Instructor Characteristics and Student Achievement: Do Student Perceptions of Teacher Attributes Impact Their Success?
Abstract
This paper addresses the following question: How does student perception of teacher appearance, age, and community connection affect student achievement in the classroom? Literature from ERIC, EBSCO, Google Scholar, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), Sage Journals, and the Gutman Library at the Harvard Graduate School of Education was reviewed for international academic studies published between 1960-2021. A variety of qualitative and quantitative research was considered from elementary, secondary, and post-secondary institutions. The research overwhelmingly concludes that teacher appearance and age do not directly translate to greater classroom effectiveness on their own but that relational teaching practices, community building, and teacher reputation do have a large impact on classroom success.