45 3 3.2.2 Variables related to differences in student perceptions of teaching quality Studies of differences in student perceptions have been conducted quite often in research into interpersonal teacher behaviour (e.g., den Brok, Brekelmans et al., 2006; Levy et al., 2003). These studies have pointed to a number of variables at the student, teacher, or classroom level that are potentially linked with differences in student perceptions of teaching quality. At the student level, research on gender-related perceptions of interpersonal teacher behaviour showed that teachers at both the primary and secondary school levels were viewed signif icantly differently by girls and by boys (Brophy, 1985; den Brok et al., 2005; Levy et al., 2003; Woolfolk, 2001). For example, girls reported receiving less attention and reinforcement from some teachers than boys. However, gender interacts with a number of other variables, such as students’ subject preferences (Baker & Leary, 1995; Jones & Kirk, 1990), ethnicity or culturally related gender role def initions (Timm, 1999; Worthington, 2002), and students’ level of academic performance (Brophy & Good, 1986; Goh & Fraser, 1995; Levy et al., 2003). There is also a relationship between student ethnicity and their perception of teacher communication patterns (Levy et al., 2003). For example, in some religious cultures, women have a different status from men, which might influence boys’ perceptions of their female teachers. Research on student perceptions of teacher support by Atlay et al. (2019) found that students’ prior achievement and socioeconomic backgrounds are related to their perceptions of teacher support: Students with high prior achievement perceive teacher support more positively, while students from high socioeconomic backgrounds perceive teacher support more negatively (no moderation effects were found between the variables). Student age was also found to be related to student perceptions of teacher quality, as older students perceived their teachers as more strict and noted more teacher dominance than their younger peers (Levy et al., 1997). A similar association was found in Levy et al. (2003); however, in another study by Levy et al. (1992), students’ age was unrelated to their perception of teaching quality. Den Brok et al. (2003) suggested that other factors could be relevant in clarifying the nature of student perceptions, such as student motivation and intelligence. In a similar vein, research conducted on university students’ evaluations of teaching quality, (e.g., Marsh, 2007; Marsh & Roche, 1997; Roche & Marsh, 2000) showed that ratings of teaching quality were associated with students’ (prior) subject interest, their grades and effort, the diff iculty of the courses, class size, and teacher and student gender. Another study in higher education
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