an investigation of the relationship between student attitudes and student achievement

An Investigation of The Relationship between Student Attitudes and Student Achievement

Robert W. Cook, D.B.A. Cleveland State University

INTRODUCTION

The search for the right combination of teaching techniques which will maximize learning is an elusive task. For some time now marketers have recognized the importance attitude plays in the area of buyer behavior. Many studies have been published using attitude as a predictor of con- sumer choice. Wilkie and Pessemier [2] neatly summarize 42 such studies. The utilization of the relationship in marketing is to create the right promotional mix which will result in the most positive attitude, along salient attributes, toward the product or service and thereby improve the probability of purchase. A similar relationship might be found to exist in the classroom. If so, the professor's task would be to create the right teaching style which would result in the most positive attitude toward the professor and course, and thereby increase the probability of student achievement.

The purpose of the present study is to investigate the relationship between student attitudes toward course and professor, and achievement. Intuitively a relationship between teaching method and student attitude makes a great deal of sense. Certain teaching styles are bound to be more favorably received by students. The second, and more critical, relationship

@1979, Academy of Academy Science,Journal of the A cademy of Marketing Science Spring, 1979, Vol. 7, No. 2, 71-79 0092-0703/79/0702--007152.00

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72 AN INVESTIGATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STUDENT ATTITUDES AND STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT

between attitude and achievement lies at the crux of the present study. If a direct relationship between attitude and classroom achievement can be demonstrated, those techniques which create the most positive student attitudes can be utilized to maximize learning.

The current literature investigating a relationship between student achievement (as measured by grades) and student attitudes (as measured by course and professor evaluations) has been reviewed by Feldman [1]. The thrust of present investigations of this relationship has been to determine whether grades tend to bias student evaluations. Currently available evidence neither conclusively supports nor refutes the possibility that grades bias evaluations. The present research effort is intended to investigate whether different attitudes On the part of students will result in different levels of achievement.

METHODOLOGY

The samples in the present study consisted of two sections of Marketing 301-Introduction to Marketing. An introductory course in marketing was selected for a number of reasons. First, this was a required course and gave a representation of students across the school of business. Second, as the first marketing course, it diminished the amount of prior exposure to course material. Thus any measurement of achievement was less biased by prior exposure or knowledge about the subject matter. Third, the two sections were relatively large in size (section one had 72 students and section two had 64 students at the end of the term), and met on the same days of the week (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday). Section one met at 9:30 and section two met at 1:30. Fourth, they were taught by the same professor and hence the teaching style utilized could be better con- trolled.

Two different teaching styles were utilized during Fall Quarter, 1977. They were believed to be sufficiently different to create significantly different student attitudes toward course and professor. Section one was exposed to teaching style one. This style was operationalized in the follow-

ing manner: 1. The classroom sessions consisted primarily of lecture with a mini-

mum of discussion. 2. On three different occasions during the quarter, the students were

admonished by the professor for failure to meet his expectations. 3. A policy of unannounced quizzes was instituted.

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Exhibit i PROFESSOR EVALUATION

Listed below are 12 sets of items. Mark the box on the answer sheet that corres- ponds to the letter (used instead of numbers) on the scale which best describes your feeling about the instructor for each of the 12 sets. Please indicate only one letter for each set.

(1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7) i. Fair A B C D E F G Unfair

2. Muddled Thinking A B C D E F G Clear Thinking

3. Irresponsible A B C D E F G Responsible

4. Thoroughly Knowledgeable A B C D E F G Unknowledgeable About Subject Matter

5. Helpful A B C D E F G Not helpful

6. Unoriginal A B C D E F G Original

7. Enthusiastic A B C D E F G Unenthusiastic

8. Encourages Critical A B C D E F O Discourages Critical Thinking Thinking

9. Poor Listener A B C D E F G Good Listener

i0. Likes Teaching A B g D E F G Doesn't Like Teaching

ii. Lacks Confidence A B C D E F G Highly Confident

12. In comparison to faculty members outside the College of Business Administration, how would you rate your instructor? Place the letter in the box on the answer sheet.

