The Impact of An Effective Communication Course With Enhanced Student Engagement On Communication Skills and Empathic Tendency of Preservice Teachers
The Impact of An Effective Communication Course With Enhanced Student Engagement On Communication Skills and Empathic Tendency of Preservice Teachers
The Impact of An Effective Communication Course With Enhanced Student Engagement On Communication Skills and Empathic Tendency of Preservice Teachers
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ISSN 2147-0901 | e-ISSN 2564-8020
2023 | ÜNİVERSİTEPARK
1. INTRODUCTION
The importance of social and emotional skills in education was highlighted by John Dewey in
1933, having stated that, “There is no education when ideas and knowledge are not
translated into emotion, interest, and volition” (as cited in Demetriou & Nicholl, 2021, p. 189).
Over the past decade, research has similarly indicated that there is a recognition of the need
for a broad educational agenda to develop students, not only in terms of their academic
performance but also their socioemotional competence. This agenda focuses on both
promoting students’ academic achievement and preparing them to communicate effectively
across a diverse and expansive range of opportunities, which can be considered one of the
most critical functions of education (Al-Musalli, 2019; Jennings & Greenberg, 2009;
Pennington et al., 2020). Accordingly, today’s teaching profession has become more socially
and emotionally demanding compared to the past (Jennings, 2011). Teachers are now
expected to be socially and emotionally competent in order to create a positive classroom
climate and to establish and foster healthy relationships with their students. Within this
perspective, communication and empathy have become crucial skills that an effective and
competent teacher must develop.
While empathy and communication training is necessary and beneficial for almost every
profession, those working in many human-facing fields are in particular need for this type of
training (Dökmen, 1988). For example, doctors, nurses, dentists, accountants, and engineers
are some of the professions in which communication plays a vital role (Cheraghi et al., 2021;
Moura et al., 2021; Özyürek, 2012; Riemer, 2007; Üstün, 2005). Another such profession is
teaching, as its actors encounter multiple communication exchanges every working day with
their students, as well as with other teachers, school administrators, and parents (Çalışkan &
Ayık, 2015). As a necessary constituent of teacher effectiveness, effective communication is
considered as important as content knowledge in defining the effectiveness of their teaching
(Okoli, 2017). As the essence of education is communication, a critical foundation for teaching
requires a solid grasp of core communication concepts, with an inadequate foundation
potentially putting students’ learning at risk (Hunt et al., 2002). Empathy is a powerful
communication skill and one of the most important teacher competencies for the holistic
development of students. Empathy is an essential skill that teachers need to develop in order
to cope with the difficulties that students face in learning and to ensure the emotional well-
being of their students (Hardee, 2003; Sezen-Balçıkanlı, 2009). Research indicates that
enhancing teacher empathy is one of the key ways to improve school culture (Barr, 2010),
student learning (Arghode et al., 2013), student motivation (Waxman, 1983), and the social
and moral development of students (Eisenberg et al., 1991). As such, the educational field has
begun to see the importance of incorporating empathy into the preparation of future
teachers (Bouton, 2016). Furthermore, communication research has similarly indicated that
teachers’ communication behaviors have a strong relationship with instructional outcomes,
student motivation, as well as affect toward the instructor, course content, and the overall
course (Anderson et al., 1981; McCroskey et al., 2006). Hence, within this framework, it can
be asserted that training teachers in the skills associated with communication and empathy
should form an essential element of their initial preservice teacher training.
With a specific focus on communication training, the Effective Communication course
formed part of Turkey’s revised teacher education program implemented at the start of the
2006-2007 academic year. The Effective Communication course forms a constituent part of
different teacher education programs in Turkey, either as a compulsory or an elective
Figure 1. Student engagement model (Burns et al., 2004; Groccia & Hunter, 2012, as cited in
Groccia, 2018, p. 15)
This concept of student engagement in the model illustrated in Figure 1 puts forth how
learners can be engaged during their academic experience, through teaching and learning,
and through research with the community, students, and faculty. Moreover, the model works
on three levels, cognitive, affective, and behavioral, upon which student engagement can
occur within the specified six dimensions. According to the model, engagement with faculty
and staff can be boosted by creating opportunities both in and outside of the class. To
enhance engagement with other learners, it is first necessary to help students build
community with others in various facilities, such as through learning teams or academic clubs.
2. METHOD
To examine the impact of the Effective Communication course with enhanced student
engagement on preservice teachers’ communication skills and empathic tendencies, the
current study adopted the embedded mixed-methods design, in which one or more forms of
data are nested within a larger design (Creswell, 2014). The study was based on the one-
group pretest–posttest design, whereby a single group was measured both before and after
being exposed to the treatment (Fraenkel & Wallen, 2003). Within the experiment of the
study, qualitative data were collected after the experiment had concluded. The independent
variable of the study was the 14 weeks of the Effective Communication course with enhanced
student engagement, whereas the dependent variables were the communication skills and
empathic tendency levels of preservice teachers.
