Date of Conferral

2019

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Psychology

Advisor

Michael B. Johnson

Abstract

When the classroom environment is safe, reductions in aggression and an increase in compliance with rules can be expected. Teacher self-efficacy is therefore likely to play a significant role in teachers’ participation in the change process of implementing strategies that assist with classroom management styles. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between teacher self-efficacy and classroom management styles (reward strategies, preventive strategies, initial corrective strategies, and later corrective strategies). Teachers’ characteristics such as age, gender, education level, years of teaching experience, grade level taught, and class size were also explored to provide insight on teacher training and professional development programs. Survey data were collected from 43 teachers in urban and rural area of West Tennessee. The Spearman correlation analysis indicated a correlation between teacher self-efficacy and the four classroom management styles while the linear regression model showed that teacher characteristics do not predict teacher’s self-efficacy. This study revealed that the practice of preventive strategies by teachers had a greater impact on teacher self-efficacy scores compared to other classroom management strategies (reward strategies, initial corrective strategies, and later corrective strategies). Findings reinforce that school climate plays a significant role in the professional development of teachers and their use of specific classroom management practices. Addressing the gap between teachers’ efficacy beliefs and classroom decisions could help school professionals to develop interventions to minimize this gap, which could, in turn, promote positive school outcomes, such as students’ behavior adjustment and academic achievement.

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