Effects of Teaching Styles on Male Achievement in Single-Sex and Co-Educational Classrooms in Selected School Districts in Georgia

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of teaching styles on male achievement in single-sex and co-educational classrooms in selected middle schools in Georgia. The researcher used the Grasha Teaching Styles Inventory Version 3.0 to measure relationships between male achievement and teaching styles in single-sex and co-educational classrooms. The population of this study consisted of 16 teachers and 169 students in three middle schools located in Georgia. The survey identified characteristics of each category of teaching style. The teaching styles for this study were Expert, Formal Authority, Personal Model, Delegator, and Facilitator. These styles were considered to be the most common styles exhibited by teachers across the country (Grasha, 2002). This procedure allowed the researcher to see if teachers in single-sex and co-education classrooms differ significantly in the type of teaching style exhibited. This procedure allowed the researcher to see if different combinations of teaching styles and educational environments significantly differ when examining male reading achievement during middle school. The researcher hand delivered the surveys to each school and the designated Counselors and Instructional Coach distributed the surveys to the teachers resulting in a 100% rate of return. All statistical analyses were conducted during scaled scores. The unit of analysis was the individual students. The alpha level of .05 was used as the criterion for failing to reject a difference as statistically significant. The significance level for this study was (p\u3c.05) as this created a better than chance relationship between the variables. Teachers\u27 teaching styles were analyzed using Chi Square test because of the nature of the data (discrete variable). The second year reading achievement data and teaching styles data were analyzed using a 2 X 5 factorial analysis of variance (ANOVA). The SPSS program generated results to determine whether there was a relationship between the dependent and independent variables. In this design, the researcher tried to find whether a relationship existed between a particular teaching style and the level of male academic achievement and whether or not that relationship was statistically significant