Abstract
Learners’ opinions of their teachers affect student-teacher relationships and outcomes of instruction. In this modern climate of increased skepticism of institutional validation, teachers need to consider how to maintain credibility with their students. Covid-19 has accelerated a distrust in experts and education professionals, who may not actively prove and promote their credibility. In career and technical education (CTE), teachers must exhibit content proficiencies, strong character, and goodwill towards their students. This study sought to describe how teacher demographic characteristics affect their credibility as perceived by their student audiences. Specifically, how do teacher experience length and teacher content relevance background affect perceived credibility. Stimulus and survey methods guided data collection. Participants were provided mock-lesson video treatments and teacher profiles with manipulated demographic descriptors and instructional communication behaviors.
It was found that regardless of teacher demographics, using credibility-inducing teaching behaviors increased perceived credibility. Differences in student age and content backgrounds affected their perceptions of teacher credibility and leniency for more experienced teachers. Teachers with more experience were perceived as more credible and significantly more competent. It was also found that teachers may be able to mitigate low student confidence in their trust and goodwill with supplemental expression of positive intent. The researcher recommended that explicit credibility be incorporated into teacher preparation curriculum and that future research refines the instructional components of the instrument to better understand the effects of certain instructional behavior on credibility.