This is a sel -a chi ed e sion o an o iginal a icle. This e sion
may di e om he o iginal in pagina ion and ypog aphic de ails.
Au ho (s):
Ti le:
Yea :
Ve sion:
Copy igh :
Righ s:
Righ s u l:
Please ci e he o iginal e sion:
CC BY 4.0
h ps://c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by/4.0/
Teaching p ac ices media ing he e ec o eache s’ psychological s ess, and no
physiological on hei isual ocus o a en ion
© 2023 he Au ho s
Published e sion
Chaudhu i, Saswa i; Jõgi, Anna-Liisa; Paka inen, Eija; Le kkanen, Ma ja-K is iina
Chaudhu i, S., Jõgi, A.-L., Paka inen, E., & Le kkanen, M.-K. (2023). Teaching p ac ices media ing
he e ec o eache s’ psychological s ess, and no physiological on hei isual ocus o
a en ion. F on ie s in Educa ion, 8, A icle 1283701.
h ps://doi.o g/10.3389/ educ.2023.1283701
2023
F on ie s in Educa ion 01 on ie sin.o g
Teaching p ac ices media ing he
e ec o eache s’ psychological
s ess, and no physiological on
hei isual ocus o a en ion
Saswa iChaudhu i
1
*, Anna-LiisaJõgi
2, EijaPaka inen
1,3 and
Ma ja-K is iinaLe kkanen
1
1 Depa men o Teache Educa ion, Uni e si y o Jy äskylä, Jy äskylä, Finland, 2 School o Educa ion,
Tallinn Uni e si y, Tallinn, Es onia, 3 No wegian Cen e o Lea ning En i onmen and Beha io al
Resea ch in Educa ion, Uni e si y o S a ange , S a ange , No way
The aim o he p esen s udy was o in es iga e he associa ion be ween eache s’
(N  =  53) physiological and psychological s ess and hei isual ocus o a en ion
as well as he media ing e ec o eaching p ac ices on his associa ion in
au hen ic class oom se ings. Da a we e collec ed using mul imodal me hods
o measu emen : sali a y co isol le els o physiological s ess, a sel - epo ed
ques ionnai e o psychological s ess, obse ed eaching p ac ices du ing one
school day, and eye- acking ideo eco dings o class oom eache s du ing one
lesson o eache s’ isual ocus o a en ion. The esul s showed ha nei he
eache s’ physiological no psychological s ess was di ec ly ela ed o hei
isual ocus o a en ion. Howe e , using mo e child-cen e ed eaching p ac ices
compa ed wi h eache -di ec ed ones was ela ed o a highe numbe o ixa ions
on s uden s, longe o al ixa ion du a ion, and mo e indi idualized dis ibu ion
o isual ocus o a en ion on s uden s. Teache ’s eaching p ac ices media ed
he e ec o eache s’ psychological s ess on hei ixa ion coun s on s uden s
and dis ibu ion o isual ocus o a en ion. The esul s sugges ha eaching
p ac ices a e ela ed o he isual a en ion eache s’ gi e o s uden s and ha
eache s’ s ess a ec s hei isual ocus o a en ion h ough eaching p ac ices.
The p ac ical implica ions o his s udy sugges ha eache s should ecei e
aining and suppo o ecognize hei s ess le el and i s associa ion wi h hei
eaching.
KEYWORDS
eache s ess, eaching p ac ices, eache isual ocus o a en ion, co isol,
eye- acking, G ade 1
1 In oduc ion
Teache s need o manage se e al unp edic able class oom si ua ions and he demands
a ising om hem du ing he school day. Acco dingly, eache s need o gi e immedia e isual
ocus o a en ion and in e ac wi h s uden s in ol ed in hese si ua ions o assess hei lea ning-
ela ed needs and beha io s. I has been epo ed ha eache s’ pe cep ions o hei wo k- ela ed
s ess a e linked o he way hey in e ac wi h s uden s. Fo ins ance, when eache s a e highly
s essed, hey end o o e less emo ional suppo o s uden s and show lowe quali y o
class oom o ganiza ion (Pen inen e al., 2020). They also gi e less indi idualized isual ocus
o a en ion o he s uden s (Chaudhu i e  al., 2022a). Fu he mo e, eache s who epo
OPEN ACCESS
EDITED BY
Ch is ian Kosel,
Technical Uni e si y o Munich, Ge many
REVIEWED BY
No a McIn y e,
Uni e si y o Sou hamp on, Uni edKingdom
And eas Gegen u ne ,
Uni e si y o Augsbu g, Ge many
Syl ia Gabel,
Uni e si y o Augsbu g, Augsbu g, in
collabo a ion wi h e iewe AG
*CORRESPONDENCE
Saswa i Chaudhu i
[email p o ec ed]
RECEIVED 26 Augus 2023
ACCEPTED 06 No embe 2023
PUBLISHED 22 No embe 2023
CITATION
Chaudhu i S, Jõgi A-L, Paka inen E and
Le kkanen M-K (2023) Teaching p ac ices
media ing he e ec o eache s’ psychological
s ess, and no physiological on hei isual
ocus o a en ion.
F on . Educ. 8:1283701.
doi: 10.3389/ educ.2023.1283701
COPYRIGHT
© 2023 Chaudhu i, Jõgi, Paka inen and
Le kkanen. This is an open-access a icle
dis ibu ed unde he e ms o he C ea i e
Commons A ibu ion License (CC BY). The
use, dis ibu ion o ep oduc ion in o he
o ums is pe mi ed, p o ided he o iginal
au ho (s) and he copy igh owne (s) a e
c edi ed and ha he o iginal publica ion in his
jou nal is ci ed, in acco dance wi h accep ed
academic p ac ice. No use, dis ibu ion o
ep oduc ion is pe mi ed which does no
comply wi h hese e ms.
TYPE O iginal Resea ch
PUBLISHED 22 No embe 2023
DOI 10.3389/ educ.2023.1283701
Chaudhu i e al. 10.3389/ educ.2023.1283701
F on ie s in Educa ion 02 on ie sin.o g
expe iencing less s ess end o gi e mo e a en ion o s uden s’
indi idual lea ning expe iences, espond mo e o s uden s’ needs, and
use less eac i e class oom managemen s a egies (Clunies-Ross e al.,
2008; Tu ne and Thielking, 2019).
