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Validating classroom affinity-seeking: A study exploring the strategic and transactional nature of teacher affinity-seeking strategies
Abstract
This study attempts to validate the methodology used for studying affinity seeking behaviors of teachers while including the underlying assumptions that affinity seeking is both a strategic and transactional act. The perceptions of 572 students were matched with the specific teachers who participated in the study (N = 27). Teacher questionnaires included the Affinity-seeking Instrument (ASI) to test competency, or skill, at gaining affinity; the Instructional Affinity-Seeking instrument (IAS), based upon the original typology; a modified version of the IAS instrument that included the component of strategy; and a questionnaire tapping the importance of gaining affinity in classrooms. Students completed a version of the IAS that was compared to their teachers' responses. Results indicated that gaining affinity toward both the teacher and the subject was important. The strategies identified on the open-ended questionnaire differed from those found on the IAS. The teachers' scores on the IAS and the modified IAS significantly differed, so pointing out affinity as strategic had an impact. Competency was not related to teacher's report of affinity-seeking behaviors or to students perceptions of their teachers affinity-seeking behaviors. Student perceptions of their teachers' behaviors were similar to what teachers self-reported on the original IAS, but significantly different from teachers' reports on the modified IAS. This research indicates that students can accurately perceive their teachers' affinity-seeking behaviors. However, the IAS only measures observed behavior. The notion of affinity-seeking as strategic is assumed in past research, but clearly not understood when included as part of the design. The teachers in this study reported different results when their affinity-seeking behaviors were identified as strategic, although they claimed affinity-seeking was important when asked in an open-ended format. What teachers claim they do and what they actually do is still unclear. The results of this research suggest returning to the original typology and understanding how the model should be considered in the context of instruction.
Subject Area
Communication|Curricula|Teaching
Recommended Citation
Dickmeyer, Linda Bornholdt, "Validating classroom affinity-seeking: A study exploring the strategic and transactional nature of teacher affinity-seeking strategies" (1998). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI9908468.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI9908468