Comprehending Elementary School Teachers’ Classroom Management Approaches

Abstract

This study intends to determine elementary school teachers’ degree of classroom control, which constitutes the consistency in their classroom management and discipline-related behaviour. The major research question was as follows: Is the control approach adopted by teachers related to certain variables (gender, age, subject area, experience)? The study design was based on descriptive and causalcomparative research methods. Research data were collected from 119 elementary school teachers. Results revealed that, in general, elementary school teachers adopted medium-level control. There was no statistically significant difference found between teachers’ control approach and their age, gender, experience, marital status and subject area. If teachers are aware of the philosophy underlying their level of control and if they internalize it, their teaching behaviour is affected. Therefore, teachers can become informed and follow studies about their control approach

Keywords

• classroom management, discipline models, elementary schools, degree of control