Unp edic able si ua ions o en occu du ing eaching in au hen ic
class oom se ings and i migh bedemanding o eache s o gi e
immedia e isual ocus o a en ion o s uden s in o de o no ice
ele an in o ma ion and moni o momen - o-momen changes in
s uden s’ lea ning- ela ed beha io s (Van den Boge e al., 2014).
Acco dingly, eache s need o adjus hei eaching p ac ices and
p o ide adap i e pedagogical suppo based on he needs o hei
s uden s (Seidel e al., 2021). Howe e , wea e a om unde s anding
how eache s’ s ess is ela ed o hei eaching p ac ices and class oom
beha io owa d s uden s. P e iously, labo a o y-based s udies ha e
shown ha ela ionships exis be ween s ess and cogni ion, and isual
gaze beha io and s ess. Fo ins ance, Buchanan e al. (2006), a gued
ha physiological s ess can nega i ely in luence cogni ion in e ms o
memo y esponses in a wo d ecall es . In addi ion, Va heue e al.
(2021) a gued ha an indi idual ypically shows isual gaze a oidance
du ing a s ong co isol esponse in socially s ess ul si ua ions. The
esea che s o he men ioned s udy ha e wa an ed he use o
eye- acking o de ec he e ec s o s ess on social
in e ac ion si ua ions.
Simila ly, eaching in ol es social in e ac ions be ween eache s
and s uden s whe eby he eache mus encou age s uden ’s
pa icipa ion, manage challenging s uden beha io s, and moni o
academic de elopmen s among o he social ac i i ies in au hen ic
class oom se ings. P e ious esea ch has shown ha eache s’ high
wo k- ela ed s ess is associa ed wi h less indi idualized isual ocus
o a en ion on s uden s in au hen ic class oom se ings (Chaudhu i
e al., 2022a). In addi ion, Jŏgi e al. (2023a) showed ha he e we e
no ela ionships be ween physiological s ess and posi i e a ec in
au hen ic class oom se ings. Howe e , eache s’ sel -e icacy belie s
we e ela ed o lowe s ess and highe posi i e a ec in he middle o
he school day. Fu he mo e, Jõgi e al. (2023b) showed ha eache s’
physiological s ess did no ha e an e ec on eache s’ eaching
p ac ices o s uden ’s lea ning ou comes. Howe e , Jõgi e al. (2023b)
a gued ha eache s wi h lowe sel - epo ed s ess used ela i ely
mo e child-cen e ed eaching p ac ices han eache -di ec ed ones.
The p esen s udy is di e en om he p e iously conduc ed s udies
as wea e in es iga ing how eache s’ psychological (sel - epo ed) and
physiological (co isol le els) s ess in he class oom a e ela ed o
eache s’ isual ocus o a en ion in au hen ic class oom se ings and
whe he eache ’s eaching p ac ices media e his associa ion.
1.1 Teache s’ s ess
Teaching is a s ess ul occupa ion due o high p essu e and many
demands, no el asks, and ecu ing p oblems which need o besol ed
in he class oom (Johnson e  al., 2005; B ough on, 2010). Many
eache s expe ience he eeling ha hey do no ha e enough ime and
esou ces o do hei wo k he way hey wan o (Aulén e al., 2021).
In addi ion, dis up i e s uden beha io s (Clunies-Ross e al., 2008)
o less suppo i e leade ship cause s ain in he eaching en i onmen
(Skaal ik and Skaal ik, 2009). The e o e, eache s ypically epo
highe le els o s ess han many o he p o essionals (Aloe e al., 2014;
He man e al., 2020). S ess is ha m ul, as highe s ess is linked o
g ea e bu nou (e.g., Poge e e  al., 2019) and highe u no e
in en ions among eache s (Skaal ik and Skaal ik, 2011; Madigan and
Kim, 2021). Fu he mo e, s essed eache s also use ewe child-
cen e ed eaching p ac ices in he class oom (Jõgi e al., 2023b) and
ha e poo e ela ionships wi h hei s uden s (Ald up e al., 2018).
Howe e , less is known abou how eache s ess and eaching
p ac ices a e associa ed wi h hei isual ocus o a en ion
while eaching.
Teache s ess can be ca ego ized as a subjec i e expe ience
(psychological s ess) o a physiological s ess. The la e can
beobjec i ely assessed while he o me , which is o en based on sel -
a ings, is a subjec i e e alua ion o challenges in he eaching
en i onmen and an indi idual’s abili ies o cope wi h hese (Schlo z,
2019; Becke e al., 2022). In he p esen s udy, eache s’ physiological
s ess was measu ed by sali a y co isol, he mos sui able way o
collec co isol samples non-in asi ely in ambula o y se ings.
Co isol is eleased in he body h ough he hypo halamic–pi ui a y–
ad enal axis when a pe son ge s in o a s ess ul si ua ion and he
sympa he ic ne ous sys em is ac i a ed (Kudielka e al., 2012). Highe
day ime co isol le els a e cha ac e is ic o people unde ch onic s ess
(Mille e al., 2007) and can bea isk ac o o se e al psychological
and physiological mal unc ions, o example, inc eased anxie y o
supp ession o he immune sys em (Ch ousus, 2009). Recen esea ch
esul s sugges ha sel - epo ed s ess and physiological s ess a e wo
di e en ace s o s ess ha migh no beco ela ed (Ka z e al., 2016;
Becke e al., 2022). The e o e, in he cu en s udy, bo h indica o s o
s ess we e in es iga ed o ob ain a mo e comple e pic u e o eache s’
s ess- ela ed expe iences a wo k—including bo h he physiological
and psychological measu es o s ess.
1.2 Teaching p ac ices
The de elopmen o p ima y school s uden s’ academic skills and
mo i a ion depend on p ac ices hei eache s choose o use
(Le kkanen e al., 2012, 2016; Kikas e al., 2018; Paka inen and Kikas,
2019; Tang e al., 2022). Teache s di e in e ms o he eaching
p ac ices hey deploy in he class oom (Le kkanen e al., 2016; Tang
e al., 2017; Kikas e al., 2018). A common heo e ical amewo k o
s udying eaching p ac ices is ea ing hem as child-cen e ed and
eache -di ec ed ones, which ha e oo s in cons uc i ism and
beha io ism, espec i ely (Daniels and Shumow, 2003; S ipek and
Byle , 2004). Child-cen e ed eaching p ac ices emphasize child en’s
ac i e pa icipa ion, add essing child en’s needs, in e es s, and
ini ia i es, and eache ’s ac i e sca olding o child en’s lea ning.
