Relevance Alone Is Not Enough: The Role of Teacher Credibility in Students’ Perceived Cost of Learning in Health Education Classrooms

• In Event: Poster Session 5
  In Poster Session: Motivation in Education SIG: Poster Session 1 of 2

Abstract

In this study, we examined the relations of perceived relevance and teacher credibility to students’ perceived cost of learning about HIV and pregnancy prevention. Survey data were collected from 1,006 high school students in 53 health classes at two time points. The results show that individual perceptions of content relevance and classroom-level teacher credibility were significantly associated with a decrease in perceived cost of learning, after controlling for initial status. A significant cross-level interaction revealed that perceived relevance was more strongly related to perceived cost of learning when classroom-level teacher credibility was high. When students perceived the content as relevant and their teacher as credible, they reported the lowest level of perceived cost. The implications of the findings were discussed.

Authors

• Yujin Chang, The Ohio State University

• Stephanie Levitt, The Ohio State University

• Kate Kovach, The Ohio State University

• Eric M. Anderman, The Ohio State University