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Faculty and Students’ Perceptions of Excellent Teaching: A Study in Ecuador Using the Teacher Behavior Checklist

Abstract:

Educational reform in Ecuador has created a need to recognize and assess excellent teaching from the perspective of both students and faculty. This study collected information on perceptions about excellent teachers in a sample of 183 faculty members and 470 students from a private university in Quito, Ecuador. We used an online Spanish version of the Teacher Behavior Checklist (TBC). Results showed that teachers and students held similar conceptions of excellent teachers: being respectful, confident, passionate, and effective communicator were the most valued attributes. We performed additional analyses comparing full-time and part-time professors’ responses. Also, we conducted comparisons based on students’ responses in their first and final semesters. We did not find significant differences in most of the TBC characteristics based on teachers’ positions at the university. However, we did find differences based on students’ number of years at college. Altogether, this study adds to the literature about context-specific and universal qualities of excellence in teaching.