Teacher Folklore and Sensitivity of a Course Evaluation Questionnaire

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine if (a) “folklore” about a teacher contributes to his ratings on a course evaluation questionnaire and (b) changes in students' attitudes during the course of instruction can be determined with a questionnaire on course evaluation. Multivariate analysis of variance and discriminant analysis, ideally suited for this type of research, were employed. The results indicated that there were no significant differences in attitudes toward a course in educational statistics between those who took the course in 1967–1968 and those who took it in 1968–1969. This seems to indicate that students do not build a “folklore” about a course based upon the course presented a year earlier.