Teache s using eache -di ec ed p ac ices ypically gi e he same
ins uc ion and asks o all s uden s and emphasize co ec answe s
a he han he lea ning p ocess (S ipek and Byle , 2004). In p ac ice,
mos eache s employ bo h child-cen e ed and eache -di ec ed
p ac ices depending on he goal o lea ning ask, bu eache s di e in
he a io o using one o ano he (Daniels and Shumow, 2003).
Subsequen ly, du ing eaching, eache s’ isual ocus o a en ion
owa d s uden s in he class oom can a y based on s uden - ela ed
ac o s such s uden s’ basic academic skills, indi idual suppo o
s uden s in basic academic skills, and s uden s’ beha io owa d he
eache (Goldbe g e al., 2021; Chaudhu i e al., 2022b). Al hough
se e al s udies ha e examined he ole o eaching p ac ices in s uden
ou comes, less is known how eaching p ac ices a e associa ed wi h
Chaudhu i e al. 10.3389/ educ.2023.1283701
F on ie s in Educa ion 03 on ie sin.o g
eache s’ isual ocus o a en ion while eaching. I is no ewo hy ha
al hough bo h eaching p ac ices and eache s’ isual ocus o a en ion
a e measu ed om au hen ic class oom se ings, ye , hey a e wo
di e en cons uc s. Teaching p ac ices measu e he a io o child-
cen e ed e sus eache -di ec ed p ac ices based on he lea ning ask
whe eas eache s’ isual ocus o a en ion measu es eache s’
class oom beha io in e ms o du a ion o isual gaze owa d s uden s
du ing eaching.
1.3 Teache isual ocus o a en ion
Teache isual ocus o a en ion has been de ined as he eache ’s
gaze on ele an a ge s in he class oom, such as s uden s, o p ocess
in o ma ion ela ed o hei lea ning and beha io du ing eaching in
au hen ic class oom se ings ( an den Boge e  al., 2014). The
class oom is an in o ma ion-dense en i onmen in which mul iple
un o eseen si ua ions a ise ha equi e he eache ’s immedia e isual
a en ion. Despi e he un o eseen demands in he class oom
en i onmen , eache s need o no ice s uden s in o de o assess hei
lea ning- ela ed beha io s and adjus hei ins uc ion acco dingly
(Ja odzka e al., 2021).
P e ious esea ch has shown ha all s uden s in a class oom
ecei e he eache ’s isual a en ion; howe e , he amoun o i a ies
(Dessus e al., 2016). The e a e many s uden - ela ed ac o s, such as
academic skill le els and class oom beha io , ha can de e mine he
amoun o eache isual ocus o a en ion owa d s uden s. Fo
ins ance, eache s di ec a longe isual ocus o a en ion o s uden s
wi h poo basic academic skill le els in o de o p o ide mo e
indi idual and adap i e pedagogical suppo o he s uden s (Seidel
e al., 2021; Chaudhu i e al., 2022b). Fu he mo e, eache s di ec
longe isual ocus o a en ion o s uden s showing mo e in e ac i e,
dis up i e, and o - ask beha io du ing a lesson (Yamamo o and
Imai-Ma sumu a, 2013; Goldbe g e al., 2021; Shinoda e al., 2021). In
addi ion, eache - ela ed ac o s, such as pe cei ed s ess a wo k, can
a ec hei isual ocus o a en ion in he class oom. Fo example,
highe eache s’ s ess in e ms o hei pe cei ed inadequacy is
associa ed wi h less indi idualized isual ocus o a en ion on
s uden s in he class oom (Chaudhu i e al., 2022a). In summa y, he e
is e idence ha eache s’ pe cep ion o s ess can be ela ed o hei
class oom beha io in e ms o isual ocus o a en ion on s uden s.
Howe e , li le is known abou he way eache s’ physiological and
psychological s ess a e ela ed o eache s’ isual ocus o a en ion
h ough hei eaching p ac ices.
1.4 Aim o he s udy
We expand on he p e ious indings by add essing h ee impo an
issues. Fi s , wea e a om unde s anding how eache s’ physiological
and psychological s esses a e ela ed o he way hey alloca e hei
isual ocus o a en ion in he class oom. Second, he ole ha
eaching p ac ices play in eache s’ isual ocus o a en ion has been
less in es iga ed. Thi d, i is unclea whe he eaching p ac ices
media e he associa ion be ween eache s’ s ess and isual ocus o
a en ion. Weused mul imodal da a collec ion me hods o inc ease
he ecological alidi y s ongly ecommended in eache s’ well-being
esea ch (F ancis e  al., 2017; Hasche and Wabe , 2021). Ou
heo e ical model is p esen ed in Figu e1, and ou speci ic esea ch
ques ions (RQ) and hypo heses (H) a e he ollowing:
RQ1: To wha ex en a e eache s’ physiological and psychological
s esses ela ed o hei isual ocus o a en ion in he class oom?
H1: We expec ed ha highe physiological and psychological
s ess would be ela ed o less indi idualized dis ibu ion o isual
ocus o a en ion and ewe a en ion ixa ions on s uden s
(Chaudhu i e al., 2022a).
RQ2: To wha ex en a e eache s’ eaching p ac ices ela ed o
hei isual ocus o a en ion in he class oom?
H2: We expec ed ha using mo e child-cen e ed p ac ices
compa ed wi h eache -di ec ed ones is ela ed o mo e
indi idualized dis ibu ion o isual ocus o a en ion and mo e
ixa ions on s uden s (Goldbe g e al., 2021; Seidel e al., 2021).
RQ3: Do eaching p ac ices media e he e ec o eache s’ s ess
on hei isual ocus o a en ion?
H3: We expec ed ha eache s’ highe physiological and
psychological s ess would be ela ed o hei isual ocus o
a en ion in he class oom h ough employing less child-cen e ed
eaching p ac ices compa ed wi h eache -di ec ed ones
(Chaudhu i e al., 2022a; Jõgi e al., 2023b).
