Analysis of Teachers’ Roles and Skills in Teaching English in Colleges and Universities under the Rasch Model

Abstract

Abstract The proficiency of English teachers in accurately understanding their roles and employing diverse teaching skills is crucial for enhancing the quality of English instruction. This study utilizes the Rasch model, a component of the Item Response Theory (IRT), to develop assessment scales aimed at evaluating English teachers’ role orientation and teaching skill levels. We selected 267 English teachers from higher education institutions in X province as participants. The assessment instruments, designed around these scales, were disseminated via the Questionnaire Star platform and analyzed using Excel and SPSS software. This research examines the application of the Rasch model in assessing the role orientation and teaching skills of English teachers. It specifically investigates the scales’ unidimensionality, goodness of fit, and scoring quality across various levels. The results from the unidimensionality test of teachers’ role orientation skills yielded weighted fit values ranging from 0.90 to 0.97, with logit results for teachers’ role orientation skills spanning from -2.065 to 4.651. Furthermore, the loadings for teacher skill levels remained within the acceptable range of ±0.6. Interestingly, the discrepancy between the logit values of the strictest and most lenient teacher raters was significantly smaller (1.189 logits) compared to that of student raters, which was 2.562 logits. The findings suggest that employing the Rasch model to analyze English teachers’ role orientation and skill levels can significantly support the enhancement of teachers’ capability to grasp their educational roles and improve their teaching skills.