According to research classroom management is the number one cause of high stress and anxiety in new teachers. And let’s face it, even experienced teachers can struggle with it. Apparently it’s a worldwide phenomenon… the challenging transition from student teacher to beginning teacher. It’s given many names: reality shock, the survival phase, even shattered dreams. It’s the idealistic student teacher meeting harsh classroom reality and it can be a painful, long-term issue if that new teacher does not receive support.
Please note that this is a research-based post compiled from 4 recent research papers that are listed at the end of this post. You can find my other monthly research-based posts here.
What is classroom management?
It’s the actions a teacher takes in order to create an environment that is conducive to academic learning while meeting the social and emotional needs of the children. This is especially true in early childhood, but it’s easier said than done!
Some people, even teachers, believe that if you just have the right management tricks up your sleeve you’ll be able to solve most problems. But, unfortunately, there are no universal ‘right ways’ to manage a classroom because each situation is different, each group of children are unique, each teacher has his/her own personality and educational preferences so management skills need to be more broadly based. Certainly, tips and tricks can help a classroom run more smoothly but it’s important to think about why we’re using them, and constantly evaluate whether they’re in the children’s best interests.
Why is it important?
For children: Effective classroom management is important because it increases student learning and decreases discipline problems. It has been shown to increase student concentration, autonomy and responsibility. For younger children an effectively managed classroom means a calmer, more supportive environment.
For teachers: research has shown that confidence in classroom management is important for a teacher’s sense of well-being and emotional health. Gaining skills in this area can decrease stress levels, burnout and resignations. This is significant considering the UK, USA and Australia lose 30-50% of their teachers in the first 5 years.
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Personal qualities for positive classroom management
Self-efficacy: a person’s belief that they are capable of completing a task they’ve been given. Generally speaking, the higher a teacher’s self-confidence, the higher the levels of student achievement and motivation. Self-belief is a powerful personal tool because, whether valid or not, it imbibes confidence and an ability to achieve that helps them push past obstacles. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to feel highly confident when you’re new and overwhelmed!
Self-regulation: the ability to control your own behaviour and problem solve. It is the ability to think ahead, plan proactively, and stay motivated. Planning how we will manage kids ahead of time helps minimise the need for reacting without thought when we’re in the classroom.
Interpersonal skills: positive relationships between teachers and their students are vital for classroom management. And the relationships between teaching staff, and with parents, are also critical as these relationships play a large role on the level of anxiety a new teacher experiences.
Flexibility: being able to modify a lesson that’s ‘going south’ if it will improve learning and immediate classroom dynamics is an important skill to develop.
Living a balanced life: Having a balanced life is important, that is, making time for sport and leisure. New teachers are often so challenged that they spend their evenings and weekends preparing and planning. However, this doesn’t allow them to de-stress or relieve their anxiety. Long periods of high anxiety lead to burnout.
Something to be wary of: Teachers who are in the habit of blaming themselves for their poor classroom management skills and who do not seek help but stay silent tend to believe that parents, administrators and other teachers are making their ability to manage their own classroom much more difficult. This is also linked to more extreme experiences of feeling overwhelmed and stressed.
So it’s important to realise that it’s OK to ask for help, and it’s not OK to blame yourself for everything. Training in classroom management tends to be minimal in a majority of teacher training programs, considering that it’s something new teachers have to deal with all day every day. According to researchers most new teachers know how to teach and would do well in a ‘perfect’ class environment, but since there is no such thing they need support!
What should a new teacher keep in mind?
Relationships: Children are strongly impacted by their relationships with their teachers and their relationships with each other, so this cannot be forgotten in any classroom management plan. What steps can be taken to improve and deepen the levels of friendship and respect experienced in the classroom between the children? Children who come to know each other better, who develop an understanding of, and compassion for, the feelings of others are better placed to control their own behaviours which is hugely helpful in an early childhood classroom. Children also respond better to teachers they respect, so expressing genuine care and affection for a child helps.