2 Me hods
2.1 Pa icipan s
In he p esen s udy, 53 eache s (3 males) eaching G ade 1 om
31 schools and se en municipali ies o Cen al Finland loca ed in bo h
u al and u ban a eas pa icipa ed. The eache s epo ed hei wo k
expe ience in yea s (M
exp
= 16.07, SD = 9.43, Min
exp
= 0.5, Max
exp
= 39)
and hei class size (M
cs
= 19.3, SD = 4.34, Min
cs
= 7, Max
cs
= 25). The
da a used in he s udy we e pa o a la ge p ojec ha ocused on he
ole o eache and s uden s ess on eache –s uden in e ac ions in
FIGURE1
Theo e ical model hypo hesized in he s udy.
Chaudhu i e al. 10.3389/ educ.2023.1283701
F on ie s in Educa ion 04 on ie sin.o g
he class oom (Le kkanen and Paka inen, 2021). The s udy was
app o ed by he uni e si y e hics commi ee be o e he da a collec ion
began, and i was de e mined o bein line wi h he Finnish Na ional
Boa d on Resea ch In eg i y (TENK, 2012). Teache s we e in o med
ha pa icipa ion in he s udy was olun a y. Teache s, as well as hei
s uden s’ pa en s, ga e w i en consen o hei pa icipa ion p io o
da a collec ion.
2.2 Measu es
2.2.1 Teache s’ physiological s ess
We used sali a co isol as eache s’ physiological s ess indica o .
Teache s we e asked o gi e six sali a samples du ing wo wo king
days: a awakening, 30 and 45 min a e awakening, a 10:00 a.m., a
he end o he school day a app oxima ely 12:00–1:00 p.m., and be o e
bed ime. Sali e e® Co isol swabs (Sa s ed , Nümb ech , Ge many)
we e used o collec ing sali a samples. Samples we e assayed by
Co isol Luminescence Immunoassay (CLIA RE62011; IBL
In e na ional Co p.) in D esden LabSe ice GmbH, Ge many.
Acco ding o ou p o ocol, a co isol sample was excluded i he
eache had ea en wi hin 30 min be o e sampling o had been ill on he
sampling day. Wealso excluded co isol samples wi h concen a ions
la ge han 73 nmoL/L as physiologically implausible (Mille
e al., 2013).
In he cu en s udy, weused samples om wo ime poin s du ing
o a e he lessons, a 10:00 a.m. and a app oxima ely 12:00–1:00 p.m.
Fo bo h samples, co isol le els om wo sampling days we e
a e aged (Wol e al., 2008; Massey e al., 2016). Highe co isol le els
ha e been in e p e ed as indica ing highe physiological s ess (Mille
e al., 2007; Be y e al., 2014).
2.2.2 Teache s’ psychological s ess
An adap ed e sion o Ge is’s Pa en al S ess In en o y (Ge is
e al., 1993; Paka inen e al., 2010) was used o measu e eache s’
eaching- ela ed psychological s ess. The sel - epo ed ques ionnai e
consis ed o h ee i ems abou eaching- ela ed s ess (e.g., “I ha e a
lo mo e p oblems in guiding he child en han Iexpec ed.”; “I o en
eel guil y o inadequa e when hinking abou wha kind o eache
Iam.” and “I some imes eel ha guiding child en is an o e whelming
ask o me.”; C onbach’s alpha = 0.76.) which we e a ed on a 5-poin
Like scale (1 = “Does no apply o me a all” and 5 = “Applies o me
e y well”). The a e age sco e o he h ee i ems was calcula ed and
used as a psychological s ess indica o .
2.2.3 Teache s’ eaching p ac ices
Teaching p ac ices we e measu ed using he Ea ly Childhood
Class oom Obse a ion Measu e (ECCOM; S ipek and Byle , 2004;
Tang e al., 2017). Teache s employing child-cen e ed and eache -
di ec ed p ac ices in hei class ooms we e a ed by ained esea ch
assis an s om h ee ideo- eco ded lessons o 45 min om one
school day. The dimensions o eaching p ac ices we e assessed based
on h ee subscales: class oom managemen (4 i ems), class oom
clima e (4 i ems), and ins uc ion (7 i ems), a ed on a 5-poin scale
(see Appendix 1 o able showing desc ip ion o subscales). The scale
poin s on each o hese i ems show he pe cen age o ins uc ional
ime eache used child-cen e ed o eache -di ec ed eaching
p ac ices (1 = ‘0–20%’ o ime, 5 = ‘81–100%’ o ime). The mean o all
i ems om all he h ee sub-scales we e used o es ima e child-
cen e ed and eache -di ec ed p ac ices (see also Tang e al., 2017).
P e ious esea ch has shown ha eache s employ child-cen e ed and
eache -di ec ed p ac ices du ing eaching, howe e , one o hese
p ac ices a e ypically domina ing (Daniels and Shumow, 2003; S ipek
and Byle , 2004). Since child-cen e ed and eache -di ec ed p ac ices
o en show s ong nega i e co ela ion such as = −0.89in he p esen
s udy sample, hese dimensions canno be added as indi idual
obse ed a iables in he same s a is ical model due o
mul icollinea i y. Acco dingly, in he p esen s udy, he a io o child-
cen e ed o eache -di ec ed p ac ices was used in he analysis (see
also Le kkanen e al., 2012; Roubino e al., 2020). A a io sco e mo e
han 1 indica ed ha he eache implemen ed mo e child-cen e ed
p ac ices whe eas a a io sco e o less han one mean ha he eache
implemen ed mo e eache -di ec ed p ac ices du ing eaching
(Roubino e al., 2020; Jõgi e al., 2023b). The in e - a e eliabili y was
assessed based on 11 obse a ions ha we e obse ed by wo
obse e s. The e was good ag eemen be ween obse e s (in aclass
co ela ion coe icien ICC[1] = 0.88 o child-cen e ed p ac ices and
ICC[1] = 0.79 o eache -di ec ed p ac ices). Fo u he analyses, one
ou o he wo obse a ions was andomly chosen o each eache .
The mean o all i ems om all he h ee sub-scales we e used o
es ima e child-cen e ed and eache -di ec ed p ac ices (Tang
e al., 2017).
2.2.4 Teache s’ isual ocus o a en ion
Teache s’ isual ocus o a en ion was measu ed using mobile
eye- acking echnology. Teache s wo e Tobii P o Glasses 2 (Tobii
AB, Dande yd, Sweden) o 20–25 min om he beginning o he
second lesson o a no mal school day. The au hen ic class oom
se ing du ing he eye- acking ideo eco ding was ensu ed by
gi ing he eache s eedom o conduc he lesson he way hey
wan ed. The eache s’ eye- acking ideos we e eco ded du ing 20
li e acy lessons, 26 ma h lessons, and ou ac i i y-based lessons.
