Teacher’s Pupil Control Ideology and Learners’ Perceived Progress:the General English Classroom Perspective

The aim of the present study is to investigate the influence of teacher’s pupil control ideology (PCI) on students’attitudes towards their role in language learning, students’ motivation, and their perceived progress. Two teachersfrom one institute in Esfahan, Iran were selected based on their answers to a questionnaire and an interview: one withcustodial PCI, and the other with humanistic PCI. Additionally, three students from each class, total 6 students, wereselected with different proficiency levels: weak, average, and good. The students were interviewed on the first, the 9thand the last sessions. The classes were observed three times. The results of the study showed that teacher withhumanistic PCI operated in high levels of student engagement and student empowerment, while teacher with custodialPCI operated in low levels of student engagement and student compliance. Additionally, the results showed thatteachers’ PCI could affect learners’ attitudes, motivation and perceived progress as well as their learning andoutcome: the effect of humanistic PCI was positive, while the effect of custodial PCI was negative. The results of thestudy could be used in teacher training.

Keywords:

Pupil Control Ideology , Students’ Attitudes , Students’ Motivation , Students’ Perceived Progress , Classroom Climate , Teacher Training