Teaching style: Research shows that children achieve a higher level of learning when the teacher uses a more authoritative or directive style. However, it also shows that students are more highly motivated when the teacher is more cooperative. So can we adapt the way we as teachers behave in the classroom to encourage both motivation and high learning standards? (Researchers call this the ‘warm demander.’) Can we reflect on our own personalities and think about how kids are perceiving us? What words are we using? What about our body language and facial expressions? Are we giving more attention to one student than another? Do we respect all our children by holding high expectations for them equally?
Context: This is something to think about carefully, and even if we have our standard workable classroom management tricks, we need to think about them afresh in the context we find ourselves.
- How does the physical layout affect the kids? Is the room cluttered? Are there spaces for collaboration? Are the walls used to help the children learn or are they too distracting?
- Is the timetable/schedule appropriate? Is there enough time to fit everything in or do the days seem rushed and pushy? If it feels like that for us, it might feel like that for the kids, too!
- How do the children interact with each other? What are the signs that trouble might be brewing and how can we pre-plan to decrease their occurrence?
- Are there cultural/family differences we need to be aware of? For eg, some children might not be comfortable looking us in the eye, some won’t even consider tidying up, some might be used to debating while others will be reticent to speak. Do we reflect on these issues at the end of a day and brainstorm another approach we can take? Or do we just assume that ‘they’ll get there in the end,’ and not reappraise our own habits?
- Are there children with learning or behavioural challenges in our class? Are we confident we have the best information on how to manage? Where might we get more information or more advice and support? Are we reassuring parents of these children and keeping them informed?
- Is there too much in the curriculum to get through? Are the resources in your classroom adequate? If not, how can you work around that?
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Leadership: Every teacher is a leader… We lead our classrooms by taking responsibility and ownership for what happens within them and by putting into place practices that lead to positive outcomes. It is a never-ending cycle of planning, implementation, assessment and evaluation. Often we need to advocate for our students to other teachers, to administrators and parents and this can take tact, forethought and commitment. If we consider ourselves leaders and believe in ourselves this task will be a made a little easier.
Experienced teachers and administrators
- Give new teachers training in classroom management. Don’t assume they learned, or had time to practice, classroom management skills while they were training. Even 2 days of training can be hugely significant.
- Create a school environment where teachers are encouraged to discuss challenges in their classroom rather than an environment that judges teachers if they admit to any weakness.
- Don’t intervene too quickly during an incident with a quick ‘trick’ and then consider the issue closed. New teachers (and older ones) gain great value by reflecting on specific incidents and deciding what approach might work better next time… keeping what’s best for the child in the forefront of their decision making.
- Consider that the way you manage your classroom might not work well for the new teacher, so be flexible in your expectations.
- New teachers will often try to model a more experienced teacher’s management style so are we passing on good habits? Or are we using teaching strategies that we no longer question or allow the new teacher to question?
- Listen to the ideas and opinions of new teachers and give them credit and encouragement. This is really important because being treated as transparent is one of the main reasons new teachers leave the profession.
- Be as proactive and organised as possible so that new teachers will then have time to process and plan for what is being asked of them.
Let’s support our new teachers so they stay long enough… and become skilled enough… to be our super teachers of the future!
Do you have any suggestions for new teachers? Let us know in the comments.
I am thankful for the following researchers and the work they are doing in this important area.
Research papers
Theresa Dicke, Jill Elling, Annett Schmeck & Detlev Leutner (2015). Reducing reality shock: The effects of classroom management skills training on beginning teachers. Teaching and Teacher Education 48 (2015), 1-12. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2015.01.013
Merav Salkovsky, Shlomo Romi & Ramon Lewis (2015). Teachers’ coping styles and factors inhibiting teachers’ preferred classroom management practice. Teaching and Teacher Education 48 (2015), 56-65. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2015.01.016
Jose Miguel Correa, Asuncion Martínez-Arbelaiz, Estibaliz Aberasturi-Apraiz (2015). Post-modern reality shock: Beginning teachers as sojourners in communities of practice. Teaching and Teacher Education 48 (2015) 66-74. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2015.02.007
Clodie Tal (2010). Case Studies to Deepen Understanding and Enhance Classroom Management Skills in Preschool Teacher Training. Early Childhood Education Journal, 38:143–152. DOI 10.1007/s10643-010-0395-z
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