The influence of psychological empowerment on the enhancement of chemistry laboratory demonstrators' perceived teaching self-image and behaviours as graduate teaching assistants

Graduate students who fulfill teaching roles in the undergraduate laboratory play an important role in establishing a positive learning environment. A host of various graduate teacher training programmes have been developed, implemented and evaluated accordingly in order to enhance their teaching capability. In addition research has also documented the varied or sometimes complex factors that influence graduate students' teaching capability. This present study set out to explore graduate students' sense of psychological empowerment as an influencing factor on their perceived teaching self-image and behaviours. The Teaching as a Chemistry Laboratory Graduate Teaching Assistant (TCL-GTA) programme was developed to enhance the sense of psychological empowerment experienced by seven chemistry graduate students at an Irish University as a means of enhancing their perceived teaching self-image and behaviours. The data collected throughout this study involved both qualitative and quantitative forms through conducting interviews and administering questionnaires. The findings of this research suggest that the level of psychological empowerment experienced by graduate students lends considerable and positive contributions to their perceived teaching self-image and behaviours which are influenced by a number of contextual, training and personal factors. This research should interest those involved in teaching chemistry in higher education as well as those interested in empowerment of either teachers or postgraduate students undertaking teaching duties.

[1]  D. Mertens.  Research and Evaluation in Education and Psychology: Integrating Diversity with Quantitative, Qualitative, and Mixed Methods , 1997 .

[2]  Susan C. Nurrenbern,et al.  The Impact of Continuous Instructional Development on Graduate and Undergraduate Students. , 1999 .

[3]  A. H. Johnstone,et al.  The development of chemistry teaching: a changing response to changing demand , 1993 .

[4]  Avi Hofstein,et al.  Learning In and From Science Laboratories , 2012 .

[5]  S. Haynes,et al.  Content validity in psychological assessment: A functional approach to concepts and methods. , 1995 .

[6]  Dorothy L. Gabel,et al.  Use of the particle nature of matter in developing conceptual understanding , 1993 .

[7]  Stacey Lowery Bretz,et al.  Faculty Perspectives of Undergraduate Chemistry Laboratory:: Goals and Obstacles to Success , 2010 .

[8]  Peter G. Nelson,et al.  TEACHING CHEMISTRY PROGRESSIVELY: FROM SUBSTANCES, TO ATOMS AND MOLECULES, TO ELECTRONS AND NUCLEI , 2002 .

[9]  J. Nicklow,et al.  Balancing Pedagogical and Professional Practice Skills in the Training of Graduate Teaching Assistants , 2007 .

[10]  John W. Creswell,et al.  Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches , 2010 .

[11]  T. Reeves.  Educational design research: Signs of progress , 2015 .

[12]  A. Akin,et al.  The Relationships between University Students' Chemistry Laboratory Anxiety, Attitudes, and Self-Efficacy Beliefs , 2010 .

[13]  Geert Kelchtermans,et al.  Who I am in how I teach is the message: self‐understanding, vulnerability and reflection , 2009 .

[14]  E. Papanastasiou,et al.  Modeling teacher empowerment: The role of job satisfaction , 2005 .

[15]  Andy Hargreaves,et al.  The emotional practice of teaching , 1998 .

[16]  J. Gorham.  The relationship between verbal teacher immediacy behaviors and student learning , 1988 .

[17]  Kathleen O'Toole.  Demonstrator development: Preparing for the learning lab , 2012 .

[18]  Wayne K. Hoy,et al.  School Characteristics and Educational Outcomes: Toward an Organizational Model of Student Achievement in Middle Schools , 2000 .

[19]  G. Maeroff.  The Empowerment of Teachers: Overcoming the Crisis of Confidence , 1988 .

[20]  T. A. Gatlin,et al.  Factors Contributing to the Development of Graduate Teaching Assistant Self-Image , 2013 .

[21]  Stacey Lowery Bretz,et al.  Modeling meaningful learning in chemistry using structural equation modeling , 2013 .

[22]  K. Thomas,et al.  Cognitive Elements of Empowerment: An “Interpretive” Model of Intrinsic Task Motivation , 1990 .

