Exploring the relationship between certification sources, experience levels, and classroom management orientations of classroom teachers

• Published in: Teaching and teacher education 2007-10, Vol.23 (7), p.1206-1216
• Main Authors: Ritter, Janice Toterhi, Hancock, Dawson R.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Beginning Teachers; Class Activities; Classroom Environment; Classroom management; Classroom Techniques; Correlation; Elementary Secondary Education; School environments; Student Behavior; Teacher Attitudes; Teacher Certification; Teacher experience; Teacher Student Relationship; Teaching Conditions; Teaching Experience; Teaching Styles
• ISSN: 0742-051X; 1879-2480
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tate.2006.04.013

Teachers continue to report that classroom management is one of their greatest challenges in the classroom. Classroom management involves teacher's efforts to oversee classroom activities such as learning, social interaction, and student behavior. In this study, we examined the relationship between sources of teachers’ certification (traditional or alternative), teachers’ experience levels (experienced or novice), and teachers’ classroom management orientations (interventionist, non-interventionist, or interactionalist). We discovered that neither source of certification nor experience level alone impacts a teachers’ classroom management orientation. However, teachers with traditional certification and many years of experience exert significantly less control over classroom activities and students’ behaviors than do their colleagues with other educational and experimental backgrounds. Potential causes and ramifications of these findings are discussed.