Abstract

LAUDADIO, Julieta  and  MAZZITELLI, Claudia. Adaptation and validation of the Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction in Higher Education. Interdisciplinaria [online]. 2018, vol.35, n.1, pp.153-170. ISSN 1668-7027.

As regards the education action, teaching is not only a merely technical activity, or an action without communication, bonds or social contact. On the contrary, it requires a close relationship between the teacher and the students, which -in order to be effectively developed- needs the teachers to be adequately conscious and reflective about the aims they want to achieve through the communicative action. During the last decades, relationships between teachers and students have become a central focus for theories and investigation, and many aproaches show the importance that the relationship has as regards the students' development and their accomplishments (Cohen & Amidon, 2004; Páramo, 2008). Indeed, it has been stated that the best education is a product of the best relationship or pedagogical bond. Teaching demands a close relationship between the teacher and the students, which requires an adequate explicitness and reflection on the part of the teacher for its effective development. Some research highlights the importance this relationship has for the students' development and achievements. This work aims at evaluating the validity and reliability of the Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction (QTI) applied in higher education by Soerjaningsih, Fraser and Aldridge. This instrument includes 48 items and enables the identification of the teacher's predominant behavior according to two dimensions: proximity (cooperation-opposition) and influence (domination-submission). The questionnaire was applied to 256 students attending the first two years of courses of study related to Natural Science and Health Science at both public and private universities in the province of San Juan (Argentina). To evaluate the reliability, the Cronbach Alpha was applied, and the validity of the construct was studied by making a factorial analysis. The results indicate the existence of a two-dimensional structure: factor 1 is constituted by items that evaluate the proximity of the student-teacher relationship; it includes positive items that correspond to the cooperation subdimension and negative items that correspond to the opposition subdimension. Factor 2 is constituted by items that evaluate the influence in relation to domination. As regards reliability, when studying Factor 1, a Cronbach Alpha of .92 was obtained for cooperation and a Cronbach Alpha of .84 for opposition. Factor 2 had an Alpha of .61. The self-report globally shows an acceptable level of reliability. Summarising, favorable evidence was obtained about the discrimination of the items: factorial validity and the instrument's reliability. These results are important to understand the dynamics of the processes implied in the student-teacher relationship. Taking into account these results, it is considered that the QTI can be used as a guide to improve the interpersonal relationships and to help teachers in their professional development. Using this instrument can be a valuable tool, both for investigation and intervention and prevention programs. Good teachers should be able of empathizing with students, listening to them better and understanding their world. In this sense, there should be training plans for teachers to be conscious of the relational dimension of their education action and for them to receive the necessary courses to be able to optimize the great educational force that their practice has on students'development. Indeed, incorporating strategies to develop and strengthen relational capabilities in teachers during the teachers' training course will contribute to students, interpersonal relationships which will favor the academic performance, and it will enable teachers' accomplishments and professional success.

Keywords : Key words; Higher education; Teacher interaction; Students; Validity; Reliability.

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