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Abstract
This study investigated the influence of gender, primary subject area, and education level on high school teachers perceptions of their application of student-centered-learning instructional strategies. An original survey was used to evaluate teacher perceptions. The survey contained a short demographic section, 28 items related to perception of application of student-centered-learning instructional strategies, and four items related to perception of school administration and fellow teacher support of these same strategies. Cronbach alpha for the overall instrument was .94, which suggested strong reliability and internal consistency. All core and non-core high school teachers in 13 public school districts in northeast Georgia served as the sample. A total of 470 valid responses were returned, yielding a response rate of 45.6%. Descriptive statistics were used to describe participants overall perceptions of application of student-centered-learning instructional strategies. A series of one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) procedures were used to compare perceptions of teachers based on gender, primary subject area, and education level. No statistically significant difference in teacher perception was found based on gender. No statistically significant difference in teacher perception was found based on education level. A statistically significant difference in teacher perception was found based on primary subject area. Effect size for this difference was -0.32, which indicated a small effect. Correlations were used to determine relationships between teachers perceptions of application of student-centered-learning instructional strategies and perceived school administration and fellow teachers support of these same strategies. A statistically significant positive correlation was found between teachers perception of application of student-centered-learning instructional strategies and perceived school administration support of these same strategies. A statistically significant positive correlation was found between teachers perception of application of student-centered-learning instructional strategies and perceived fellow teacher support of these same strategies.This study adds to literature on teachers perceptions of student-centered-learning instructional strategies. The study indicated that teachers perceived they are using student-centered-learning instructional strategies, and other strategies as well. Teacher education programs and professional development should focus on these strategies in efforts to increase frequency of use of the strategies. Additionally, the study indicated that teachers feel supported by both school administration and fellow teachers in regards to the use of student-centered-learning instructional strategies.