Teaching in an International Setting: Perceptions of Excellent Teachers Between HK and US Community College Students

Abstract

Extensive research studies have looked at the characteristics of excellent teachers under the belief that teacher quality is a main contributor to excellent teaching. In this study, the characteristics of an excellent teacher from the viewpoint of students are investigated. Specifically, from the perspective of community college students, what constitute as the salient attributes and behaviours of an excellent community college teacher? In answering this question, a mixed-method research design is adopted. The quantitative technique (survey) was used in the first phase of this study. A questionnaire which was similar to the Teacher Behaviors Checklist (TBC) developed by the Auburn team (Buskist et. al. 2002) was adopted to identify the noticeable attributes and behaviours of “excellent teachers” as perceived by the community college students. 468 students (74.8% return rate) from a basic business management course of a community college in Hong Kong were surveyed with the TBC questionnaire. The results obtained were compared against a similar study based on US community college students (Schaeffer et. al. 2003). The findings of both studies are generally consistent; the only significant difference is on the strand of Respectful, denoting differences in culture and national backgrounds of the two student groups. The finding of this study sheds light on pedagogy in classroom settings consist of students from the international communities.

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Author Information
Ted Poon, Hong Kong Polytechnic University,Hong Kong
Joseph Lau, Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education, Hong Kong

• Category: Globalisation, internalisation of education and impact on student learning

Posted by James Alexander Gordon

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