Characteristics of Effective Teachers in the Air Force's Squadron Officer College

Abstract

The present study investigated the degree to which Squadron Officer School Class 07D students perceived the characteristics of effective teachers by ranking of each of the 28 characteristics identified on the Teacher Behaviors Checklist (TBC) (Buskist, Sikorski, Buckley, and Saville, 2002; Keeley, Smith, Buskist, 2006). This was done in order to assess whether there were any statistically significant differences in the total scores of male and female students. The frequency with which students responded to the choices for each item on the Likert-type scale used to score the TBC was assessed. The study investigated the degree to which Squadron Officer College instructors assigned to Squadron Officer School perceived that they possessed the characteristics of effective teachers, as determined by the TBC (Buskist, et al., 2002; Keeley, et al., 2006). This was done in order to assess whether there were any statistically significant differences between the students’ and instructors’ perceptions of the characteristics of effective teachers. Two hundred and sixty one students and 20 instructors completed the TBC (Buskist, et al., 2002; Keeley, et al., 2006.), recording their perceptions of the 28 characteristics on the instrument by using the 5-point Likert-type scale provided. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and independent samples t-tests. Results from the statistical analysis indicated that no statistically significant difference existed between the total mean scores on the TBC between male and female students. Results from statistical analysis indicated that no statistically significant difference existed between the total mean scores between teachers and students. This study demonstrated that students and teachers, regardless of the nature of the student, perceive that the characteristics of effective teachers should be present in teachers to a high degree, and are present in the teachers at Squadron Officer School. Also, the TBC showed promise for continued use in measuring the characteristics of effective teachers in instructional settings outside the traditional college or university environment such as Squadron Officer College.