Leader behavior dimensions related to students' evaluation of teaching effectiveness

Abstract

271 undergraduates and 107 graduate students described the behavior of an instructor using an adaptation of E. A. Fleishman's Supervisory Behavior Description Questionnaire. In addition, Ss evaluated their instructors' ability to teach. It was found that (a) instructor consideration was the main factor related to student evaluations of their instructors; (b) graduate students emphasized consideration less and initiating structure more than undergraduates; and (c) consideration interacted with initiating structure so that for instructors high in consideration, high initiating structure did not influence the evaluations, but for instructors low in consideration, high-initiating-structure scores were associated with poor evaluations. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)