Teacher-student interpersonal behaviour in secondary mathematics classes in Indonesia.

This study was aimed at describing profiles of interpersonal behavior of Indonesian mathematics teachers and examining associations between students’ perceptions of their mathematics teachers’ interpersonal behavior and their motivation in learning mathematics. Data were collected with the Indonesian version of the Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction (QTI) and Relative Autonomy Scales (RAS). The framework of this study was based on the Model of Interpersonal Behaviour (MITB) that maps teacher conducts in terms of two dimensions: Influence (Dominance-Submission) and Proximity (Cooperation-Opposition). A total of 506 students (grade 7 to 9) from 16 classes in 5 public secondary schools in West Java and Jambi provinces, Indonesia, participated in the study. Analyses were conducted including descriptive, correlational and multilevel analysis. Results from the data analysis showed that: a good reliability and (validity) of the Indonesian QTI was found, teachers’ ratings of their interpersonal behaviour were moderate in class perceptions, but were quite high in teachers’ selfperception in both Proximity and Influence dimensions, associations exist between the two dimensions of interpersonal behaviour and student motivation in learning Mathematics. There was an indication that Indonesian mathematics teachers were generally perceived as directive.