An Investigation on Teacher Candidates’ Perspectives about Behaviors Positively Affecting Classroom Atmosphere*
Öz
Problem
Statement:
A revision of literature shows that there are studies
focusing on student and teacher perceptions of classroom atmosphere; however,
no research has been found to be related to teacher candidates’ perspectives on
their behaviors in terms of positive classroom atmosphere. As teacher
candidates are the main subject and the future organizers of the teaching
environments, it is important to carry out a study on which variables of the
classroom atmosphere they are aware.
Purpose of the Study: This
study aims to investigate teacher candidates’ points of view about teacher
behaviors influencing the classroom atmosphere. Also, this research intends to determine
communication strategies that teacher candidates suggest about positive and
effective classroom atmospheres.
Method: At
a primary school education department of a state university, third-year
students were told to prepare a report about the following questions:
"According to you; how should the communicative and effective classroom
context affect the classroom atmosphere?, What should teachers do? Discuss
these issues through examples.” The study was based on 70 teacher candidates’
reports about these questions. In this research, content analysis—one of the
qualitative research methods—was used.
Findings:
It was seen that teacher candidates offered some
strategies reinforcing a positive classroom atmosphere such as knowing students
and the effective use of non-verbal messages and communication methods to
struggle with unwanted classroom behaviors. In addition, it was emphasized that
the teacher was an important factor in creating the classroom atmosphere. It
was given importance that the classroom had to be considered as a democratic
and social system and the teacher’s positive personal characteristics were
highlighted.
Conclusion
and Recommendations:
It can be said that teacher candidates are, to some
extent, aware of what should be done or should not be done in creating a positive
classroom atmosphere; however, there are some points that they are lacking.
Pre-service teacher training programmes should be re-arranged in order to
compensate for these lacking points and to guide teacher candidates to a sense
of awareness in their classes. In line with this, classroom management,
teaching experience and teaching practice courses in the curriculum of
pre-school education programmes should be revised through theory and practice
entirety.
Anahtar Kelimeler
Kaynakça
- Akdemir, H. (2014). Ogretmen adaylarinin sinif yonetimine iliskin tutum ve inanclarinin incelenmesi. Unpublished Master Thesis. Cukurova University, Adana/Turkey.
- Basaran, I.E. (2000). Egitim yonetimi: Nitelikli okul. (Education management; qualified school). Ankara: Feryal Matbaasi.
- Bilgic, E. (2007). Ilkogretim birinci kademede gorulen zorba davranislarin sinif degiskenleri ve atmosferi algilamalarina gore incelenmesi. (Investigation of bullying observed in the first grade of primary education according to perceptions of class variables and atmosphere). Unpublished Master Thesis. Cukurova University, Adana/Turkey.
- Bilgic, S. (2009). Ilkogretim ogrencilerinde okul yasam kalitesi algisinin arkadaslara baglilik ve empatik sinif atmosferi degiskenleriyle iliskisinin incelenmesi. (Investigation of the relationships between the perception of school life quality and the variables of attachment to friends and empathic classroom atmosphere among elementary school students). Unpublished Master Thesis. Cukurova University, Adana/Turkey.
- Brandes, D., & Ginnis, P. (1986). A guide to student-centered learning. Oxford: Basic Blackwell Ltd.
- Bulut M.S., Caglar, A., & Coskun, N. (2008). Sinif ogretmenlerin etkili iletisim becerileri hakkindaki farkindaliklarinin belirlenmesi: Nitel bir calisma ornegi. (Determining of classroom teachers' awareness of effective communication skills: A qualitative study). Proceedings of International Conference of Educational Science ICES’08 (pp. 409-419). Gazi Magosa KKTC.
- Cananoglu, E. (2011). Ilkogretim 5. sinif ogrencilerinin ogrenilmis caresizlik duzeyleri ve algilari sinif atmosferinin sosyodemografik degiskenlere gore incelenmesi. (The level of learned helplessness and perceptions of the 5th grade primary school students according to the sociodemographic variables of classroom atmosphere). Unpublished Master Thesis. Cukurova University, Adana/Turkey.
- Charles, C.M., Senter, G.W., & Barr, K.B. (1996). Building classroom discipline, (5th Ed.) USA: Longman Publishers.
Ayrıntılar
Birincil Dil
İngilizce
Konular
-
Bölüm
Araştırma Makalesi
Yayımlanma Tarihi
15 Aralık 2016
Gönderilme Tarihi
15 Aralık 2016
Kabul Tarihi
-
Yayımlandığı Sayı
Yıl 2016 Cilt: 16 Sayı: 66