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THE TEACHERS’ EDUCATIONAL PRACTICES QUESTIONNAIRE:

DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW SELF-EVALUATION INSTRUMENT FOR TEACHERS

Conference Paper · August 2015

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Maria Gaetana Catalano Paola Perucchini

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 THE TEACHERS’ EDUCATIONAL PRACTICES QUESTIONNAIRE:
DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW SELF-EVALUATION INSTRUMENT FOR TEACHERS
M.G. Catalano, P. Perucchini, G.M. Vecchio
Department of Education - Roma Tre University

AIMS
INTRODUCTION
1 To verify the internal validity of TEP-Q, identifying educational practices concerning three dimensions of
Research has considered reflective processes as an important part of teachers’ normal practice and
classroom management: communication, relationships, organisation.
professional development (Perrenoud, 2003; Schon, 1993). Specifically, self-evaluation can help
teachers to identify issues within teaching practices and to inform about any potential barriers to the
achievement of effective learning and the creation of a positive school climate. Despite the fact that in 2 To examine the construct validity of TEP-Q, analysing how its dimensions are correlated with teaching
Italy several national legislative provisions consider school self-evaluation a duty, evaluation processes beliefs and self-efficacy.
are not yet an established practice for Italian in-service teachers.

Teachers make a crucial contribution, not only by how and what they teach, but also by how they Qualification
PARTICIPANTS
communicate and interact with pupils and organise the classroom (Jenning, Greenberg, 2008; Orpinas,
Horne, 2006; Pianta et al., 2003; Weinstein, Mignao, 2003). Therefore, teachers’ self-evaluation on Two sample of Italian in-service teachers were
classroom management should be fostered and encouraged. Research provided different instruments involved in the study:
and methodologies to analyse teachers’ behaviours: what is missing is a self-evaluation instrument
which includes educational practices concerning different dimensions of classroom management. • The first sample was composed of 307
teachers, 93.5% females, from Northern (N =
In our past study, we created a new self-report scale named Teachers’ Educational Practices 122), Central (N = 127) and Southern Italy (N =
Questionnaire (TEP-Q; Catalano et al., 2014). In the present study, we intend to analyse its validity. 58). Participants’ ages ranged from 26 to 64
Concerning the construct validity, research has highlighted that teaching beliefs and self-efficacy play a years old (mean age = 48; s.d. = 8,39). 76% of
teachers worked in primary school and 24% in
decisive role in the creation of suitable conditions for the learning of pupils (Woolfolk et al., 2006): with
kindergarten school.
high levels of self-efficacy and constructive teaching beliefs, teachers tend to use a variety of Type of teacher
methodologies, give support and at the same time autonomy to their students (Fives, Alexander, 2004; • The second sample was composed of 82
Heneman et al., 2006). Because a connection has been established between teachers’ educational teachers, 97,3% females, working in Rome
practices, beliefs and self-efficacy, we expect TEP-Q is correlated with the last two aspects. (Central Italy). Participants’ ages ranged from
25 to 66 years old (mean age = 47,8; s.d. =
10,2). 82% of teachers worked in primary
school and 18% in kindergarten school.
INSTRUMENTS
See the graphs on the right for additional
 TEP-Q is a 36-item self-report questionnaire assessing educational practices. It is composed of three characteristics of both samples of teachers.
dimensions of classroom management: Communication, Organization, Relationship. For each
item, teachers responded on a 6-point Likert scale, ranging from 0 = never to 5 = always.
First sample Second sample Years of experience
 TBS (Teachers Belief Survey; Woolley et al., 2004) is a 21-item self-report questionnaire assessing
teaching beliefs. It is composed of two subscales: Traditional Management and Teaching and
Constructivist Teaching. For each item, teachers responded on a 6-point Likert scale, ranging from PROCEDURES
1 = strongly disagree to 6 = strongly agree.
In order to verify the internal validity, TEP-Q was
 TSES (Teachers Sense of Efficacy Scale; Tschannen-Moran et al., 2001) is a 24-item self-report initially administered to a first sample of teachers.
questionnaire assessing teacher’s self-efficacy. It is composed of three subscales: Instructional Then, TEP-Q, TBS and TSES were administered
to a second sample of teachers, in order to
Strategies, Classroom Management and Student Engagement. For each item, teachers
examine TEP-Q construct validity.
responded on a 9-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 = not at all capable to 9 = completely capable.

