Students ' Problem-Solving Ability. Research Series

Abstract

An interview of 64 students in eight 3rd- and 4th-grade classrooms and an assessment of their teachers ' control orientation were conducted for the purpose of testing the hypothesis that students of autonomy-granting teachers are better means-ends thinkers than those of controlling teachers. Dimensions of students' classroom socialization of particular interest were task demands and interpersonal competence. Aspects of the task demands dimension included following directions and monitoring one's comprehension. The interpersonal dimension included outcomes such as sharing and being helpful. Student competence was assessed with a modified version of Shure and Spivak's (1972) means-ends problem-solving measure. Teacher control orientation, the dependent variable, was assessed with an instrument that reflected the extent to which teachers preferred to be controlling or autonomy-granting with students. Results indicate