Stránka 1ECER 2013 Istanbul - European Conference on Educational Research - ConfTool Pro Printout
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Proposal Information of Contribution 2176
ID: 2176
01. Continuing Professional Development: Learning for Individuals, Leaders, and Organisations
Format of Presentation: Paper
Alternative EERA Network: 28. Sociologies of Education
Keywords: Perceived power, novice and expert teachers, lower secondary classes, Teacher Power Use Scale.
Power Perception of Novice and Expert Teachers in Lower Secondary Classes
Kateřina Vlčková, Zuzana Šalamounová, Jan Mareš
Faculty of Education, Masaryk University, Czech Republic
Presenting Author: Vlčková, Kateřina; Šalamounová, Zuzana
Power can be defined as the ability to influence opinions, values, and behaviour of a person or a group of persons (McCroskey, 2006) and as such it has been a traditional topic
in social sciences (for example Simmel, 1896; Weber, 1922; Foucault, 1975) and also in educational sciences. This is understandable because if power relationships are not
clearly established in the classroom there is no benefit from the teacher’s knowledge of their field, no matter how vast it can be (Šalamounová & Švaříček, 2012). It can therefore
be said that setting up the power relationship determines the degree of realisation of didactic aims. This assertion is in accordance with Bernstein (1996) who claims that
regulative discourse is dominant in the classroom and contains didactic discourse. Hence, power negotiation and its use is an inherent part of the education process (McCroskey
& Richmond, 1983; Šeďová, 2011). As Sarason (1990) notes, teachers’ professional competence can be also measured in relation to their ability to set up power relations in the
classroom. According to the research findings (Richmond & McCroskey, 1992; Staton, 1992) newly qualified teachers know necessary information of their teaching subjects, but
they do not know how to meet conditions for establishing power relationships in the classroom.
In accordance with these findings our research focuses on the following question: Are there any differences between perceived power of novice and expert teachers´ in lower
secondary classes? Through questionnaire we collect information regarding a) how pupils perceive the power of teachers, b) how pupils and teachers perceive the power of
pupils, c) how teachers perceive their own power.
Adapted Teacher Power Use Scale (TPUS) by Schrodt, Witt, and Turman (2007) will be used for measuring the perceived power. The scale is based on French and Raven’s
(1960) traditional typology of relational power which distinguishes power in relation to a principle which it is based on (i.e., coercive, reward, legitimate, referent, and expert).
TPUS consists of 30 items and uses a 7-point Likert scale. It shows better psychometric properties than previously preferred Perceived Power Measure by McCroskey and
Richmond (1983) and Roach’s (1995) Power Base Measure. TPUS demonstrates better internal reliability, concurrent and discriminant validity, and it contains more valid and
reliable indicators for the five power bases (coefficient of reliability Cronbach´s alpha ranges between .77 to .90). TPUS is better in measuring of so called anti-social forms of
power (coercive and legitimate) and pro-social forms of power (referent and reward) at the aggregated level.
Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources Used
The Czech adaptation of TPUS includes re-designing the instrument for lower secondary pupils and teachers, and for the Czech conditions. The pilot study shows that a cultural
and linguistic adaptation to the Czech conditions is necessary. Therefore the adaptation includes independent parallel translations, multiple cultural and linguistic adaptation,
multiple expert reviews, and cognitive interviews with respondents. For ensuring the instrument equivalence validity and reliability will be applied: confirmatory factor analysis, item
analysis and estimation of scales reliability. Validity of the 5 self-report scales as instruments measuring the concept of power bases, other possibilities of power measurement
and the possibilities of triangulation will be discussed (this paper is a part of research project which also includes observations, field notes, diaries and interviews).
The convenient research sample consists of Czech lower secondary novice and expert teachers (approximately 60), their classes (60) and pupils (around 1400). The data
collection will start in March 2013.
Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or Findings
The study is part of a research project Power in the Classes Taught by Student Teachers (GC13-24456S) newly granted by the Czech Science Foundation; therefore the results
will be available in June 2013.
Data from individual teachers will be connected with data gathered from pupils (and classes) taught by the same teachers which will allow us to describe the relations between the
pupils´ and teachers´ perception of power. The analysis focuses on statistically (in)significant differences between novice and expert teachers. The findings will be presented on
the level of the 5 power bases as well as on the key items level and they will be compared with international findings. Implications for the European and international research,
theory, and teacher professional development will be discussed.
References
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French, J., & Raven, B. (1960). The bases of social power. In D. Cartwright & A. Zander (Eds.), Group Dynamics (pp. 259-269). New York: Harper and Row.
McCroskey, J. C., & Richmond, V. P. (1983). Power in the classroom I: Teacher and student perceptions. Communication Education, 32(2), 175-218.
McCroskey, J. C., Richmond, V. P., & McCroskey, L. L. (2006). An Introduction to Communication in the Classroom: The Role of Communication in Teaching and Training.
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