RESULTS: INTERNAL VALIDITY 1 RESULTS: CONSTRUCT VALIDITY 2

Items were subjected to three distinct Principal Axis Factor Analysis with Promax Rotation. Results revealed: Pearson product-moment correlations among the subscales of TEP-Q, TBS and TSES were computed (see table 2):

• two-factor structure for Communication: Self-Regulation and Effectiveness (accounting for 30% of variance;
actual loadings from .31 to .59)
• two-factor structure for Organization: Active Methodologies and Care on Activities (accounting for 39% of
variance; actual loadings from .41 to .59)
• one-factor structure for Relationship: Attention to Relationships (accounting for 32,6% of variance; actual
loadings from .43 to .69)
 TEP-Q & TBS: the subscale Constructive Teaching correlates with the TEP-Q subscales, except for the Self-
Regulation. On the contrary, the subscale Traditional Teaching and Management does not correlate with the TEP-Q
subscales.
 TEP-Q & TSES: All the TEP-Q subscales are significantly correlated with the self-efficacy on Instructional Strategies,
Classroom Management and Students Engagement, indicating moderate to strong positive associations in the
expected direction.

Estimates of internal consistency were obtained using Cronbach’s alpha method (see table 1). TABLE 2: PEARSON COEFFICIENTS AMONG SUBSCALES OF TEP-Q, TBS AND TSES
Beliefs (TBS) Self-Efficacy (TSES)
Educational Practices Traditional
TABLE 1: TEP-Q ITEMS BY FACTORS Constructive Instructional Classroom Students
(TEP-Q) Teaching and
Teaching Strategies Management Engagement
COMMUNICATION ITEMS FACTORS Management
Effectiveness .362** -.053 .293** .287** .278*
When a child behaves well, I give praise
Self-Regulation -.074 -.081 .317** .335** .389**
I repeat children’s idea/answer to the class
I praise children for their achievements Attention to Relationships .264* -.080 .405** .394** .410**
I help children to reformulate their thinking when they are unclear Effectiveness Active Methodologies .328** .019 .313** .356** .415**
I deliberately use gestures to aid communication Teacher’s skill to give contents, to keep Care on Activities .279* -.218 .331** .324** .425**
Before every activities, I provide detailed instructions to the class attention in the class and to promote * p<.005; **; p< .001
I use gaze and gestures such as nodding when a child answers correctly involvement of the pupils
During a discussion, I summarize what has emerged α = .66
During the lesson, I modulate my voice tone to catch the children’s attention DISCUSSION
When a child comes near me, I look at him/her
The results of the present study contribute to assess the psychometric properties of TEP-Q.
I appear calm and relaxed to the class The exploratory factor analysis allows to better explain the three dimensions of classroom management. The teacher’s
When I’m angry, I shout at the class (reversed) Self-Regulation communicative skill includes, on one hand, the effective use of verbal, non-verbal and paraverbal communication to give
I interrupt children while they are expressing their opinions (reversed) Teacher’s skill to manage and regulate contents, keep attention and promote pupils’ involvement; on the other hand, it includes the self-confident regulation of
I complain in front of children when I’m tired (reversed) one’s own communicative processes communicative processes. The organization dimension of classroom management includes the use of active
I address children kindly α = .65 methodologies and the teacher’s capacity to present, achieve and supervise activities. Finally, the teacher’s relational
I tend to answer to children's questions before they have finished (reversed) skill includes the promotion of pupils’ socio-emotional competences and the attention to interactions.