(A) ( B ) ( C ) (D) (E) (F) (G) One of Very Below Average Above Very One of

the Worst Poor Average Average Good the Best

13. In comparison to faculty members within the College of Business Administration, how would you rate your instructor? Place the letter in the box on the answer sheet.

(A) (B) ( C ) (D) (E) (F) (G) One of Very Below Average Above Very One of

the Worst Poor Average Average Good the Best

4. The class was informed that the grades would most likely be determined on a straight-scale basis with no allowance for a curve.

Section two was exposed to teaching style two. This style was opera~ tionalized in the following manner:

1. The classroom sessions consisted of a combination of lecture and discussion, with questions encouraged.

2. The students were never admonished for failure to meet the expectations of the professor.

3. There were no quizzes. 4. The class was informed that the grades would most likely be curved.


The basic lecture material was identical in both sections. There was some variance introduced through different examples given to illustrate points and as a result of the greater emphasis on discussion in section two.

Student attitudes toward the professor were measured at the end of the course utilizing a variation of the semantic differential scale. The students were asked to respond to the questions contained in Exhibit 1.

Students attitudes toward the course were measured at the end of the quarter also utilizing a variation of the semantic differential scale. The students were asked to respond to the questions contained in Exhibit 2.

E x h i b i t 2 COURSE EVALUATION

Listed below are 13 sets of items. Mark the box on the answer sheet that corres- ponds to the letter (used instead of numbers) on the scale which best describes your feelings about the course for each set.

for each of the 13 sets. Please indicate only on___eletter

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) i. Course Materials A g C D E F G Course Materials

Stimulating goring

2. Course Materials A B C U E F G Course Materials Very Relevant Irrelevant

3. Course is of A B C D E F @ Course is of Very High Value Little Value

4. Course Very Challenging A B C D E F C Course Offered No Challenge

5. Teaching Methods A B C D E F G Teaching Methods Highly Appropriate Highly Inappropriate

6. Course Objectives Clear A B C D E F G Course Objectives Unclear

7. Class Well Organized A B C D E F G Class Poorly Organized

8. Course Content A B C D E F G Course Content Exceeded Expectations Did Not Meet Expectations

9. All in all, how much do you feel you learned from this course:

A Great Deal A B C D E F G Nothing At All

Student achievement was measured by totaling the points obtained from three objective examinations given during the quarter. Each examina- nation consisted of 50 multiple-choice questions. Objective examinations were utilized to eliminate any subjectivity which might enter into the grading process. The questions on the tests were identical for each of the two sections. Section one was subject to unannounced quizzes whereas section two was not. However, the quiz scores were not used in the present

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study to measure and compare achievement. Both sections were given a short library assignment, the scoring of which also did not enter into the measurement of achievement in this study.

Analysis of the data consisted of a series of t tests between section one and section two along evaluation criteria and final grade points.

HYPOTHESES

The following hypotheses concerning the relationship between teaching style, attitudes, and achievement were generated:

H I : Teaching style two will result in a more positive attitude toward the professor.

H2: Teaching style two will result in a more positive attitude toward the course.

H3: A more positive attitude toward the professor and course will result in a higher level of student achievement.

RESULTS

Prior to analysis of the data concerning the hypotheses, a t test was executed on self-reported grade point averages to substantiate the similar-

Table 1 STUDENT ATTITUDES TOWARD PROFESSOR

Attribute

Fair Clear Thinking Responsible Thoroughly Knowledgeable

about Subject Matter Helpful Original Enthusiastic Encourages Critical Thinking Good Listener Likes Teaching Highly Confident Best in University Best in College

Level of Significance

.01

.01

.01

.01 Ol Ol O5 Ol 01 Ol O1 Ol


ity of the two sections with respect to scholastic achievement. The results of that test demonstrated no significant difference between the cumulative grade point averages of the two sections. Thus the two sections were con- sidered to be similar in prior achievement.

The results of the t tests for the questions relating to the student attitude toward the professor are contained in Table 1. There is very clear evidence that the two sections were significantly different in their attitudes toward the professor, The only measured characteristic for which no significant difference was demonstrated concerned knowledgeability of the professor. Both sections gave the professor approximately equal positive ratings along this characteristic. In every case section two had a more positive attitude toward the professor than section one. Thus the hypothesized relationship was substantiated. Teaching style two resulted in a more favorable attitude on the part of the student toward the pro-

fessor. The results of the t tests for the questions relating to the student atti-

tudes toward the course are contained in Table 2.