[23]  C. Pearce,et al.  Empowering leadership: An examination of mediating mechanisms within a hierarchical structure , 2010 .

[24]  C. Giannoulis,et al.  Improving Students’ Inquiry Skills and Self-Efficacy through Research-Inspired Modules in the General Chemistry Laboratory , 2015 .

[25]  A. Flaherty,et al.  Evaluating the Impact of the "Teaching as a Chemistry Laboratory Graduate Teaching Assistant" Program on Cognitive and Psychomotor Verbal Interactions in the Laboratory. , 2017 .

[26]  Psychological Empowerment : Issues and Illustrations 1 , 2006 .

[27]  P. Short,et al.  Job Satisfaction and Empowerment among Teacher Leaders, Reading Recovery Teachers, and Regular Classroom Teachers. , 1993 .

[28]  T. A. Gatlin,et al.  Graduate teaching assistants' epistemological and metacognitive development , 2011 .

[29]  Mauro Mocerino,et al.  Learning at the Sub-micro Level: Structural Representations , 2009 .

[30]  A. Brandolini,et al.  Enhancing the teaching and learning of science , 1995 .

[31]  Janet Bond-Robinson,et al.  Catalyzing Graduate Teaching Assistants' Laboratory Teaching through Design Research. , 2006 .

[32]  Stacey Lowery Bretz,et al.  Investigating Affective Experiences in the Undergraduate Chemistry Laboratory: Students’ Perceptions of Control and Responsibility , 2016 .

[33]  Reza Khany,et al.  On the Relationship Between Psychological Empowerment, Trust, and Iranian EFL Teachers’ Job Satisfaction , 2016 .

[34]  Richard E. Boyatzis,et al.  Transforming Qualitative Information: Thematic Analysis and Code Development , 1998 .

[35]  Robert A. Reiser,et al.  Effects of a Theory-Based Feedback and Consultation Process on Instruction and Learning in College Classrooms , 2004 .

[36]  Natasha Teakle.  Problem-based learning for first year students at UWA: Perspectives from students and laboratory demonstrators , 2008 .

[37]  Karen Seashore Louis,et al.  Does Teacher Empowerment Affect the Classroom? The Implications of Teacher Empowerment for Instructional Practice and Student Academic Performance , 1997 .

[38]  T. A. Gatlin,et al.  Experimental Chemistry Teaching: Understanding Teaching Assistants Experience in the Academic Laboratory , 2012 .

[39]  Non-physics peer demonstrators in undergraduate laboratories: A study of students' perceptions , 2016 .

[40]  Lee S. Duemer,et al.  Structural antecedents and psychological correlates of teacher empowerment , 2003 .

[41]  C. W. Bowen,et al.  Development and Score Validation of a Chemistry Laboratory Anxiety Instrument (Clai) for College Chemistry Students , 1999 .

[42]  Alex H. Johnstone,et al.  TEACHING OF CHEMISTRY - LOGICAL OR PSYCHOLOGICAL? , 2000 .

[43]  M. Patton.  Qualitative Research & Evaluation Methods: Integrating Theory and Practice , 2014 .

[44]  E. Deci,et al.  Self-determination in a work organization. , 1989 .

[45]  Lauren B. Cattaneo,et al.  The process of empowerment: a model for use in research and practice. , 2010, The American psychologist.

[46]  Dorothy L. Gabel,et al.  Improving Teaching and Learning through Chemistry Education Research: A Look to the Future , 1999 .

[47]  Odilla Finlayson,et al.  Providing solutions through problem-based learning for the undergraduate 1st year chemistry laboratory , 2007 .

[48]  P. Taylor.  Constructivist approaches to science teaching , 1999 .

[49]  Stylianos Hatzipanagos,et al.  Epistemological separation of research and teaching among graduate teaching assistants , 2009 .

[50]  Edward J. Wood.  Laboratory practical classes in biochemistry courses , 1990 .

[51]  Georgios Tsaparlis,et al.  Learning at the Macro Level: The Role of Practical Work , 2009 .

[52]  Michael K. Seery,et al.  Developing laboratory skills by incorporating peer-review and digital badges , 2017 .

