Impact of Instructor Characteristics on Changes in Students’ Public Speaking Anxiety

Abstract

This study explores the impact of instructor effectiveness on students’ achievement of course learning objectives. The authors examine how public speaking course instructors affect changes in their students’ speaking anxiety. McCroskey’s (1970) Personal Report of Public Speaking Anxiety was distributed during the first and last weeks of the semester to 1,681 students at a large, public university. A multilevel model was developed to determine whether students with more effective instructors experienced a greater reduction in speaking anxiety. Results indicate that both instructor effectiveness and students’ pre-score on the PRPSA (1970) have a significant effect on change in students’ speaking anxiety.