Teacher Locus of Control
Item and Biserial Item Correlations
1. When the grades of your students improve‚ it is more likely .30
I+ a. because you found ways to motivate the students‚ or
b. because the students were trying harder to do well.
2. Suppose you had difficulties in setting up learning centers for students in your classroom. Would this probably happen .41
a. because you lacked the appropriate materials‚ or
I- b. because you didn't spend enough time in developing activities to go into the center?
3. Suppose your students did not appear to be benefiting from a more individualized method of instruction. The reason for this would probably be .45
I- a. because you were having some problems managing this type of instruction‚ or
b. because the students in your class were such that they needed a more traditional kind of approach.
4. When a student gets a better grade on his report card than he usually gets‚ is it .38
a. because the student was putting more effort into his schoolwork‚ or
I+ b. because you found better ways of teaching that student?
5. If the students in your class became disruptive and noisy when you left them alone in the room for five minutes‚ would this happen .41
I- a. because you didn't leave them interesting work to do while you were gone‚ or
b. because the students were more noisy that day than they usually are?
6. When some of your students fail a math test‚ it is more likely .31
a. because they weren't attending to the lesson‚ or
I- b. because you didn't use enough examples to illustrate the concept.
7. Suppose you were successful at using learning centers with your class of 30 student. Would this occur .29
I+ a. because you worked hard at It‚ or
b. because your students easily conformed to the new classroom procedure?
8. When a student pulls his or her grade up from a "C" to a "B‚" it is more likely
I+ a. because you came up with an idea to motivate the student or
b. because the student was trying harder to do well.
9 Suppose you are teaching a student a particular concept in arithmetic or math and the student has trouble learning it. Would this happen .43
a. because the student wasn't able to understand it‚ or
b. because you couldn’t explain it very well?
10. When a student does better in school than he usually does‚ is it more likely .36
a. because the student was trying harder or
I+ b. because you tried hard to encourage the student to do better.
11. If you couldn't keep your class quiet‚ it would probably be .51
a. because the students came to school more rowdy than usual‚ or
I- b. because you were so frustrated that you weren't able to settle them down.
12. Suppose a play put on by your class was voted the "Best Class Play of the Year" by students and faculty in your school. Would it be .25
I+ a. because you put in a lot of time and effort as the director‚ or
b. because the students were cooperative?
13. Suppose it were the week before Easter vacation and you were having some trouble
keeping order in your classroom. This would more likely happen .39
I- a. Because you weren't putting extra effort into keeping the students under control‚ or
b. because the students were more uncontrollable than usual.
14. If one of your students couldn't do a class assignment‚ would it be .46
a. because the student wasn’t paying attention during the class lesson‚ or
I- b. because you gave the student an assignment that wasn't on his or her level?
15. Suppose you wanted to teach a series of lessons on Mexico‚ but the lessons didn't turn out as
well as you had expected. This would more likely happen .41
a. because the students weren't that interested in learning about Mexico‚ or
I- b. because you didn't put enough effort into developing the lessons.
16. Suppose a student who does not typically participate in class begins to volunteer his or
her answers. This would more likely happen .22
a. because the student finally encountered a topic of interest to him or her‚ or
I+ b. because you tried hard to encourage the student to volunteer his or her answers.
17. Suppose one of your students cannot remain on task for a particular assignment. Would this be more likely to happen .36
I- a. because you gave the student a task that was somewhat less interesting than most tasks‚ or
b. because the student was unable to concentrate on his or her schoolwork that day?
18. Suppose you were unable to devise an instructional system as requested by the principal‚ which would accommodate the "needs of Individual students" in your class. This would most likely happen .41
a. because there were too many students in your class‚ or
I- b. because you didn't have enough knowledge or experience with individualized instructional programs.
19. If the students in your class perform better than they usually do on a test‚ would this happen .28
a. because the students studied a lot for the test‚ or
I+ b. because you did a good job of teaching the subject area.
20. When the performance of a student in your class appears to be slowly deteriorating‚ it is usually .66
I- a. because you weren’t trying hard enough to motivate him or her‚ or
b. because the student was putting less effort into his or her schoolwork.
21. Suppose a new student was assigned to your class and this student had a difficult time making
friends with his or her classmates. Would it be more likely .51
a. that most of the other students did not make an effort to be friends with the new student‚ or
I- b. that you were not trying hard enough to encourage the other students to be more friendly toward the newcomer?
22. If the student in your class performed better on a standardized achievement test given at the end of the year compared to students you had last year‚ it would probably be .35
I+ a. because you put more effort into teaching this year‚ or
b. because this year’s class of students were somewhat smarter than last year’s.
23. Suppose‚ one day‚ you find yourself reprimanding one of your students more often than usual.
Would this be more likely to happen .25
a. because that student was misbehaving more than usual that day‚ or
I- b. because you were somewhat less tolerant?
24. Suppose one of your underachievers does his her homework better than usual. This would
probably happen or .37
a. because the student tried hard to do the assignment‚ or
I+ b. because you tried hard to explain how to do the assignment.
25. Suppose one of your students began to do better schoolwork than he usually does. Would this happen .37
I+ a. because you put much effort into helping the student do better‚ or
b. because the student was trying harder to do well in school?
*In Rose‚ J.S.‚ & Medway‚ F.J.‚ (1981). Measurement of teachers’ beliefs in their control over student outcome. Journal of Educational Research‚74‚ 185-190.
