TEACHER COMPETENCE SUPPORT FOR READING IN MIDDLE SCHOOL Angela McRae ...

291 Pages·2012·1.63 MB·English

ABSTRACT

Title of Document: TEACHER COMPETENCE SUPPORT FOR

READING IN MIDDLE SCHOOL

Angela McRae, Doctor of Philosophy, 2012

Directed by: Professor Emeritus John T. Guthrie,

Department of Human Development

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between student
perceptions of teacher competence support, self-efficacy for reading, and reading
achievement for African American and European American students. Previous studies of
teacher support have emphasized emotional support and have found considerable
evidence for positive effects on motivation and achievement (Wentzel, 2009). Over time,
support for competence has increasingly emerged as a distinct dimension of teacher
support (Beghetto, 2007; Wentzel et al., 2010) and there is a need for the extension of
this empirical research on the association between teacher competence support,
motivation, and achievement. This study seeks to narrow this focus to student
perceptions of teacher competence support, student self-efficacy, and reading
achievement in middle school.
The study sample consisted of 366 seventh- grade students in an ethnically and
economically diverse school district. Students completed measures of their perceptions
of teacher competence support, which included encouragement and instrumental help in
reading. Students also completed a reading self-efficacy questionnaire and an assessment
of information text comprehension. While controlling for socioeconomic status,
hierarchical multiple regressions and MANOVA were conducted.
African American students perceived statistically significantly higher levels of
teacher competence support for reading compared to their European American peers.
European American students performed at a higher level on the reading achievement
measure, and there was no significant difference between groups in self-efficacy. Teacher
competence support was significantly associated with self-efficacy regardless of
ethnicity, and was also significantly associated with reading achievement, but only for
African American students. Self-efficacy was significantly correlated with reading
achievement for both ethnic groups; however, this correlation was statistically
significantly higher for European American students. Post hoc analyses revealed that the
correlation between self-efficacy and reading achievement was significant for European
American students regardless of perceived level of teacher competence support, and the
self-efficacy and reading achievement relationship was significant for African American
students only if they perceived high levels of teacher competence support.
TEACHER COMPETENCE SUPPORT FOR READING

IN MIDDLE SCHOOL

By

Angela McRae

Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the
University of Maryland, College Park, in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
2012

Advisory Committee:
Professor John T. Guthrie, Dissertation Chair/Advisor
Professor Mariam Jean Dreher
Professor Min Wang
Professor Kathryn R. Wentzel
Professor Allan Wigfield
© Copyright by
Angela McRae
2012
DEDICATION

This dissertation is lovingly dedicated to Dean Nicholas, James Randall, Kailey Madison,
and Joanne Moskey.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost, thank you to my wonderful family who provided both support and
insight throughout this process: Xavier and Carla Comment, Andrea Brown, Debra
DeLone, Dr. William DeLone, Karen Whitehead, and Nellie Faye McRae. My parents
Denis Comment and Anna Mae Brown Comment consistently nurtured my love of
reading as a child, and continue to inspire me to persist through all obstacles – thanks,
and I love you, Mom and Dad! This dissertation could not have been written without the
unending patience and support of my husband, Kevin McRae. Your devotion and
persistence are inspiring. Thank you for your constant encouragement that has pushed me
through to the finish line.
Dr. John Guthrie, my advisor, mentor, and the guiding force behind every bit of my
success as a graduate student and scholar: I cannot express the depth of gratitude I have
for your contribution to my work and to my life. You have consistently gone above and
beyond, and you have taught me to expect the same from myself. Thank you.
To my committee members: you have all provided amazing guidance and have helped
my dissertation exceed even my own expectations: thank you so much, Dr. Mariam Jean
Dreher, Dr. Min Wang, Dr. Kathryn Wentzel, and Dr. Allan Wigfield for your
encouraging words and instrumental help through the years.
My friends and fellow graduate students could always be counted on to propel me
forward, even when I was unsure of my direction, and I owe you all many thanks: Elton
Porter, Dr. Laurel Hoa, Dr. Kathleen Perencevich, Marguerite Tom-Wigfield, Dr.
Cassandra Coddington, Dr. Alexis Williams, Dr. Emily Fox, Dr. Charles Glover, Dr.
Aaron Ament, Dr. Asha Lateef Williams, Shanna Smith, Angel Miles, Michelle Beadle
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Holder, and Robert Holder – I could not have done this without you. Special recognition
goes to the people who have worked tirelessly on the PROMISE program, Dr. Renetta
Garrison Tull, Dr. Johnetta Davis, and Dr. Carol Parham – thank you for all you have
done to support students in their pursuits along this sometimes difficult, but always
rewarding, path.
I have received academic, emotional, and every other conceivable form of support
from faculty, staff, and students in the Department of Human Development and
Quantitative Methodology: Dr. Ann Battle, Dr. Patricia Alexander, Dr. David Miele, Dr.
Brenda Jones-Harden, Eileen Kramer, Dr. Susan Lutz Klauda, Dr. Patricia Richardson,
Amanda Mason-Singh, Amy Ho, Wei You, Katie Muenks, Lauren Musu-Gillette,
Jennifer McPeake, Akhila Iruku, Michael Price, Dennis Wigfield, and Noel Wigfield
have been instrumental in getting me to this point; and a special thank you to Ellen
Kaplan for her invaluable support.

