Controlling style, relatedness and cohesion in university students: a six countries comparison

Abstract

The objective of this study was to test a multilevel model about the relationship between teacher’s controlling style, the relatedness and group cohesion in students. In addition, the invariance of the hypothesized model was tested across six countries. The sample was composed of 3178 university students of both sexes, aged between 17 and 63, from six countries of the Iberian Peninsula and South America (Spain, Portugal, Mexico, Colombia, Chile and Brazil). At the group level, results of the multilevel structural equation model showed that the teacher’s controlling style negatively predicts the relatedness, but does not predict the students’ group cohesion significantly. At the individual level, the controlling teaching style does not predict the relatedness, but the relatedness positively predicts group cohesion. Multiple group comparison indicated that the hypothesized model could be considered invariant across six participating countries. The results extend research of this issue, and can have positive effects on the teaching-learning process in the classrooms.