Doctoral Dissertations
Date of Award
12-1991
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Major
Curriculum and Instruction
Major Professor
Theodore W. Hipple
Committee Members
J. Estill Alexander, Mary Jane Connelly, Kathleen deMarrais
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to gain descriptive information about teachers' perceptions of effective classroom management within an inner-city middle school. Thirteen teachers, all currently teaching within one Tennessee inner-city middle school, were interviewed about their classroom management behaviors. All of the interviews were audiotaped and later transcribed for data analysis. Data obtained from a demographic survey revealed that the number of years of teaching experience acquired by these teachers ranged from a minimum of three years to a maximum of nineteen with the average equaling approximately ten years. The number of years of teaching experience acquired within this one inner-city school ranged from a minimum of one year to a maximum of fourteen years with the average equaling approximately six years. Transcripts of the interviews were subjected to content analysis to discover themes in the teachers' responses. All categories that emerged from this analysis underwent a process of peer examination as a means of ensuring internal reliability. Findings from this process indicated that these teachers based their perceptions of effective classroom management upon an elaborate system of beliefs. The following themes emerged from the data analysis: 1. Teachers expressed the belief that effective classroom management within an inner-city school hinged first on a heavy emphasis of controlling student behavior and secondly on planning and organizing academic concerns. Based upon that belief, the teachers demonstrated an overwhelming concern with constructing and enforcing rules and with restricting students' interactions and movements. 2. Teachers expressed the belief that because inner-city students' home and social backgrounds were so lacking, these students could not be expected to perform or behave at a level comparable to students in other school settings. Consequently, teachers indicated that they had significantly lowered academic and behavioral expectations. 3. Teachers expressed the belief that the home environment of inner-city students was the major source of behavioral and academic problems manifested by students in the school setting and that the values taught in the home environment were often contradictory and detrimental to the values taught in the school environment. Overall, the findings of this study support the body of literature related to the negative perceptions of teachers who teach within inner-city schools. A major implication derived from this study is that prospective and current teachers need training in multicultural education in order to function effectively within inner-city schools.
Recommended Citation
Turner, Catana L., "Teachers' perceptions of effective classroom management within an inner-city middle school. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 1991.
https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/11241