Teacher Immediacy Scales: Testing for Validity Across Cultures

Abstract

Cross-cultural validity of teacher immediacy scales is a constant concern in instructional communication research. The present study examines the validity of two existing teacher immediacy scales: the Revised Nonverbal Immediacy Measure (RNIM) and the Chinese Teacher Immediacy Scale (CTIS) in U.S., Chinese, German, and Japanese cultures. Results of confirmatory factor analysis and Pearson correlation provide evidence for the validity of both the RNIM and the CTIS. Overall, both scales are found to have adequate factorial, construct, convergent, and discriminant validity pan-culturally and within culture, despite some slight variations across cultures. Implications and future directions are also addressed.