An analysis of classroom management behaviors used by selected secondary English teachers

Three junior and three senior high schools volunteered to participate in the study. The principals at the schools selected their most effective English teachers. Effective teaching behaviors and teacher characteristics that were obtained from the literature review helped serve as the basic criteria in selecting the teachers. Eleven teachers volunteered to be participants in the study.

Data were collected from interviews and classroom observations. Two interviews were conducted with the participants, and seventy-five classes were observed. Prior to observing classes, the participants were asked five open-ended questions about classroom plans. After all classes had been observed, the participants were asked five open-ended questions about how instructional decisions are made and how management skills were acquired. Log forms were used to record verbal and physical teaching behaviors. The time of the behaviors was also recorded.

Content analyses were used to analyze the data. Two instruments were designed for the purposes of: identifying, coding, and analyzing instructional and managerial behaviors; identifying, coding, and analyzing how the teachers manage classroom time, students, and materials. Effective instructional and managerial behaviors obtained from the literature review were the criteria used. Two people were trained to identify and code the behaviors from the narrative logs. The researcher analyzed the data. Interview responses were analyzed and compared to observational findings.

Some of the major findings of the research were: (1) planning, organizing, decision-making, maintaining, and disciplining were the management skills most often used by the teachers; (2) the management skills were used to present instructional tasks and activities and create and maintain an academic learning environment; (3) the management skills were also used to manage classroom time, students, and materials; (4) the teachers were not aware that behaviors were managerial; (5) students also used management skills, and (6) basic skills such as planning, organizing, and decision-making can be acquired through preservice and inservice education programs.

Some of the conclusions resulting from the study were: (1) principals can identify effective management skills that enable teachers to create and maintain an academic learning environment; (2) teachers who use poor management skills will have difficulties maintaining an academic learning environment; (3) basic management skills such as planning, organizing, and decision-making can be used effectively by all teachers, and (4) based on research findings, more effective management skill training programs can be developed as an efficient way of better preparing teachers to manage classrooms for better student learning.

Based on the data results and conclusions of the study, the recommendations included: (1) further research to continue to identify management skills that enable teachers to manage other classroom resources and events; (2) experimental research projects and pilot training projects are needed at the preservice and inservice education levels; (3) research is needed to determine how administrators and supervisors can help teachers to improve instruction with management skills, and (5) the need to explore teachers' modeling behaviors of managerial behaviors that tend to help students prepare and organize themselves.