The impact of student nationality and course type on perceptions of teacher credibility

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this investigation was two-fold: (1) to ascertain the extent to which course type (face-to-face or distance) affects instructor credibility; and (2) to examine whether these perceptions differ among New Zealand born and China-born students studying in New Zealand. Using a 2 × 2 factorial MANOVA, findings among New Zealand born and Chinese international students studying in New Zealand revealed that face-to-face students rated teachers as significantly higher on all three aspects of credibility: caring, competence, and trustworthiness. Results also revealed Chinese students rated teachers as significantly higher on all three aspects of credibility. Implications, limitations, and suggestions for future research are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Teacher Credibility
• instructional technology
• course type
• cross-cultural
• MANOVA

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. The New Zealand university system is based on a 3-year undergraduate degree.

2. During the review process, a reviewer requested information on the extent to which teacher credibility would differ based on a participant’s level in school. As this was not part of the original research question, this result is added as a footnote. For Chinese students, there was a significant linear trend, F(3, 288) = 4.42, p =.005, η² =.04, indicating that as educational level increased, perception of teacher caring decreased. For New Zealand students, there was no significant trend, F(3, 484) =.20, p =.90, η² =.00.

3. For Chinese students, there was a significant linear trend, F(3, 288) = 3.57, p =.01, η² =.04, indicating that as educational level increased, perception of teacher competence decreased. For New Zealand students, there was no significant trend, F(3, 484) =.68, p =.57, η² =.00.

4. For Chinese students, there was a significant linear trend, F(3, 288) = 5.08, p =.002, η² =.05, indicating that as educational level increased, perception of teacher trustworthiness decreased. For New Zealand students, there was no significant trend, F(3, 484) = 1.81 p =.15, η² =.01.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Stephen Croucher

Stephen Croucher is a Professor and Head of the School of Communication, Journalism, and Marketing. His primary research area is cross-cultural and organisational communication.

Stephanie Kelly

Stephanie Kelly is an Associate Professor. Her primary research area is instructional communication.

Mal Green

Mal Green is a doctoral candidate. His primary research area is organisational communication.

Erika Pearson

Erika Pearson is a Senior Lecturer. Her primary research area is in new media and communication technology.