The importance of teacher interpersonal behaviour for student attitudes in Brunei primary science classes

Abstract

This study investigated relationships between students' perceptions of their teachers' interpersonal behaviour and their subject‐related attitude in primary science classes in Brunei. Teacher–student interpersonal behaviour was mapped with the Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction (QTI) and reported in terms of two independent dimensions called Influence (teacher dominance vs submission) and Proximity (teacher cooperation vs opposition). While prior research using the QTI mainly focused on secondary education, the present study was one of the first in Brunei and in primary education and one of few studies to use multilevel analysis. Data from 1305 students from 64 classes were used in this study. Results indicated strong and positive effects of Influence and Proximity on students' enjoyment of their science class and supported findings of earlier work with the QTI.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the editor and two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments on an earlier draft of this manuscript. The first author was supported with a grant of the Dutch Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO, 411‐21‐206). Further financial support for the study was provided by Curtin University of Technology.

Notes

1. In government schools in Brunei Darussalam, the medium of instruction in lower primary school (years 1, 2, and 3) is Malay (except for the study of English language). Upper primary (years 4, 5, and 6) schooling is bilingual. Students study Malay language, Islamic religion, physical education, arts and handicrafts in Malay. They study English language, geography, history, mathematics, and science in an English medium. Since 1992, upper primary students have been taught three lessons (25 minutes each) of science each week. The science syllabus is content‐based, emphasizing recall of knowledge covering a wide range of topics of biology, physics, and chemistry. At the end of upper primary, all students sit five external, pen‐and‐paper Primary Certificate Examinations in the subjects of Malay language, English language, mathematics, science, and the General Paper, the latter four examinations being in the English language. Results on these Primary Certificate Examinations are used to select and stream students for secondary schooling.

2. Further details can be obtained from the first author of this manuscript.