[53]  K. Taber.  Ethical considerations of chemistry education research involving ‘human subjects’ , 2014 .

[54]  Les Kirkup,et al.  Matching the background of demonstrators with those of their students: does it make a difference? , 2016 .

[55]  John P. Rice,et al.  Tertiary science education in the 21st century , 2009 .

[56]  H. Tel,et al.  The effect of a psychological empowerment program based on psychodrama on empowerment perception and burnout levels in oncology nurses: Psychological empowerment in oncology nurses , 2015, Palliative and Supportive Care.

[57]  Norman G. Lederman,et al.  Handbook of Research on Science Education , 2023 .

[58]  G. Spreitzer.  PSYCHOLOGICAL EMPOWERMENT IN THE WORKPLACE: DIMENSIONS, MEASUREMENT, AND VALIDATION , 1995 .

[59]  Jennifer L. Maeng,et al.  Teaching assistants' perceptions of a training to support an inquiry-based general chemistry laboratory course , 2015 .

[60]  Gillian H. Roehrig,et al.  Growing a Garden without Water: Graduate Teaching Assistants in Introductory Science Laboratories at a Doctoral/Research University , 2004 .

[61]  Gili Marbach-Ad,et al.  Development and Evaluation of a Prep Course for Chemistry Graduate Teaching Assistants at a Research University , 2012 .

[62]  Fred M. Newmann,et al.  Authentic Pedagogy and Student Performance , 1996, American Journal of Education.

[63]  S. Beebe,et al.  The effects of student verbal and nonverbal responsiveness on teacher self‐efficacy and job satisfaction , 2004 .

[64]  Stacey Lowery Bretz,et al.  Measuring Meaningful Learning in the Undergraduate Chemistry Laboratory: A National, Cross-Sectional Study , 2015 .

[65]  C. Kieffer.  Citizen empowerment: a developmental perspective. , 1984, Prevention in human services.

[66]  Jennifer L. Maeng,et al.  Do teaching assistants matter? Investigating relationships between teaching assistants and student outcomes in undergraduate science laboratory classes , 2017 .

[67]  A. Johnstone.  Why is science difficult to learn? Things are seldom what they seem , 1991 .

[68]  B. Crabtree,et al.  A Template Approach to Text Analysis: Developing and Using Codebooks , 1992 .

[69]  C. Willig.  Introducing Qualitative Research in Psychology , 2001 .

[70]  Stacey Lowery Bretz.  Novak's Theory of Education: Human Constructivism and Meaningful Learning , 2001 .

[71]  H. Fry,et al.  A Handbook for Teaching & Learning in Higher Education: Enhancing Academic Practice. Second Edition. , 2003 .

[72]  Alex H. Johnstone,et al.  Multiple Representations in Chemical Education , 2009 .

[73]  N. Petersen.  Designing a Rigorous Small Sample Study , 2008 .

[74]  Neelam Kher,et al.  Using Humor in the College Classroom to Enhance Teaching Effectiveness in "Dread Courses" , 1999 .

[75]  Ai Noi Lee,et al.  Understanding teacher empowerment: Teachers' perceptions of principal's and immediate supervisor's empowering behaviours, psychological empowerment and work-related outcomes , 2014 .

[76]  Paul F. Conway,et al.  The journey inward and outward: a re-examination of Fuller's concerns-based model of teacher development , 2003 .

[77]  Kathleen Ellis.  The impact of perceived teacher confirmation on receiver apprehension, motivation, and learning , 2004 .

[78]  A. Somech,et al.  Influence of Teacher Empowerment on Teachers' Organizational Commitment, Professional Commitment and Organizational Citizenship Behavior in Schools. , 2004 .

[79]  G. T. Schneider,et al.  A Decade of Teacher Empowerment: An Empirical Analysis of Teacher Involvement in Decision Making, 1980‐1991 , 1994 .

[80]  J. Fereday,et al.  Demonstrating Rigor Using Thematic Analysis: A Hybrid Approach of Inductive and Deductive Coding and Theme Development , 2006 .