Fu he mo e, wo ained esea ch assis an s calib a ed he
eye- acking glasses using a one-poin calib a ion be o e eco ding
he eye- acking ideos. The ea e , o ensu e good da a quali y, he
calib a ion was echecked and alida ed by asking he eache o
look a h ee poin s on he wall. Only a e success ul calib a ion did
he esea ch assis an s s a he eye- acking eco ding. A e he
eye- acking ideos we e eco ded, he ixa ions we e il e ed om
he ideo eco dings using he I-VT A en ion il e se ing o he
Tobii P o Lab .1.128 analysis so wa e. The I-VT A en ion il e
was bes sui ed o iden i ying ixa ion me ics, as he pa icipan ’s
physical mo emen s we e no es ic ed while eco ding he
eye- acking ideos. Each eache ’s isual ocus o a en ion was
de e mined based on hei a eas o in e es (AOIs) in he class oom.
The AOIs we e de ined as he a ge s ha he eache looked a in
he eye- acking ideos, such as s uden s, ins uc ional ma e ials
(such as hose ela ed o eaching and lea ning), and
non-ins uc ional ma e ials (such as walls, cu ains, ables, chai s,
e c.). AOI codes ha e been p e iously de e mined and used in p io
esea ch (see Chaudhu i e  al., 2022a,b). Fu he mo e, ained
esea ch assis an s mapped ixa ions on he AOIs iden i ied om
eye- acking ideo eco dings using he Tobii P o Lab .1.128
so wa e, based on whe e he eache ocused hei isual a en ion.
Fo example, eache s’ gaze on an indi idual s uden was shown by
a ed ci cle on he ideo; hen, he esea ch assis an manually

Chaudhu i e al. 10.3389/ educ.2023.1283701
F on ie s in Educa ion 05 on ie sin.o g
mapped he gaze on he espec i e s uden ’s pic u e and iden i ied
i as he eache ’s AOI.
To ensu e in e code eliabili y, double coding was done wi h 20%
o he ideos om he whole da ase , which p o ided a double coding
ag eemen a e age o 90.09%. Once he eye- acking ideo eco dings
we e coded, u he analysis was conduc ed using he eache s’ isual
ocus o a en ion in e ms o he eache s’ o al ixa ion du a ion on
s uden s and ixa ion coun s on s uden s. Fu he mo e, o ensu e good
quali y da a, eye- acking ideo eco dings wi h a gaze sample
pe cen age o 70% and abo e we e selec ed. The gaze sample
pe cen age is de ined as he o al pe cen age o he eco ding du a ion
when one o bo h eyes a e de ec ed by mobile eye- acking glasses.
Acco dingly, h ee ideos om he p esen da ase had o beexcluded
due o a gaze sample pe cen age lowe han 70%. The alues o o al
ixa ion du a ion g ea e han 3 SD we e excluded om he u he
analyses as ou lie s (n = 2).
2.3 P ocedu e
These ques ionnai es we e gi en o he eache s on he same day
hey we e ins uc ed abou he sali a y co isol sampling. The eache s
illed ou he ques ionnai es in hei p e e ed ime. Teaching p ac ices
we e ideo- eco ded on he i s sali a y co isol sampling day by
ained esea ch assis an s. Typically, on he same day as he ideo
eco ding, he eye- acking ideos we e eco ded du ing he second
lesson o he school day.
2.4 Analysis s a egy
In he p esen s udy, ixa ion was de ined as he ime when he
eye was ela i ely s ill and ook inpu om he en i onmen o
in o ma ion p ocessing (Holmq is e  al., 2015). Acco dingly,
eache s’ ixa ion me ics, such as o al ixa ion du a ions and
ixa ion coun s, we e conside ed as indica o s o eache s’ isual
ocus o a en ion and used o u he analysis. Teache s’ o al
ixa ion du a ion can bede ined as he du a ion o ime du ing eye
acking when he eye is ela i ely s ill and p o ides he abili y o
p ocess in o ma ion om he a ge s in he class oom en i onmen
( an den Boge e al., 2014; McIn y e e al., 2017; Goldbe g e al.,
2021; Seidel e al., 2021). Addi ionally, ixa ion coun s can bede ined
as he o al numbe o imes ixa ions occu in an AOI (such as
s uden s) in a gi en ime pe iod du ing an eye- acking eco ding
(Holmq is e  al., 2015). Nex , in o de o es ima e eache s’
dis ibu ion o isual a en ion among s uden s, eache s’ o al
ixa ion du a ion on s uden s was used o calcula e he Gini
coe icien using he Gini package in R (Zhicheng e al., 2021). The
Gini coe icien anged om 0 o 1, whe ein 0 e e ed o an equally
dis ibu ed isual ocus o a en ion on all s uden s and 1 e e ed o
an unequal dis ibu ion, whe ein only one s uden ecei ed all he
isual ocus o a en ion (Co ina e al., 2015). In he class oom
con ex , high eache s’ o al ixa ion du a ion and ixa ion coun s on
a s uden ypically indica e ha he eache is p ocessing in o ma ion
ela ed o s uden cha ac e is ics (Seidel e al., 2021). Acco ding o
Co ina e al. (2015), he high numbe o ixa ion coun s on a s uden
can ypically occu when a eache engages in p o iding eedback o
an indi idual s uden .
Desc ip i e s a is ics and bi a ia e co ela ions we e es ima ed
using IBM SPSS 28.0 (IBM, A monk, NY, USA). Pa h analyses wi h
media ion we e modeled using MPlus 8.8 (Mu hén and Mu hén,
1998–2022). Missing da a was managed h ough a ull in o ma ion
maximum likelihood (FIML) p ocedu e ha allows he inclusion o
all a ailable da a in o he model es ima ion.
In o al, weconduc ed nine pa h analyses wi h eg ession. Fo
each o h ee dependen a iables o isual ocus o a en ion (Gini
coe icien , o al ixa ion du a ion, ixa ion coun s), we es ed h ee
pa h models wi h each o h ee s ess indica o s (psychological s ess,
co isol a 10:00 a.m., co isol a 12:00–1:00 p.m.) and eaching
p ac ices as independen a iables. In all nine models, he di ec pa hs
om s ess and eaching p ac ices o he isual ocus o a en ion
indica o we e es ima ed, and he indi ec pa h om s ess h ough
eaching p ac ices o a en ion was modeled. All nine models we e
iden i ied wi h ze o deg ees o eedom and a pe ec i (Rayko
e al., 2013).