Table 2 STUDENT ATTITUDES TOWARD COURSE

Attribute Level of Significance

Course Materials Stimulating .01 Course Materials Very Relevant -- Course is of Very High Value .025 Course Very Challenging -- Teaching Methods Highly Appropriate .01 Course Objectives Clear .01 Class Well Organized .01 Course Content Exceeded Expectations -- Learned a Great Deal from Course .01

Although the evidence was not so overwhelming as was the case with Hypothesis 1, a significant difference did appear with respect to a majority (2/3) of the attributes. In every case section two rated the course more positively than did section one. Thus the hypothesis concerning the relationship between teaching style and student attitudes toward the course was substantiated.

Hypothesis 3, concerning the level of achievement, could not be substantiated. There was no significant difference between the means of the

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two sections with respect to final grade point accumulation. Some descrip- tive statistics concerning the grade distribution for the two sections appear in Table 3.

Table 3 FINAL GRADE DISTRIBUTIONS

Section One Section Two

Sample Size 72 64 Maximum 262 256 Minimum 166 162 Range 96 94 Mean 214.03 215.22 Standard Deviation 22.91 23.11 Median 214 219

The distributions are strikingly similar. In order to reject the hypothesis of no significant difference we would have to accept an alpha level of approximately 0.30. Thus there appears to be no significant relationship between student attitudes and achievement.

DISCUSSION

In summary, the results indicated a clear relationship between teaching style and student attitudes toward both course and professor. The two teaching styles utilized in the present study resulted in a strong difference in attitudes toward the professor and a somewhat weaker but still significant difference in attitudes toward the course. The implication is that different teaching methods can have a direct effect on student attitudes toward both course and professor. The somewhat surprising result concerned the level of achievement under conditions of differing student attitudes. No significant difference between accumulated grade points could be determined between the two sections. The section with the less positive attitudes toward both course and professor did just as well as the section with the more positive attitudes. Achievement, therefore, would seem to be more a function of course content than attitude.

There are two primary implications from this study. The first is that a professor should concentrate more on course content than creation of positive student attitudes in order to impart knowledge. Being liked or dis-


liked has little to do with measured achievement. That is not to say that student attitudes are not important. They very well may have a direct bearing on the number of majors attracted to or repelled from the depart- ment, on the number of students attracted to or dropping out of the university, etc.

The second implication relates to the use of professor and course evaluations by administrators as a measure of teaching ability. It would seem that most such evaluations are designed to determine whether the course and/or professor created positive student attitudes as opposed to how much was learned. This is exactly what they do show. This is necessary insofar as a positive attitude is related to recruitment, but the findings of this study would not support the position that such evaluations are a sur- rogate measure of learning or achievement. This distinction should be clear when such evaluations are utilized.

The primary limitation of the present study centers around the ques- tion of whether multiple-choice questions are a valid measure of achievement or knowledge. However, this type of objective examination is widely utilized, contained in many instructors' manuals, and is a somewhat justi- fiable measure. The results would support that more studies need to be undertaken utilizing different measures of achievement, other variations of teaching style and utilization of teaching media, and investigating further the relationship between attitude and achievement.

REFERENCES

1. Feldman, Kenneth A., "Grades and College Students' Evaluations of Their Courses and Teachers." Research in Higher Education, 1976, 4, 69-111.

2. Wilkie, William, and Pessemier, Edgar, "Issues in Marketing's Use of Multi-Attri- bute Attitude Models." Journal of Marketing Research, 1973, 10,428-441.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ROBERT W. COOK is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at Cleveland State University. He received his B.A. in mathematics from Kent State University in 1969; his M.B.A. from Kent in 1972; and his D.B.A. from Kent in 1977. Dr. Cook is a member of the Academy of Marketing

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Science, American Marketing Association, and American Institute for the Decision Sciences. He has appeared on the programs of both national and regional AIDS conferences.

an investigation of the relationship between student attitudes and student achievement

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