive power were not significantly and negatively related to student satisfaction. Implications, limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Perceived Instructor Credibility and Teaching Philosophy

The purpose of this study was to examine whether perceived instructor credibility (i.e., competence, character, caring) differs based on instructor teaching philosophy. Participants were 244 students who read a short vignette describing an instructor with either a transmissive or a progressive teaching philosophy and completed the Measure of Source Credibility in reference to the vignette. Results indicate instructors with a transmissive teaching philosophy or a progressive teaching philosophy did not differ in their perceived competence, but instructors with a progressive teaching philosophy were rated higher in both perceived character and caring than instructors with a transmissive teaching philosophy. Future research should examine whether student philosophies toward education impact perceived instructor credibility.