Perceptions of teachers' instructional behaviour in secondary agricultural education

This study was designed to examine student and teacher perceptions of teachers' instructional behaviour in schools for secondary agricultural education. For this purpose, two questionnaires (a teacher version and a student version) were used, consisting of the scales ‘teacher-led activation’, ‘student-led activation’, ‘clarity’, and ‘control’. Clarity of instruction as judged by the students, increases when a teacher makes the effort to activate his or her students. Systematic differences exist between the teachers' perceptions and the students' perceptions: on all scales, teachers appear to give themselves higher ‘marks’ than the students do. It is argued that, through critical reflection on their own teaching, teachers will become aware of the discrepancy between their own and the students' perceptions. This awareness is likely to be a driving force for the improvement of teachers' instructional behaviour.