This study explored qualitative and quantitative differences in driving instructors’ approaches to teaching, in relation to a short literature review on the nature of driving, driver training and the approaches teachers use. Differences in driving instructors’ teaching approaches were explored through a questionnaire/interview survey of 36 Australian instructors, involving a series of open-ended questions, plus Prosser and Trigwell’s Approaches to Teaching Inventory (ATI). Both the open-ended responses and the ATI ratings indicated that instructors generally adopted a mixture of teaching approaches, suggesting they fluctuated on a continuum between the two focuses. While the instructors were highly consistent with respect to aspects of student focused teaching (e.g. their teaching intentions and strategies), by contrast, they exhibited many inconsistent patterns when considering their non-student focused teaching. It is considered that some work needs to be undertaken on the original ATI to enable it to be successfully applied in varied teaching contexts. Recommendations are also made on the professional development needs of driving instructors. (Author/publisher)
Abstract