3 Resul s
3.1 Bi a ia e associa ions be ween
eache s’ psychological and physiological
s ess, eaching p ac ices, and isual ocus
o a en ion
The desc ip i e s a is ics o he s udy a iables a e indica ed in
Table1. The bi a ia e co ela ions a e shown in Table2. The highe
sali a y co isol le els o eache s a 10:00 a.m. we e ela ed o hei
highe co isol le els a 12:00–1:00 p.m. All h ee isual ocus o
a en ion indica o s also co ela ed in he expec ed di ec ions. A
highe Gini coe icien was ela ed o sho e o al ixa ion du a ion
TABLE1 Desc ip i e s a is ics o s ess, eaching p ac ices, and isual
ocus o a en ion.
Indica o N M SD Min Max
Psychological
s ess
52 2.16 0.74 1.00 4.00
Physiological s ess
Co isol a
10:00 a.m.
(nmol/l)a
53 2.29 0.55 1.20 4.24
Co isol a
12:00–1:00 p.m.
(nmol/l)a
53 2.15 0.45 1.10 3.48
Teaching
p ac icesb
53 1.33 0.76 0.30 3.70
Visual ocus o a en ion
Gini
coe icien c
49 0.51 0.11 0.29 0.76
To al ixa ion
du a ion (ms)
48 24,935.09 8,117.45 10,629.19 45,437.40
Fixa ion coun s 50 61.65 23.57 27.64 134.00
aCo isol concen a ions a e na u al loga i hm ans o med and agg ega ed o e wo
sampling days. bRa io o child-cen e ed p ac ices o eache -di ec ed ones. cDis ibu ion o
eache s’ isual ocus o a en ion.
Chaudhu i e al. 10.3389/ educ.2023.1283701
F on ie s in Educa ion 06 on ie sin.o g
and lesse ixa ion coun s. A longe ixa ion du a ion was ela ed o
mo e ixa ion coun s. Howe e , no associa ions we e ound be ween
eache s’ psychological and physiological s ess and eache s’ isual
ocus o a en ion indica o s.
Teache s’ p ac ices we e ela ed o hei psychological s ess, as
eache s epo ing lowe s ess used mo e child-cen e ed p ac ices in
he class oom compa ed wi h eache -di ec ed ones. Teaching
p ac ices we e no co ela ed wi h isual ocus o a en ion indica o s
(Table2).
3.2 Teaching p ac ices media ing he
associa ion be ween eache s’
psychological s ess and isual ocus o
a en ion
Nex , we es ed nine sepa a e eg ession models, in each o which
one o h ee s ess indica o s explained one o h ee isual ocus o
a en ion indica o s h ough eache s’ eaching p ac ices (see
Tables 3–5). We ound ha nei he eache s’ psychological no
physiological s ess was di ec ly ela ed o he eache s’ isual ocus o
a en ion, excep in one case. The highe he eache s’ co isol le el in
he middle o he school day, he less a en ion hey paid o s uden s
in he class oom (β = −0.16, p = 0.029; see Table3). The e was a di ec
e ec o eaching p ac ices on he Gini coe icien (dis ibu ion o
eache isual ocus o a en ion) and ixa ion coun s. Teache s’ use o
mo e child-cen e ed eaching p ac ices compa ed wi h eache -
di ec ed ones was ela ed o he mo e indi idualized dis ibu ion o
isual ocus o a en ion (β-s = −0.33 … –0.36, p = 0.001 … 0.007) and
a g ea e numbe o ixa ions o ixa ion coun s on indi idual s uden s
(β-s = 0.39 … 0.46, p < 0.001; see Tables 3–5).
We also es ed he indi ec e ec o eache s’ s ess on isual ocus
o a en ion h ough hei eaching p ac ices. We ound an indi ec
e ec o eache ’s psychological s ess on eache s’ isual ocus o
a en ion h ough hei p ac ices (see Table5). Teaching p ac ices
media e he associa ion be ween eache s’ psychological s ess and
hei dis ibu ion o isual a en ion (β = 0.16, p = 0.034) and numbe
o ixa ions (β = −0.21, p = 0.009). Howe e , he e we e no indi ec
e ec s o eache s’ physiological s ess on eache s’ isual ocus o
a en ion (see Tables 3, 4).
TABLE2 Bi a ia e co ela ions be ween used indica o s.
Indica o 1 2 3 4 5 6
1. Psychological s ess –
Physiological s ess
2. Co isol a 10:00 a.m. (nmol/
l)a
–0.01 –
3. Co isol a 12:00–1:00 p.m.
(nmol/l) a
0.13 0.52*** –
4. Teaching p ac icesb–0.43** –0.05 –0.02 –
Visual ocus o a en ion
5. Gini coe icien c
0.12 0.15 –0.06 0.12 –
6. To al ixa ion du a ion –0.11 –0.20 0.03 –0.11 –0.57*** –
7. Fixa ion coun s –0.13 –0.13 –0.06 –0.13 –0.48*** 0.60***
aCo isol concen a ions a e na u al loga i hm ans o med and agg ega ed o e wo sampling days. bRa io o child-cen e ed p ac ices o eache -di ec ed ones. cDis ibu ion o eache s’ isual
ocus o a en ion. **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001.
TABLE3 Reg ession model showing di ec and indi ec e ec s wi h a iables such as co isol a 10:00  am, isual ocus o a en ion, and eaching
p ac ices.
Visual ocus o a en ion indica o
Gini coe icien c R2  =  0.12 To al ixa ion du a ion
R2  =  0.06
Fixa ion coun s R2  =  0.16
βpβpβp
Di ec e ec s on isual ocus o a en ion
Co isol a 10:00 a.m.a0.10 0.282 −0.16 0.029 −0.09 0.329
Teaching p ac icesb−0.33 0.001 0.18 0.212 0.39 <0.001
Di ec e ec o co isol on
Teaching p ac icesb
−0.04 0.713 −0.04 0.713 −0.04 0.710
Indi ec e ec o co isol a
10:00 a.m. h ough Teaching
p ac ices
0.01 0.724 −0.01 0.735 −0.02 0.719
β, s anda dized eg ession coe icien . p, alue o p. aCo isol concen a ions a e na u al loga i hm ans o med and agg ega ed o e wo sampling days. bTeaching p ac ices- a io child-cen e ed
eaching p ac ices (CC) compa ed wi h eache -di ec ed p ac ices (TD). cDis ibu ion o eache s’ isual ocus o a en ion. Values in bold a e signi ican .