[81]  Brandi N. Frisby,et al.  Instructor–Student and Student–Student Rapport in the Classroom , 2010 .

[82]  A. Bandura.  Social Foundations of Thought and Action: A Social Cognitive Theory , 1985 .

[83]  Alex H. Johnstone,et al.  An information processing model of learning: Its application to an undergraduate laboratory course in chemistry , 1994 .

[84]  Edward Seidman,et al.  Handbook of community psychology , 2000 .

[85]  Mary B. Nakhleh,et al.  What Defines Effective Chemistry Laboratory Instruction? Teaching Assistant and Student Perspectives , 2003 .

[86]  Patricia Kearney,et al.  Clarifying the relationship between teacher nonverbal immediacy and student cognitive learning: Affective learning as the central causal mediator , 1996 .

[87]  Stephanie Riger,et al.  What's wrong with empowerment , 1993 .

[88]  E. McWhirter.  An Empowerment Model of Counsellor Education. , 1998 .

[89]  D. Treagust,et al.  Multiple Representations in Chemical Education , 2009 .

[90]  R. N. Kanungo,et al.  The Empowerment Process: Integrating Theory and Practice , 1988 .

[91]  K. Gergen.  THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONIST MOVEMENT IN MODERN PSYCHOLOGY , 1985 .

[92]  L. Kirkup,et al.  A Comparison of Student and Demonstrator Perceptions of Laboratory-Based, Inquiry-Oriented Learning Experiences , 2016 .

[93]  P. Cobb.  Where Is the Mind? Constructivist and Sociocultural Perspectives on Mathematical Development , 1994 .

[94]  Ann Lieberman,et al.  Building a Professional Culture in Schools. , 1988 .

[95]  Scott H. Kable,et al.  Educational analysis of the first year chemistry experiment ‘Thermodynamics Think-In’: an ACELL experiment , 2007 .

[96]  T. Jick.  Mixing Qualitative and Quantitative Methods: Triangulation in Action. , 1979 .

[97]  Gail Chittleborough,et al.  The role of submicroscopic and symbolic representations in chemical explanations , 2003 .

[98]  P. Short.  Defining teacher empowerment , 1994 .

[99]  G. Spreitzer,et al.  The road to empowerment: Seven questions every leader should consider , 1997 .

[100]  D. Salem,et al.  Empirical Support for the Critical Assumptions of Empowerment Theory , 1998 .

[101]  Gillian H. Roehrig,et al.  Graduate Teaching Assistants and Inquiry-Based Instruction: Implications for Graduate Teaching Assistant Training , 2003 .

[102]  Abbas Tashakkori,et al.  Foundations of Mixed Methods Research: Integrating Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches in the Social and Behavioral Sciences , 2008 .

[103]  N. Wallerstein,et al.  Measuring community empowerment: a fresh look at organizational domains. , 2001, Health promotion international.

[104]  Alice Schutz.  Innovations in Teacher Education: A Social Constructivist Approach , 2008 .

[105]  D. French,et al.  Do Graduate Teaching Assistants Benefit from Teaching Inquiry-Based Laboratories? , 2002 .

[106]  Stacey Lowery Bretz,et al.  Development of an Assessment Tool To Measure Students’ Meaningful Learning in the Undergraduate Chemistry Laboratory , 2015 .

[107]  A. Bandura.  Self-Efficacy: The Exercise of Control , 1997, Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy.

[108]  Matthias Stelly,et al.  Role of the Laboratory , 1968 .

[109]  Thomas C. Pentecost,et al.  Graduate Teaching Assistant Training That Fosters Student-Centered Instruction and Professional Development. , 2012 .

[110]  Barry J. Ryan.  Graduate teaching assistants; critical colleagues or casual components in the undergraduate laboratory learning? An exploration of the role of the postgraduate teacher in the sciences , 2014 .

[111]  Vincent N. Lunetta,et al.  The Laboratory in Science Education: Foundations for the Twenty-First Century , 2004 .

[112]  N. Hardiker,et al.  Empowerment an essential ingredient in the clinical environment: a review of the literature. , 2015, Nurse education today.

