Supervising Teacher Behavior Description Questionnaire

Abstract

The Supervising Teacher Behavior Description Questionnaire (STBDQ) is a 54-item psychometric scale designed specifically for evaluating the preferred behaviors of supervisory educational personnel, particularly supervising teachers, during the process of guiding student teachers. Modified from the original Supervisory Behavior Description Questionnaire (SBDQ), the STBDQ assesses whether respondents prefer their supervisors to employ a directive, collaborative, or nondirective approach when executing specific supervisory tasks. The instrument yields scores across three major behavioral dimensions and three specific subscales related to instructional management.

Keywords

Supervising Teacher Behavior Description Questionnaire, STBDQ, educational supervision, student teaching, supervisory style, directive behavior, collaborative style, nondirective approach, instructional management, psychometric scale.

Authors

Sistrunk, W. E., et al.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the STBDQ is to provide a structured method for evaluating the observed or preferred behaviors of supervising teachers. By focusing on 54 specific supervisory tasks, the questionnaire helps determine the extent to which an individual—such as a student teacher or a supervising teacher—prefers a supervisor to act in a directive, collaborative, or nondirective manner.

This feedback mechanism is crucial for improving the efficacy of the supervisory process in teacher education programs. The instrument allows for a nuanced understanding of behavioral preferences related to key areas like planning, organization, and evaluation.

Construct

The core psychological construct measured by the STBDQ is Preferred Supervisory Style, conceptualized across a continuum defined by three distinct behavioral dimensions: Directive, Collaborative, and Nondirective. These dimensions reflect different levels of control and shared responsibility exercised by the supervisor:

• Directive: Characterized by the supervisor taking explicit control, making decisions, and providing instructions (e.g., writing plans, determining objectives).
• Collaborative: Characterized by shared decision-making, joint planning, and mutual identification of problems and solutions.
• Nondirective: Characterized by the supervisor permitting the student teacher to take primary responsibility for planning, execution, and self-evaluation.

In addition to these broad dimensions, the scale measures performance across three specific functional subscales: Planning and organizing, Instructional management, and Instructional evaluation.

Validity

The original research associated with the STBDQ included attempts to establish comprehensive psychometric validity. Specifically, efforts were made to obtain evidence supporting construct validity, content validity, and criterion-related validity. While the specific details regarding the methodologies and findings of these validity studies were not extensively detailed in the symposium paper, the stated objective was to ensure the instrument accurately measures the intended supervisory behaviors and relates appropriately to external criteria.

Reliability

The STBDQ demonstrated high internal consistency across all dimensions and subscales, indicating strong reliability for the instrument. The Alpha coefficients (Cronbach’s Alpha) reported by Sistrunk et al. (1983) were substantial:

• Total Score: 0.97
• Directive Dimension: 0.95
• Collaborative Dimension: 0.95
• Nondirective Dimension: 0.96

The reliability estimates for the three functional subscales were also robust, registering coefficients of 0.88, 0.94, and 0.93, respectively, confirming that the different components of the scale are internally consistent measures of supervisory behavior preference.

Factor Analysis

Factor analysis was employed during the development and refinement of the STBDQ to empirically produce and confirm the specified three behavioral dimensions (Directive, Collaborative, Nondirective) and the three functional subscales. Although the analysis was conducted to establish the underlying structure of the 54 items, the published source material (Sistrunk et al., 1983) did not provide explicit details regarding the methodology, specific factor loadings, or variance explained by the resulting factors.

Instrument

Test Type: Behavioral Description Questionnaire / Psychometric scale

Format: 54-item Semantic differential scale. Responses are scored on continuums such as Satisfying/Dissatisfying and/or Motivating/Nonmotivating.

Language Available: English (as presented in the source material).

Population Group: Educational personnel, specifically supervising teachers and student teachers.

Age Group: Adult (professional educators and university students).

Population Details: The validation sample included a total of 227 participants, consisting of 132 student teachers and 95 supervising teachers.

Test Methodology: Respondents rate the 54 items based on their preference or observation of supervisory behavior, yielding scores for three dimensions (Directive, Collaborative, Nondirective) and three subscales (Planning and organizing, Instructional management, Instructional evaluation).

Keywords

Supervisory Behavior Description Questionnaire, SBDQ, educational leadership, teacher training, instructional evaluation, reliability, validity, student teachers, educational research instruments.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided in source material.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not provided in source material.

Correspondence Address: Not provided in source material.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The STBDQ was presented in 1983. Specific details regarding current permissions, usage fees, or commercial availability are not provided in the primary academic source. The original paper, which contains the instrument details, is publicly accessible through the ERIC database, indexed as ERIC ED 238 203. The original PDF can be downloaded here: ERIC ED 238 203.

Reference’s

• Sistrunk, W. E., et al. (1983). Investigations of supervisory behavior: A symposium. Paper presented at Mid-South Education Research Association. ERIC ED 238 203.
• Sistrunk, W. E. (1982). The Supervisory Behavior Description Questionnaire (SBDQ) Forms 1 and 2 as research instruments. Paper presented at the Mid-South Educational Research Association.