Chaudhu i e al. 10.3389/ educ.2023.1283701
F on ie s in Educa ion 07 on ie sin.o g
4 Discussion
The aim o he p esen s udy was o in es iga e whe he eache s’
physiological s ess, psychological s ess, and eaching p ac ices a e
associa ed wi h eache s’ isual ocus o a en ion and whe he
eache s’ eaching p ac ices media e he e ec o eache s’ s ess on
hei isual ocus o a en ion. The esul s indica ed ha eache s’ use
o mo e child-cen e ed eaching p ac ices compa ed wi h eache -
di ec ed ones was ela ed o mo e indi idualized dis ibu ion o isual
ocus o a en ion and a g ea e numbe o ixa ions on s uden s while
eaching. In addi ion, he eache ’s co isol le els a 10:00 a.m. had a
small, di ec nega i e e ec on he amoun o o al ixa ion du a ion
on s uden s. Fu he mo e, he e was an indi ec e ec o eache s’
psychological s ess on eache s’ isual ocus o a en ion h ough hei
eaching p ac ices.
Fi s , he associa ion be ween eache s’ physiological and
psychological s ess and i s ela ionship wi h eache s’ isual ocus o
a en ion we e in es iga ed. The esul s showed ha mos o he measu es
o eache s’ s ess we e no associa ed wi h he eache s’ isual ocus o
a en ion. In his ega d, ou esul s do no suppo he hypo hesis
expec ing ha highe physiological and psychological s ess is ela ed o
less indi idualized dis ibu ion o isual ocus o a en ion and ewe
ixa ions on s uden s. This issue needs u he in es iga ion.
Second, he associa ion be ween eache s’ eaching p ac ices and
hei isual ocus o a en ion was in es iga ed. The esul s showed ha
he mo e eache s used child-cen e ed eaching p ac ices compa ed
wi h eache -di ec ed ones, he mo e hey indi idualized he
dis ibu ion o isual ocus o a en ion among s uden s and he
g ea e he numbe o ixa ions on s uden s. Teache s using child-
cen e ed eaching p ac ices emphasize child en’s ac i e pa icipa ion,
add ess hei needs, in e es s, and ini ia i es, and ac i ely sca old hei
lea ning. In his ega d, s uden - ela ed ac o s in he class oom play
an impo an ole in guiding eache s’ isual ocus o a en ion du ing
child-cen e ed eaching p ac ices. Fo ins ance, eache s gi e longe
du a ions o isual ocus o a en ion o s uden s showing dis up i e
o in e ac i e beha io (Goldbe g e al., 2021), inc eased hand- aising
beha io o pa icipa e in discussions (Kosel e al., 2023), and poo
pe o mance in basic academic skills (Chaudhu i e  al., 2022b).
The e o e, ou esul s suppo ed he hypo hesis expec ing ha
eache s using mo e child-cen e ed p ac ices compa ed wi h eache -
di ec ed ones is ela ed o mo e indi idualized dis ibu ion o isual
ocus o a en ion and mo e ixa ions on s uden s.
TABLE5 Reg ession model showing di ec and indi ec e ec s wi h a iables such as psychological s ess, isual ocus o a en ion, and eaching
p ac ices.
Visual ocus o a en ion indica o
Gini coe icien b
R2  =  0.12
To al ixa ion du a ion
R2  =  0.04
Fixa ion coun s
R2  =  0.17
βpβpβp
Di ec e ec s on ocus o a en ion
Psychological s ess −0.05 0.745 −0.01 0.988 0.13 0.320
Teaching p ac icesa−0.36 0.007 0.20 0.193 0.46 <0.001
Di ec e ec o s ess on Teaching
p ac icesa
−0.45 <0.001 −0.45 <0.001 −0.45 <0.001
Indi ec e ec o psychological
s ess h ough Teaching p ac ices
0.16 0.034 −0.09 0.236 −0.21 0.009
β, s anda dized eg ession coe icien . p, alue o p. aRa io o child-cen e ed eaching p ac ices compa ed wi h eache -di ec ed p ac ices. bDis ibu ion o eache s’ isual ocus o a en ion.
Values in bold a e signi ican .
TABLE4 Reg ession model showing di ec and indi ec e ec s wi h a iables such as co isol a 12:00–1:00 p.m., isual ocus o a en ion, and
eaching p ac ices.
Visual ocus o a en ion indica o
Gini coe icien c
R2  =  0.12
To al ixa ion du a ion
R2  =  0.04
Fixa ion coun s
R2  =  0.15
βpβpβp
Di ec e ec s on ocus o a en ion
Co isol a 12:00–1:00 p.m.a−0.08 0.555 0.03 0.793 0.00 0.997
Teaching p ac icesb−0.34 0.001 0.19 0.197 0.39 <0.001
Di ec e ec o co isol on
Teaching p ac icesb
−0.05 0.727 −0.05 0.727 −0.05 0.727
Indi ec e ec o co isol a
12:00–1:00 p.m. h ough
Teaching p ac ices
−0.02 0.730 −0.01 0.716 −0.02 0.722
β, s anda dized eg ession coe icien . p, alue o p. aCo isol concen a ions a e na u al loga i hm ans o med and agg ega ed o e wo sampling days. Teaching p ac ices- a io o child-
cen e ed eaching p ac ices compa ed wi h eache -di ec ed p ac ices. cDis ibu ion o eache s’ isual ocus o a en ion. Values in bold a e signi ican .
