Teachers’ Self-Reports of Active Teaching Methods: The Relationship of Age and Subject

Abstract

Estonian teachers believe in active teaching methods but do not use them as often as reported, experienced teachers use autonomy supportive and structured teaching methods more than beginning teachers. The aim of this study was to examine teachers' self-reports of their instructional methods -autonomy supportive and structured teaching, and explore its relationship with subject field and age. Two research questions were set: how teachers' self-report their instructional methods, and how subject and teachers' age is related with their self-reports about instructional methods. Data was collected from 670 self-reports from middle and high school teachers across Estonia. The results revealed that overall teachers self-reported high use of autonomy supportive and structured teaching methods, with some age and subject field variances. The results confirm previous findings about Estonian teachers' high self-reported active teaching methods -autonomy supportive and structured teaching. Further studies should be conducted to compare teachers' self-reports and their classroom practices in their lessons. This information can be useful to improve pre-service and in-service teacher education.