Teacher Immediacy Scales: Testing for Validity Across Cultures

Abstract

Cross-cultural validity of teacher immediacy scales is a constant concern in instructional communication research. The present study examines the validity of two existing teacher immediacy scales: the Revised Nonverbal Immediacy Measure (RNIM) and the Chinese Teacher Immediacy Scale (CTIS) in U.S., Chinese, German, and Japanese cultures. Results of confirmatory factor analysis and Pearson correlation provide evidence for the validity of both the RNIM and the CTIS. Overall, both scales are found to have adequate factorial, construct, convergent, and discriminant validity pan-culturally and within culture, despite some slight variations across cultures. Implications and future directions are also addressed.

Keywords:

• Immediacy
• Teacher Immediacy Scales
• Cross-Culture
• Validity

This paper was presented at the 2007 International Communication Association annual meeting, San Francisco, California, USA.

This paper was presented at the 2007 International Communication Association annual meeting, San Francisco, California, USA.

Notes

This paper was presented at the 2007 International Communication Association annual meeting, San Francisco, California, USA.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Qin Zhang

Qin Zhang (Ph.D., University of New Mexico) is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication at Fairfield University

John G. Oetzel

John G. Oetzel (Ph.D., University of Iowa) is department chair and associate professor in the Department of Communication and Journalism at the University of New Mexico

Xiaofang Gao

Xiaofang Gao (Ph.D., Communication University of China) is an associate professor in the English Department at Central China Normal University, China

Richard G. Wilcox

Richard G. Wilcox (Ph.D., J. W. Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main) is a professor of International Management at Nuertingen-Geislingen University, Germany

Jiro Takai

Jiro Takai (Ph.D., University of California, Santa Barbara) is an associate professor in the Graduate School of Education and Human Development at Nagoya University, Japan