2.1. Participants
The study group consisted of 70 preservice teachers enrolled to the Department of
Foreign Language Education at a public university in Turkey for the 2019-2020 academic year.
The study group was chosen using the criterion sampling method, one of the purposive
sampling methods, whereby participants were selected according to predetermined criteria
(Gezer, 2021) of having been enrolled to the Effective Communication course. Two distinct
For the qualitative data analysis, content analysis was performed to group similar data
according to concepts and themes, and the data were interpreted through its organization in
an understandable way. Data were analyzed according to the following steps: coding,
generating themes, organizing codes and themes, and defining and interpreting findings
(Yıldırım & Şimşek, 2011). After the researchers had each individually created codes and
themes, they were compared and organized to ensure consistency for the purpose of the
study’s dependability. The findings were defined and presented in tabular format with sample
answers using codes in order to preserve the participants’ anonymity.
3. RESULTS
In line with the first and second sub-problems of the study, the paired samples t-test was
performed to investigate whether or not the preservice teachers’ communication skills and
empathic tendency levels significantly differed prior to and following completion of the
Table 2. Paired samples t-test results for differences between pretest and posttest scores
Variable Test n S df t p d
Pretest 70 102.23 9.72
Communication skills 69 -1.690 .10 -
Posttest 70 105.06 9.93
Pretest 70 70.15 7.11
Empathic tendency 69 -2.249 .03 .40
Posttest 70 72.95 7.01
As Table 2 shows, the preservice teachers’ posttest scores ( = 105.06) were higher than
their pretest scores ( = 102.23) in terms of communication skills. Although their
communication skills had increased by the end of the course, the difference between their
pretest and posttest scores was not found to be statistically significant (t(69) = -1.690 p > .05).
Based on the maximum and minimum scores obtainable from the scale, it was determined
that the preservice teachers’ level in terms of communication skills was “high” prior to taking
the course, whilst their level was much closer to “quite high” after having attended the
course.
Findings concerning the participants’ empathic tendency indicate that their posttest
scores ( = 72.95) were higher than their pretest scores ( = 70.15), and that the difference
(t(69) = -2.249, p < .05) was found to be statistically significant. Cohen’s d was calculated to
interpret the effect size and was found to be small. Based on the maximum and minimum
scores for the scale, the preservice teachers’ empathic tendency level was shown to be “high”
both before and after taking the course.
In line with the third sub-problem of the study, qualitative data were analyzed to examine
the participant preservice teachers’ opinions on the impact of the Effective Communication
course carried out with enhanced student engagement. The findings are presented in Table 3.
The findings showed that 67 of the preservice teachers believed that the Effective
Communication course had a significant impact on them, while three of them believed that
the course did not make any difference. The expressions written by some of the participant
preservice teachers regarding the effectiveness of the course are as follows:
I think the course positively influenced me as I realized my mistakes in my daily
life. I now understand how behaviors that seem to be unimportant can influence
our lives. The course had such a real effect on me that my behaviors changed. The
course contributed to my personal development. (Preservice teacher [PST]-17)
The course created a difference. My point of view towards life and people has
changed. I believe that I gained experience about life and also about others. I
learned how effective communication is established and maintained. (PST-31)
Table 4 indicates that according to the preservice teachers, the Effective Communication
course contributed the most to their knowledge about communication. Within this
framework, their knowledge regarding teacher and student communication was the most
frequently highlighted contribution of the course. Two of the participants’ opinions are as
follows:
This was the most productive and enjoyable pedagogy course I’ve ever taken. It
answered the question, ‘How can I be more constructive in communication?’, and
I also learned what body language and gestures mean in communication. (PST-30)
DECLARATIONS
Author Contributions: The authors contributed equally to the study.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no potential for conflict of interest with respect to
the research, authorship, and/or publication of the article.
Funding: No funding was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of the
article.
Ethical Approval: Ethical procedures for research performed with human subjects were
undertaken in accordance with the IRB (International Review Board) guidelines. The process
was conducted considering the participants’ voluntariness, anonymity, and informed consent.
Data Availability Statement: The data that supports the findings of this study are available
from the corresponding author upon request.
Acknowledgments: None.
Gülgün Alpan: Department of Educational Sciences, Gazi Faculty of Education, Gazi University,
Ankara, Turkey.
Email: bangir@gazi.edu.tr
ORCID ID: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4652-7652
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