Chaudhu i e al. 10.3389/ educ.2023.1283701
F on ie s in Educa ion 08 on ie sin.o g
Thi d, he media ing e ec o eache s’ eaching p ac ices on he
associa ion be ween eache s’ s ess and hei isual ocus o a en ion
was in es iga ed. The esul s showed ha eache s’ physiological s ess,
in e ms o hei highe co isol le els a 10:00 a.m., had a small e ec
on hei sho e o al ixa ion du a ion on s uden s. Howe e , he e
was an indi ec e ec o eache s’ psychological s ess on hei isual
ocus o a en ion (dis ibu ion o isual a en ion and ixa ion coun s)
h ough hei eaching p ac ices. In o he wo ds, on a posi i e no e,
less psychological s ess was ela ed o mo e child-cen e ed eaching
p ac ices, which in u n was ela ed o mo e indi idualized
dis ibu ion o isual a en ion and mo e ixa ions on s uden s. I is
plausible ha employing mo e child-cen e ed eaching p ac ices
would in ol e inc eased eache s’ isual a en ion on s uden s o
p o ide indi idual suppo in o de o encou age hei academic and
social skills de elopmen (Chaudhu i e al., 2022b). Howe e , on a
nega i e no e, high psychological s ess could be ela ed o mo e
eache -cen e ed eaching p ac ices, which in u n could be ela ed o
less isual ocus o a en ion on s uden s. This esul is suppo ed by
p e ious esea ch s a ing ha eache s expe iencing high le els o
psychological s ess end o show low quali y o class oom
o ganiza ion, o e less emo ional suppo (Pen inen e al., 2020), and
use less ins uc ional dialogue o suppo s uden s’ highe -o de
hinking skills (Bo iani e al., 2019). The e o e, ou esul s a e in line
wi h he hypo hesis ha eache s’ highe physiological and
psychological s ess is ela ed o hei isual ocus o a en ion in he
class oom and esul ing in employing less child-cen e ed eaching
p ac ices compa ed wi h eache -di ec ed p ac ices.
4.1 P ac ical implica ions o he s udy
Teache s need o beawa e o hei s ess le els as hey a e linked
o he eaching p ac ices hey use in he class oom which in u n link
o hei isual ocus o a en ion o he s uden s. Fo example, mobile
eye- acking echnology can beused du ing in-se ice ainings o
gene a e eache ’s awa eness o hei isual ocus o a en ion owa d
s uden s. P e ious esea ch has shown ha while wa ching hei own
eaching ideos, eache s e lec ed mo e c i ically on hei own
eaching p ac ices and sugges ed al e na i e eaching s a egies (Kelle
e al., 2021; Muhonen e al., 2023).
4.2 Limi a ions and u u e esea ch
di ec ions
The p esen s udy has some limi a ions. Fi s , his s udy was c oss-
sec ional in design. In he u u e, a longi udinal app oach h oughou
he academic yea could p o ide in-dep h insigh s in o issues ha a ec
eache ’s wo k- ela ed s ess, eaching p ac ices, and isual ocus o
a en ion. Second, eache s’ isual ocus o a en ion was measu ed o
he i s 20–25 min o a lesson, whe eas eaching p ac ices we e assessed
based on h ee ull lessons. In he u u e, i could bebene icial o eco d
en i e lessons in o de o s udy he a ia ion in eache s’ isual ocus o
a en ion du ing he beginning, middle, and end o a lesson. P e ious
esea ch has shown ha eache s’ isual ocus o a en ion a ies based
on hei pedagogical in en ions. Fo example, eache s ocus hei
a en ion mo e on ask- ela ed a ge s when gi ing ins uc ion han
while e lec ing on asks (Maa a e al., 2021). Thi d, s uden - ela ed
ac o s and class oom composi ion we e no conside ed in he p esen
s udy. I is possible ha he e a e mo e con ex ual ac o s, such as
s uden s’ academic skill le els (Chaudhu i e al., 2022b), ha in luence
he ela ionships be ween eache s’ s ess, eaching p ac ices, and
eache s’ isual ocus o a en ion. Also, we an sepa a e eg ession
models o each o h ee ou comes and each o h ee s ess measu es
due o he small sample size and he isk o mul icollinea i y. Howe e ,
his inc eases he chance o Type Ie o s. In he u u e, mul ile el
modeling app oaches need o beused o in es iga e o he physiological
measu es ela ed o eache s such as anxie y, and emo ional a ousal in
associa ion wi h eache ’s isual ocus o a en ion he eby allowing he
examina ion o eache s’ in aindi idual di e ences. Fu he mo e, i
would bebene icial o in es iga e whe he eache s’ physiological and
psychological s ess, eaching p ac ices, and eache s’ isual ocus o
a en ion a y based on eache s’ wo k expe ience, pa icula ly,
be ween no ice and expe eache s. Las ly, majo i y o he sample in
his s udy consis ed o emales and he e was li le ep esen a ion o he
male gende (N = 3). This could be conside ed as a limi a ion in
unde s anding how eaching ela ed s ess, eaching p ac ices, and
eache isual ocus o a en ion could a y ac oss eache s’ gende s.
5 Conclusion
The cu en s udy makes a unique con ibu ion o he exis ing
li e a u e by examining bo h physiological and psychological s ess
and hei ole in eache s’ isual ocus o a en ion in au hen ic
class oom si ua ions. The esul s indica e ha eache s’ psychological
s ess is ela ed o hei isual ocus o a en ion h ough hei eaching
p ac ices. Acco dingly, eache s need o beencou aged o de elop
coping s a egies in ela ion o hei wo k- ela ed s ess since i e ec s
hei eaching p ac ices and class oom beha io owa d s uden s.
Da a a ailabili y s a emen
The da ase s p esen ed in his a icle a e no eadily a ailable
because co isol and eye- acking da a canno be sha ed publicly.
Reques s o access he da ase s should be di ec ed o he p incipal
in es iga o o he p ojec , M-KL (ma ja-k is iina.le kkanen@jyu. i).
E hics s a emen
The s udies in ol ing humans we e app o ed by Uni e si y o
Jy äskylä’s e hical commi ee. The s udies we e conduc ed in
acco dance wi h he local legisla ion and ins i u ional equi emen s.
W i en in o med consen o pa icipa ion in his s udy was p o ided
by he pa icipan s’ legal gua dians/nex o kin.
Au ho con ibu ions
SC: Concep ualiza ion, In es iga ion, Me hodology, So wa e,
W i ing – o iginal d a , W i ing – e iew & edi ing. A-LJ:
Concep ualiza ion, Fo mal analysis, Me hodology, So wa e,
Visualiza ion, W i ing – o iginal d a , W i ing – e iew & edi ing. EP:
Concep ualiza ion, Funding acquisi ion, Me hodology, Resou ces,