THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INTROVERTED STUDENT BEHAVIOR AND TEACHER PERCEPTION OF STUDENT ENGAGEMENT

The purpose of this quantitative survey study was to investigate if a relationship exists between introverted student behavior and teacher perception of student engagement. The purposive sample was composed of high school teachers in the United States. Using the Engagement Rating Scale, teachers scored student engagement across four domains when considering two descriptions of students. One student was described using characteristics of an introvert; teachers then completed an identical version of the scale for a second student who was described using characteristics of an extravert. Independent samples t-tests were used to analysis differences in scores by personality type and revealed a significant relationship between teacher perception of overall student engagement and extraverted students. Analysis into the dimensions of student engagement suggested significantly higher teacher perceptions of agentic and emotional engagement for extraverted students but significantly higher teacher perceptions of behavioral and cognitive engagement for introverted students. These findings suggest that differentiating instruction and assessment may contribute towards better meeting the needs of students of all personality types