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Table of Contents
DEDICATION .................................................................................................................... ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... iii
LIST OF TABLES .............................................................................................................. x
LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... xii
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................... 1
Overview ......................................................................................................................... 1
Guiding Theory and Research ......................................................................................... 8
A Socialization Perspective ......................................................................................... 8
Socio-cognitive Theory ............................................................................................... 9
Purpose and Significance of the Study .......................................................................... 12
Research Questions ....................................................................................................... 17
Method .......................................................................................................................... 18
Definition of Terms ....................................................................................................... 19
Chapter 2: Literature Review ........................................................................................... 21
Overview of Literature Review ..................................................................................... 21
Studies of Parent Support Inform Teacher Support Research ....................................... 26
Parental Support for Academic Outcomes ................................................................ 27
Parenting Practices Feature Competence Support ..................................................... 30
Teacher-Student Relationships ...................................................................................... 34
Dimensions of Teacher Support .................................................................................... 36
Emotional Support ..................................................................................................... 38
Teacher Communications .......................................................................................... 40
Teacher Competence Support .................................................................................... 41
Encouraging feedback ............................................................................................ 41
Negative criticism .................................................................................................. 43
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Teacher expectations .............................................................................................. 44
Instrumental help ................................................................................................... 46
Student Perception of Teacher Support ..................................................................... 47
Summary of Dimensions of Teacher Support ........................................................... 49
Teacher Competence Support Influences Student Motivations and Engagement ........ 49
Student Motivations ................................................................................................... 50
Evidence for Effects of Teacher General Support on Motivation ............................. 55
Evidence for Effects of Teacher Competence Support on Motivation ...................... 59
Encouraging feedback ............................................................................................ 61
Negative criticism .................................................................................................. 64
Teacher expectations .............................................................................................. 64
Instrumental help ................................................................................................... 67
Motivation Mediates the Effect of Teacher-Student Relationships on Achievement 68
Summary of the Effects of Teacher Competence Support ........................................ 70
African American Students in Research on Academic Support ................................... 71
Effects of Parental General Support on Motivation for African Americans ............. 71
Effects of Multiple Sources of Support on Motivations ............................................ 76
Evidence of Teacher General Support for African Americans .................................. 79
African American students’ perceptions of teacher support .................................. 79
Studies with diverse samples ................................................................................. 80
Teacher General Support Influences Motivation Among African American Students
................................................................................................................................... 84
Effects of teacher competence support on the association of self-efficacy and
achievement ........................................................................................................... 93
Summary of African American Students in Research on Support ............................ 96
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Middle School as a Neglected Group in Research on Teacher Competence Support for
African American Students ........................................................................................... 96
African American Students as They Transition from Elementary to Middle School 97
Need for Research on Teacher Competence Support and Self-Efficacy for African
American Students in Middle School ...................................................................... 104
Research Questions ..................................................................................................... 108
CHAPTER 3: METHOD ................................................................................................ 109
Design.......................................................................................................................... 109
Participants .................................................................................................................. 109
Sample Characteristics ............................................................................................ 110
Measures...................................................................................................................... 111
Socioeconomic Status .............................................................................................. 111
Teacher Competence Support Questionnaire .......................................................... 113
Self-efficacy Questionnaire ..................................................................................... 121
Reading Achievement .............................................................................................. 122
Procedures ............................................................................................................... 123
Data Analyses .......................................................................................................... 125
Data entry plan and coding .................................................................................. 125
Factor structure and reliability ............................................................................. 126
Pilot Study ................................................................................................................... 126
Overview ................................................................................................................. 126
Literature Review .................................................................................................... 127
Research Questions.................................................................................................. 130
Method ..................................................................................................................... 130
Participants ........................................................................................................... 130
Measures .............................................................................................................. 131
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