Teachers are role models for students. They exert significant influence on them. The main purposes of this study are (1)to examine whether students’ life adjustment is affected by their perceptions of their teachers’ leadership and (2)to analyze the various influences on the students’ internal ─ external locus of control.Three hundred and eighty─four eighth grade students, who come from five junior high schools respectively in the Taipei City, were selected as subjects. For assessing the adjustment scores, a Chinese revision of the California Test of personality was administered, as well as the Internal─External Scale and Teacher Instructional Leadership Questionnaire. The obtained data were statistically analyzed by two─factor analysis of variance(ANOVA)and stepwise multiple regression analysis.The results of this study are as follows:\r(1)The two main factors affecting students’ life adjustment are the teachers’ leadership and their own internal─external locus of control. Both boy and girl students are influenced by both the instructional type and internal─external locus of control, except for two items named ‘sense of personal freedom” and “social standards”.(2)Internal─external locus of control students adjust way differently to different teachers. As a while view, under “low authority─high consideration” instructional leadership, students of internal locus of control make the best life adjustments. On the other kind, students of external locus of control adjust best to “high authority─high consideration” instructional leadership.(3)There was a negative relationship between students’ life adjustment under teachers’ “authority” instructional leadership and their external locus of control, but there was a positive relationship between teachers’ “consideration” instructional leadership and students’ internal locus of control.(4)Combining teachers’ “authority” and “consideration” instructional leadership with students’ internal─external locus of control could explain and predict the (11─23 percent margin of error) students’ personal, social and total adjustments.Based on the findings mention above, we propose the following suggestions:Teachers should:\r(1)Be educated to understand instructional theory and to be cognizant and considerate of their students’ personality traits.(2)Adapt their teaching techniques to harmonize with their students’ internal─external inclinations.(3)Strengthen their relationship with students in order to influence them more positively.4 Initiate more contact with the students’ families. |