Students’ perceptions of teacher effectiveness in rural Western China: An empirical mixed methods study

This paper presents the findings of an empirical study that explored the ways in which 15 year-old students at one junior secondary school perceive teacher effectiveness in rural Western China. A mixed methods approach was employed in the study by using a student questionnaire survey (first phase) and follow-up focus group interviews (second phase). All the Grade 9 students at the junior secondary school were surveyed and three semi-structured focus group interviews were conducted. The results identified ‘Challenge’ and ‘Control’ as key factors of effective teaching associated with teacher effectiveness in rural Western China. Factors of ‘Control’ and ‘Captivate’ were most statistically significantly correlated with students’ test results, and ‘Captivate’ was complemented by the interview findings as an important factor. Evidence from the focus group interviews indicated that the perceptions of students within higher and lower achieving classes varied considerably.