Analyzing relationships between classroom management strategies, student achievement scores, and teachers' attitudes and beliefs in diverse elementary settings.

摘要

Twenty-first century classrooms are different from twentieth-century classrooms (Spring, 2005). Diverse student populations, students with disabilities mainstreamed in regular classrooms, and violent students challenge many of today's teachers who have received little or no training teaching these students. Specifically, many of today's teachers possess minimal classroom management strategies and teaching methodologies that best promote student achievement (Cameron & Sheppard, 2006). While political attention on student achievement continues to rise, many teachers strive to adhere to legislation by closing achievement gaps with out-dated teaching methodologies and inadequate management skills (Armstrong, 2006). Teachers do the best they can with the skills they have, but are their skills academically effective? Do they use classroom management strategies that increase student achievement scores? Furthermore, do teachers' attitudes and beliefs about their teaching abilities match their actual classroom practices? Specifically, do teachers teach students the way they think or believe they teach students? This study addresses these questions to identify relationships between the variables and to identify their effects on achievement scores. In this study, teachers who consistently met academic benchmarks were considered to be effective, and it was clear that some classroom management strategies, attitudes, and beliefs affected student achievement scores in diverse elementary settings. By comparing responses to the Attitudes and Beliefs on Classroom Control (ABCC) Inventory and data collected on observation checklists, this study determined that relationships between teachers' attitudes and beliefs about their teaching abilities and actual teaching practices were nominal. Additionally, it showed that teachers with the best classroom management practices had higher student achievement scores than teachers with weaker classroom management strategies. This study implemented quantitative and ethnographic research methods, which included emic and etic perspectives, to collect data. This data helped reveal the impact of effective classroom management strategies on student achievement scores, provided teachers with conclusive evidence about their teaching attitudes and beliefs, and revealed personal teaching behaviors that supported the need for professional development training with teachers in diverse elementary settings that may potentially improve teacher efficacy and cultivate student achievement.