Teacher interpersonal behavior and adolescents’ motivation in mathematics: A comparison of learning disabled, average, and talented students

This study examined student perceptions of teacher behavior in three motivational variables (self-efficacy beliefs, intrinsic value, and test anxiety in mathematics) for adolescents enrolled in three distinct schooling tracks. Questionnaires were administered to 111 learning disabled (LD), 224 average (AV) and 258 talented students (TA). Some differences among groups were found on students’ perceptions of teacher behavior as measured by the Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction, and on motivational beliefs assessed by the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire. Overall, the results show that perceptions of teacher proximity and influence have implications for AV and TA motivation, but are not significant in students with learning disabilities. The findings are discussed with special attention given to LD and TA.