RELATIONSHIPS ITEMS
I show attention and involvement when children express their mood
I encourage children to express their feelings and emotions
I talk about classroom relationships
I recognize when a child needs comfort, even when it’s not explicit
During the year, I teach PSHE
I search for individual interaction moments with each child
Children tell me about their personal stuff spontaneously
I praise helpful behaviour
ORGANIZATION ITEMS
I make use of role-play or simulation activities for the class
During break times, I suggest group games to the class
During activities, I organize group work
FACTOR
Attention to Relationships
Teacher’s skill to
promote emotions expression,
show comfort, reinforce
pupils’ prosocial behavior
α = .68
FACTORS
Active Methodologies
Use of methodologies
We examined the construct validity of TEP-Q by assessing correlations with teaching beliefs and self-efficacy, two
important factors of the quality of teachers’ practices. As expected, all TEP-Q subscales were positively related to TSES,
confirming the link between effective educational practices and teachers’ self-efficacy. Results showed a correlation with
teaching beliefs (TBS): all TEP-Q subscales, except Self-Regulation, were positively related to Constructive Teaching; as
expected, no correlations were found with Traditional Teaching and Management. Having effective educational practices
is associated with a constructivist approach to teaching and learning. In line with the literature, teachers with strong self-
efficacy and constructivist teaching beliefs tend to exhibit greater levels of planning and organization and they also are
more open to experiment with new methods to better meet the needs of their students (Allinder, 1994; Guskey, 1988;
Stein & Wang, 1988).
The results of the present indicate that TEP-Q can be considered a valid and reliable questionnaire. Implications for
teacher professional development and training are substantial. The instrument could be useful to teacher educators in
order to promote reflective processes on teachers and among teachers. Moreover, in the context of initial training, it can
be used to describe educational practices and to promote effective educational practices, by observing in-service
teachers. Finally, mutual evaluation processes between pre-service and in-service teachers could be helpful to develop
the critical thinking of both.
ESSENTIAL REFERENCES

During the activities I encourage children to help each other involving pupils’ participation • Catalano M.G., Perucchini P., & Vecchio G.M. (2014). The quality of teachers’ educational practices:
During the day, I give some free-choice activities (e.g. group works, role playing) internal validity and applications of a new self-evaluation questionnaire, Procedia-Social and Behavioral TEACHERS’
Sciences, 141, 459-464. EDUCATIONAL
During activities I stimulate the exchange of ideas among children α = .72 • Kyriacou C. (2007). Essential teaching skills. UK, Nelson Thornes. TEP-Q PRACTICES
• Schön, D.A. (1993). The reflective turn: case studies in and on educational practice. New York, Teachers QUESTIONNAIRE
College Press.
During an activity I walk around the tables to help children who need it • Tschannen-Moran, M., Woolfolk Hoy, A., & Hoy, W. K. (1998). Teacher efficacy: its meaning and measure.
Care on Activities
I provide different activities for children in need Review of Educational Research, 68, 202-248.
Teacher’s skill to present, • Weinstein C.S., & Mignao A.J. (2003). Elementary classroom management, New York, McGraw-Hill.
During break times, I observe the children’s relationships
achieve and supervise • Woolfolk Hoy, A., Davis, H., & Pape, S. J. (2006). Teacher knowledge and beliefs, Handbook of Educational mariacatalano85@gmail.com
Before the lesson, I explain what we are doing Psychology, 2, 715-738.
activities in the classroom paola.perucchini@uniroma3.it
I consider the ideas of children for some activities (posters, homework, etc) • Woolley S.L., Benjamin W.J., & Woolley A.W. (2004). Construct validity of a self-report measure of teacher
α = .60 beliefs related to constructivist and traditional approaches to teaching and learning, Educational and gvecchio@uniroma3.it
During group work, I monitor how children work Psychological Measurement, 64, 319-331.

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