Observing the Relationship Between Teacher Classroom Management Style and Student Behavior

Introduction: Disruptive behavior can derail effective instruction and often results in the removal of students from the classroom. In fact, it is the most common reason for office referrals and suspensions. There is a growing recognition of the importance of teacher classroom management and relationships with students in promoting positive student behavior. Yet, teachers generally receive limited training in classroom management and are in need for additional support in creating classroom environments that prevent disruptive behavior problems. Observational studies of teacher behaviors and classroom management have greatly informed our understanding of the relationship between teacher classroom management and relationship building with student outcomes, but until recently was mainly conducted in classrooms serving pre-kindergarten and elementary aged students (Allen et al., 2011).

Methods: The current study employed a person-centered approach for classifying teachers into groups based on their classroom management style, and examining the functional association between these patterns and student behaviors. Data come from a 58 high school randomized controlled trial of a school reform model in which systematic observations were conducted in 25 classrooms per school using the Assessing School Settings: Interactions of Students and Teachers (ASSIST; Rusby et al., 2001) measure.  Specific teacher and student behaviors were tallied and global ratings were assigned based on a 15-minute observation period across the over 1,450 high school classrooms regarding teachers’ use of proactive and reactive behavior management techniques, approval and disapproval of student behavior, and opportunities to respond. Data on student non-compliance, disruptive behavior, and physical and verbal aggression also were collected.

Results: A factor analysis of the global ratings revealed six factors related to teacher behaviors and the classroom environment (e.g., routine and structure, anticipation of student needs, negative interactions). A latent class analysis (LCA) approach revealed that there were two patterns of teacher styles based on global ratings; one with greater structure, monitoring, opportunities to respond, and no negativity (75.5%) and the other with a lower level of positive elements and greater negativity (24.5%). Teacher style was associated with observed rates of student non-compliance, disruptive behavior, and aggression such that the classrooms that were less structured and more negative had higher rates of all measured student behaviors. Analyses also indicated that tallied teacher behaviors were related to student behavior.

Discussion: Implications for prevention models which provide professional development and support to teachers are highlighted.