Teacher Enthusiasm and Student Outcomes: A Meta-Analysis

• In Event: 41.026 - Show and Tell: How Teachers' Emotional Expressions Shape Student Outcomes

Abstract

Purpose and Theoretical Framework
Teacher enthusiasm has long been considered an important aspect of teaching quality (Brophy & Good, 1986) and is believed to benefit students. However, research results are mixed. Some studies find positive effects of teacher enthusiasm for student learning (e.g., Kelly, 1981) whereas others find no effect (e.g., Waxman & Eash, 1983). Students of enthusiastic teachers may report more interest and learning but not actually learn more (Witt, 2007). Teachers’ enthusiasm may help students stay on task (Gillett & Gall, 1980) or may lead to more disruptive behavior, particularly for younger students (Keller, Goetz, Woolfolk Hoy, Frenzel, 2016; McKinney, Larkins, & Burts, 1984).

Additionally, it has been difficult to summarize the research on teacher enthusiasm because of varied definitions, measures, and methodologies (Keller et al., 2016). Enthusiasm has been measured as behavioral expressivity and as a subjective affective experience. Studies also use different informants; it is unknown whether the association with student outcomes varies depending whether enthusiasm is teacher-reported, student-reported, or observer-recorded. A social-cognitive model posits that teachers’ enthusiasm must be behaviorally expressed and perceived by students to have an effect on students (Frenzel et al., 2009). But, do teachers’ subjective experiences and observer-rated enthusiasm also predict student outcomes?
This meta-analysis summarizes the relationship between teacher enthusiasm and six different student outcomes and examines whether effects vary based on student age and research methodology.

Method and Sources of Data
Articles were retrieved using a systematic search of PsycInfo, ERIC, Education Source, Dissertations and Theses Full Text, and Google scholar databases. Additional articles were identified via ancestry and descendancy searches and by contacting researchers in the field. The final analysis included 41 studies with 47 independent samples.

Results and Scholarly Significance
Using random-error models, teacher enthusiasm was positively related to students’ academic performance (r=.24, CI=.15//31); school-related intrinsic motivation and positive affect (r=.34, CI=.26/.41); value of and positive attitude toward school (r=.30, CI=.19/.39); perceptions of teacher quality (r=.63, CI=.43/.77); and perceptions of a positive classroom social climate (r=.40, CI=.29/.50). Teacher enthusiasm had no relationship to students’ behavioral engagement (r=-.003, CI=-.15/.14).

Moderator analyses revealed that results differed by age and research design. Teacher enthusiasm had no relationship to academic outcomes for elementary-age students. Measures of behavioral, expressed enthusiasm were more strongly related to student outcomes than measures that included subjective components; student-reported teacher enthusiasm also had stronger relationships to academic outcomes, intrinsic motivation/positive affect, and positive social climate than did teachers’ self-reported enthusiasm. Teacher-reported enthusiasm still exhibited positive relationships, however, and teachers’ subjective enthusiasm was more strongly related to students’ academic attitudes and perceptions of value. Therefore, moderator analyses generally supported the social-cognitive model emphasizing expressed enthusiasm, but also supported the importance of teachers’ subjective experience of enthusiasm. Observers’ ratings of teachers’ enthusiasm had no relationship to any outcomes, which raises concerns about the use of observation for teacher evaluation and research on teacher emotions. Results from this meta-analysis support the importance of teacher enthusiasm for student success and highlight methodological issues to consider in future research on teacher enthusiasm.

Authors

• Danika Maddocks, The University of Texas - Austin

• David J. Osman, The University of Texas - Austin

• Erika Alisha Patall, University of Southern California