[113]  The Problem with Reform from the Bottom up: Instructional practises and teacher beliefs of graduate teaching assistants following a reform‐minded university teacher certificate programme , 2010 .

[114]  J. Rappaport.  Terms of empowerment/exemplars of prevention: Toward a theory for community psychology , 1987, American journal of community psychology.

[115]  Barry J. Ryan.  An intrinsic case study into the appropriateness of a bespoke training model as an approach to supporting the postgraduate demonstrator in developing pedagogical skills suitable for undergraduate scientific laboratories. , 2015 .

[116]  Jonathan B. Velasco,et al.  Characterizing Instructional Practices in the Laboratory: The Laboratory Observation Protocol for Undergraduate STEM , 2016 .

[117]  M. Zimmerman.  Empowerment theory: Psychological, organizational, and community levels of analysis. , 2000 .

[118]  J Jastrow,et al.  THE CARNEGIE FOUNDATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF TEACHING. , 1916, Science.

[119]  Derek Hodson,et al.  A Critical Look at Practical Work in School Science. , 1990 .

[120]  K. Squire,et al.  Design-Based Research: Putting a Stake in the Ground , 2004 .

[121]  V. Braun,et al.  Using thematic analysis in psychology , 2006 .

[122]  Maria L. Kraimer,et al.  Psychological Empowerment as a Multidimensional Construct: A Test of Construct Validity , 1999 .

[123]  Benjamin S. Bloom,et al.  Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: The Classification of Educational Goals. , 1957 .

[124]  Euan Lindsay,et al.  Laboratory Demonstrators' Perceptions of the Remote Laboratory Implementation of a Fluid Mechanics Laboratory , 2010 .

[125]  Stacey Lowery Bretz,et al.  What Faculty Interviews Reveal about Meaningful Learning in the Undergraduate Chemistry Laboratory , 2013 .

[126]  E. Guba,et al.  Competing paradigms in qualitative research. , 1994 .

[127]  M. Patton,et al.  Qualitative evaluation and research methods , 1992 .

[128]  Vivian Wu,et al.  The relationship of empowerment to teacher job commitment and job satisfaction. , 1996 .

[129]  Kenneth Tobin,et al.  Second international handbook of science education , 2012 .

[130]  Sevgi Turan,et al.  The construct validity and reliability of the Turkish version of Spreitzer's psychological empowerment scale , 2010, BMC public health.

[131]  Stephen J. Hawkes,et al.  Chemistry Is Not a Laboratory Science , 2004 .

[132]  Melinda J. Moye,et al.  Teacher‐principal relationships: Exploring linkages between empowerment and interpersonal trust , 2005 .

[133]  K. Perreault,et al.  Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches , 2011 .

[134]  Richard F. Elmore,et al.  Restructuring Schools: The Next Generation of Educational Reform , 1990 .

[135]  Ryan Singh Paul,et al.  A Review of “Learning, Creating, and Using Knowledge: Concept Maps as Facilitative Tools in Schools and Corporation” , 2012, Inf. Soc..

[136]  Hans Niedderer,et al.  Teaching and learning in the science laboratory , 2003 .

[137]  R. Kozma,et al.  Multimedia and understanding: Expert and novice responses to different representations of chemical phenomena , 1997 .

[138]  Marilyn E. Gist,et al.  Self-Efficacy: Implications for Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management , 1987 .

[139]  J. Penn,et al.  Results of a Practicum Offering Teaching-Focused Graduate Student Professional Development , 2014 .

[140]  Stacey Lowery Bretz,et al.  Measuring Meaningful Learning in the Undergraduate General Chemistry and Organic Chemistry Laboratories: A Longitudinal Study , 2015 .

[141]  Patricia L. Hardré,et al.  What contributes to teaching assistant development: differential responses to key design features , 2012 .

[142]  Avi Hofstein,et al.  The Role of the Laboratory in Science Teaching: Neglected Aspects of Research , 1982 .

[143]  E. Willis,et al.  Competing Paradigms , 2007 .

[144]  Ann E. Austin,et al.  On the Road to Becoming A Professor: The Graduate Student Experience , 1999 .