Review of research on the effects of teachers' style of behavior

Abstract

The report brings an analysis of a number of psychological and pedagogical research carried out by eminent foreign and home authors in the domain of interaction and communication in the teaching process. More clearly, it includes the research discussing various teaching styles and their effects upon school achievement and development of several intellectual abilities and skills (educational effects) as well as upon the social, emotional and ethical development of pupils (specific educational effects). From the point of view of methodology the work includes in the first place the research based on systematic observation of teacher's (as well as pupil's) behavior . Teaching styles are most frequently defined in terms of dichotomies of the type: 'authoritarian - democratic', 'focusing on teacher - focusing on pupil', 'directive - nondirective' and the dimensions of these styles are measured in the terms of specific behavior s ('the teacher praises', 'the teacher asks' etc.). Especially stressed is the analysis of Flanders' research and the description of his instrument - system of categories for the analysis of verbal communication in the class - which was most often used to identify the styles of teacher's behavior , with proved validity and reliability. A relatively small number of research carried out in this country is offered, and they predominantly deal with the problems of communication in the class, which is a reflection of the real situation in this field, and it is characteristic that it is Flanders' system of categories that is applied in each of them.