Title: Classroom behaviors that raise difficulties to teachers
Abstract: In this research we studied teachers opinion on frequency and seriousness of pupils troublesome classroom behavior. Comparison was made between appraisals of two independent samples of teachers from country and city schools in Serbia. The first sample (N=89) was investigated in 1993 and the other one (N=63) ten years later - in 2003. Our research was partly a repeated research carried out by Wheldall and Merrett (1988) in English schools. We used their questionnaire, where 10 categories of disruptive behavior were described, and the teachers asked to rate the same. According to our results, 13% of teachers from the first and 30% from our second sample consider that keeping the pupils disciplined in the classroom takes too much time, which is less than in English teachers (51%). A boy is three times more frequently than a girl the most undisciplined child in the classroom, and the average number of undisciplined pupils in the classroom was 3.1 in 1993, and 2.9 in 2003 (in English research: 4.3). According to the teachers opinion, the most frequent category of disruptive behavior is talking out of the turn, and it is the behavior that makes the most of troubles. The same result was obtained in the research done by Wheldall and Merrett, as well as in other researches from abroad. Pupils' physical aggression was underlined by our teachers as the most serious and difficult problem, while as the least serious one was stated eating during classes. Untidiness, standing up from a bench without teacher's permit, and unpunctuality were not considered by the teachers as serious problems. In the discussion, it is pointed out that the frequency of pupils disruptive behavior was increased in 2003, compared to 1993 especially in girls. It is suggested that teachers education should include strategies for successful attaining and maintenance of classroom discipline.
Publication Year: 2003
Publication Date: 2003-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
Access and Citation
AI Researcher Chatbot
Get quick answers to your questions about the article from our AI researcher chatbot