Can teacher quality be profiled? A cluster analysis of teachers' beliefs, practices and students' perceptions of effectiveness

Abstract

A critical aim of teacher quality research is to identify and distil its multiple components. While many such components have been identified in the literature, there is a scarcity of research that has attempted to empirically investigate how these elements integrate within a larger profile of teacher quality, including how particular teachers' beliefs, behaviours and outcomes cluster into unique profiles of teachers. In this study, a group of Australian high-school teachers completed an extensive teacher beliefs questionnaire, undertook the Visible Classroom program to record and document their use of high-leverage teaching practices and had their students complete a survey based on perceptions of effective teaching. The results were analysed using cluster analysis to determine if distinct groups of teachers could be identified based on similarities in beliefs, behaviours and student perceptions of teaching. The results suggested multiple distinct clusters of teachers with distinguishing types of beliefs, frequency of practices and student perceptions of teaching. Most notably, the results pointed to a unique cluster of teachers who were most distinguishable in their self-efficacy, intrinsic motivation and personal responsibility beliefs, as well as highly active teaching behaviours in the classroom. This group also possessed the highest levels of student perceptions of teaching. The findings provide new insights into the complex profiles that shape teacher quality and implications for future research.