| Kaeli Knowles
University of Maryland
Effects of teacher knowledge and motivation on students
FINAL REPORT:
This study examined the effect of teacher engagement on student achievement and motivation. Teacher engagement referred to a combination of teacher characteristics related to teacher knowledge and teacher motivation. The four teacher characteristics included teachers' pedagogical knowledge about English, teachers' pedagogical knowledge about student motivation, teachers' intrinsic motivation toward teaching, and teachers' self-efficacy toward teaching. It was predicted that the four teacher characteristics would be associated with students' achievement and motivation. The data for this study were acquired from the National Educational Longitudinal Study: 1988 (NELS:88). A nationally representative sample of eighth and tenth grade students, and their associated English teachers were the participants in this study. The dependent variables were student achievement, assessed by a reading achievement score, and student motivation, assessed with a measure constructed from relevant student questionnaire items. Factor analyses were executed to form statistical constructs representing each teacher characteristic.
To measure the relationship among the teacher characteristics and student outcomes, multiple regressions were performed, with any overlap caused by the other three teacher characteristics controlled for. Analyses revealed that teachers' pedagogical knowledge about student motivation positively predicted tenth grade student achievement and motivation, after prior achievement and motivation were controlled. Analyses revealed that teachers' pedagogical knowledge about English negatively predicted tenth grade achievement, and positively predicted tenth grade student motivation, after prior student achievement and motivation were controlled. Teachers' intrinsic motivation toward teaching positively predicted tenth grade student achievement and motivation, after prior achievement and motivation had been controlled. Teachers' self-efficacy toward teaching negatively predicted tenth grade student achievement and motivation, after prior student achievement and motivation were controlled. Analyses also revealed that the four teacher characteristics were positively correlated with each other, and could be statistically represented with one factor (teacher engagement). Teacher engagement predicted tenth grade student achievement and motivation, after prior student achievement and motivation had been controlled. These findings suggest that teachers who are knowledgeable about student motivation and English, and are motivated toward teaching positively influence high school students' achievement and motivation. Teacher engagement was also shown to be a statistically supported construct, and was predictive of student achievement and motivation.
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