Items of the Supervising Teacher Behavior Description Questionnaire

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

1. The supervising teacher should write and plan units and lessons for the student teaching experience.
2. The supervising teacher should collaborate with the student teacher in writing and planning units and lessons.
3. The supervising teacher should permit the student teacher to plan and write his/her own units and lessons.
4. The supervising teacher should determine the educational objectives and how they are to be achieved.
5. The supervising teacher should collaborate with the student teacher in determining the educational objectives and how they are to be achieved.
6. The supervising teacher should permit the student teacher to determine the educational objectives and how they are to be achieved.
7. The supervising teacher should group students within the classroom for instructional purposes.
8. The supervising teacher should collaborate with the student teacher in grouping students within the classroom for instructional purposes.
9. The supervising teacher should permit the student teacher to group students within the classroom for instructional purposes.
10. The supervising teacher should tell and/or show the student teacher how to improve students’ study and work habits.
11. The supervising teacher should collaborate with the student teacher in telling and/or showing the students how to improve their study and work habits.
12. The supervising teacher should permit the student teacher to tell and/or show the students how to improve their study and work habits.
13. The supervising teacher should require standard procedures and format of unit and lesson plans.
14. The supervising teacher should collaborate with the student teacher in developing standard unit and lesson plans.
15. The supervising teacher should permit student teachers to develop standard unit and lesson plans.
16. The supervising teacher should show the student teacher how to use machines and materials.
17. The supervising teacher should collaborate with the student teacher in learning how to use machines and materials.
18. The supervising teacher should permit the student teacher to learn how to use machines and materials.
19. The supervising teacher should assign specific instructional tasks to the student teacher.
20. The supervising teacher should collaborate with the student teacher in the choice of instructional tasks.
21. The supervising teacher should permit the student teacher to select his/her own instructional tasks.
22. The supervising teacher should preview and select curricular materials prior to their use by the student teacher.
23. The supervising teacher should collaborate with the student teacher in previewing and selecting curricular materials prior to their use by the student teacher.
24. The supervising teacher should permit the student teacher to preview and select his/her own curricular material.
25. The supervising teacher should decide if curricular materials are contributing to the desired educational objectives.
26. The supervising teacher and the student teacher should collaborate in deciding if curricular materials are contributing to the desired educational objectives.
27. The supervising teacher should permit the student teacher to decide if curricular materials are contributing to the desired educational objectives.
28. The supervising teacher should determine the areas of improvement needed by the student teacher and tell/show him/her how to improve.
29. The supervising teacher and the student teacher should collaborate in determining the areas of improvement needed by the student teacher and the means of improving.
30. The supervising teacher should permit the student teacher to determine the areas of improvement needed by the student teacher and how to improve.
31. The supervising teacher should provide a framework for implementation of educational innovations by the student teacher.
32. The supervising teacher and the student teacher should collaborate in providing frameworks for the implementation of educational innovations by the student teacher.
33. The supervising teacher should permit the student teacher to devise frameworks for implementing educational innovations in his/her classes.
34. The supervising teacher should identify instructional problems encountered by the student teacher.
35. The supervising teacher should collaborate with the student teacher in identifying instructional problems encountered by the student teachers.
36. The supervising teacher should permit the student teacher to identify his/her instructional problems.
37. The supervising teacher should require the student teacher to develop written long range instructional plans.
38. The supervising teacher and the student teacher should collaborate in the development of long range written instructional plans.
39. The supervising teacher should permit the student teacher to develop long range written instructional plans.
40. The supervising teacher should establish objectives and procedures for evaluating the student teacher’s instruction.
41. The supervising teacher and the student teacher should collaborate in establishing objectives and procedures for evaluating the student teacher’s instruction.
42. The supervising teacher should permit the student teacher to establish objectives and procedures for evaluating his/ her instruction.
43. The supervising teacher should base the evaluation of the student teacher’s progress on research.
44. The supervising teacher and the student teacher should collaborate in developing research-based criteria for evaluating the student teacher’s progress.
45. The supervising teacher should permit the student teacher to develop research-based criteria for evaluating student teacher progress.
46. The supervising teacher should tell/show the student teacher how to teach more effectively.
47. The supervising teacher and the student teacher should collaborate in determining how the student teacher can teach more effectively.
48. The supervising teacher should permit the student teacher to determine how he/she can teach more effectively.
49. The supervising teacher should select instruments for evaluating student teacher progress.
50. The supervising teacher and the student teacher should collaborate in selecting instruments for evaluating student teacher progress.
51. The supervising teacher should permit the student teacher to select instruments for evaluating student teacher progress.
52. The supervising teacher should conduct action research about teaching on a regular basis.
53. The supervising teacher and the student teacher should collaborate in conducting action research about teaching on a regular basis.
54. The supervising teacher should permit the student teacher to conduct action research about teaching on a regular basis.