Cross-cultural study of teacher passivity through the lens of educational transactional analysis

Abstract

PURPOSE: The purpose of the article is to present the research results based on the concept of passivity in accordance with the assumptions of transactional analysis – one of the psychotherapeutic modalities in the humanistic school of thought. Passivity is defined as behaviors that block constructive and solution-oriented actions.

DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: The main research methods included diagnostic surveys and questionnaire techniques. The study used the “Reality of an Educator” questionnaire by Anna Pierzchała (2013). 441 respondents provided their answers from the four countries mentioned above. The differences were identified using the Kruskal–Wallis test, the equivalent of a one-factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) that is commonly used for independent samples.

FINDINGS: The comparative cross-cultural research on teacher passive behaviours indicated significant educational differences between countries. The lowest levels of passivity were reported in Guatemala [1] and the highest in Ukraine. The Hofstede Model of Cultural Dimensions enabled to outline some generic tendencies concerning passive behaviours in the countries studied. Individually reported levels of passivity were bridged with cultural determinants resulting from teachers’ social functioning.

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: The study offers some guidelines for tackling teacher passivity and identifies strategies of enhancing problem-solving skills. The most common passive behaviour across all countries was overadaptation, which underlined the importance of developing teachers’ awareness of interpersonal phenomena from the point of view of transactional analysis.

ORIGINALITY/VALUE: The research presented has not been carried out before and at this stage has an exploratory character, indicating certain interculturally declared patterns and at the same time determining areas for further investigation. Transactional analysis appears to be a useful theoretical construct in the design of cross-cultural comparative studies.