Running head: CLASSROOM

MANAGEMENT 1

The Effects of Poor Classroom Management on Teacher Self-Efficacy

Literature Review

Eric Zachary

California State University, Monterey Bay

April 3, 2018

IST 624 Research Design & Methods

Dr. Sarah Tourtellotte

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The Effects of Poor Classroom Management on Teacher Self-Efficacy

The attrition rate of beginning teachers is a persistent issue in the realm of public

education. Statistics show us that approximately ten percent of beginning teachers leave

after the first year, and around twenty percent will leave the profession before completing

five years (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2015). There are many factors that

contribute to this high level of turnover. Aloe, Amo, and Shanahan (2013) suggest that

teacher burnout is a major contributor to the early departure of beginners from the

teaching field and explain that a leading cause of burnout can be attributed to poor

classroom management self-efficacy (CMSE).

Literature Review

Aloe et al.’s (2013) summary article, reviewed sixteen studies comparing the

relationship of CMSE and the three dimensions of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI).

Aloe et al. (2013) found that there were negative relationships between CMSE and

emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and (lowered) personal accomplishment. Based

on the results of the review, the authors recommended greater emphasis on traditional

classroom management training in teacher preparation programs.

Elling, Leutner, and Schmeck (2015) study the effects of varying levels of

classroom management training for new teachers. The authors conducted a research

based study in which teachers were separated into two groups, the first receiving a two

and a half day training course on classroom management which included: (1) classroom

organization, (2) rules and procedures, (3) the importance of the beginning of the school

year, (4) maintaining the classroom management system, (5) problematic behavior (6)

interpersonal relationships, and (7) communication. The second group received a two-
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and-a-half-day stress management course which included time management and

progressive muscle relaxation. The article concludes that a relatively short classroom

management intervention still provided a significant effect on beginning teachers. These

results coincided with Aloe et al.’s (2013) findings that greater emphasis needs to be

placed on classroom management training for new teachers.

Hoglund, Klingle, and Hosan (2015) studied the levels of teacher burnout in high

needs elementary schools over the course of a school year. The authors conducted their

study using observation and surveying the teachers and students. Like Aloe et al. (2013),

teacher burnout was assessed based on the three levels of the MBI. The study focused on

two main areas: the relationship between burnout and classroom quality and the

relationship between burnout and teacher interaction with students that demonstrated

externalizing behaviors.

Hoglund et al. (2015) describe classroom quality in a way that is similar to what

other studies refer to as classroom management, in that it refers to classroom organization

and student engagement. Furthermore, externalizing behaviors are described as students

who are often disengaged and disruptive. The results of the study showed a greater

degree of teacher burnout in classrooms where there were more instances of externalized

behaviors. In relationship, the study also found that there were more cases of disruptive

behavior in classes that had lower classroom quality. This indicates that although teacher

burnout stems from dealing with difficult behaviors in the classroom, the difficult

behaviors were a direct result of poor management by the teacher. Hoglund et al. (2015)

suggest that schools should provide preservice and ongoing training to assist teachers

with classroom organization strategies.

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Martin, Sass, and Schmitt (2012) conducted a study to determine the relationship

between instructional management, burnout, student stressors, and teachers’ intent-to-

leave the profession. Martin et al. (2012) describe a pattern that shows predictability in a

teacher's eventual intent-to-leave. Student stressors, which include negative behavior,

lack of interest, and poor performance lead to emotional exhaustion. The emotional

exhaustion led teachers to plan instruction that limits stressors and creates classroom

control through assignments and activities that are monotonous. This causes teacher

depersonalization and ends up having the opposite effect by increasing problematic

behavior. All of these components contributed to lower job satisfaction, which

consequently, led to burnout and ultimately, intent-to-leave.

Brouwers and Tomic (1999) also studied the effects of perceived self-efficacy in

classroom management in relation to teacher burnout. The study revealed that poor

classroom management is the first link in a chain that eventually leads to teacher burnout.

Teachers who ineffectively deal with classroom disruptions lose confidence in their

ability to manage their classrooms and often give up on trying to fix the problem. The

decreased feeling of self-efficacy causes teachers to doubt their ability to do their job.

This in turn causes emotional exhaustion, which leads to depersonalization. Brouwers

and Tomic (1999) describe depersonalization as a negative attitude towards work and the

people with whom the worker interacts. Based on the result of the study, once teachers

have reached the depersonalization stage, they give up and often stop trying to solve the

problem.

Brouwers and Tomic (1999) offer more specific suggestions than some of the

other studies to reduce the effects of teacher burnout. In order to counteract the effects of
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burnout, teachers must believe that they are able to make a positive impact. The authors

suggest that these teachers need to have experiences of success. This success may come

through providing strategic skills with training, providing positive feedback, and

practicing in a simulated environment. Once teachers feel a sense of mastery, and feel

more confident in their ability, they will be more apt to implement the classroom

management methods into their classrooms.

Lewis, Romi, and Salkovsky (2015) review the coping styles of different teachers

in terms of the gap between the way they would like to manage their classes and the

methods they are forced to use based on the current classroom conditions. Lewis et al.

(2015) state that classroom management can be broken down into three different

approaches. The first approach involves minimal teacher control and assumes students'

responsibility for their behavior, the second approach views student behavior as the

combined and cooperative responsibility of students and teachers, and the third approach

is based on the assumption that students are not capable of realizing what is best for

them, leaving decisions to the teacher. Like Brouwers and Tomic (1999) this article

discusses the challenges teachers face in dealing with difficult students including

increased stress, burnout, and emotional distress.

Lewis et al.’s (2015) research concludes that the most commonly used coping

mechanism was social problem solving. Furthermore, it was found that female teachers

were more likely to use social problem solving to cope and were more likely to support

each other compared to their male counterparts. This study indicates that there needs to

be an increased effort to provide beginning teachers with time and access for

collaboration with more experienced teachers. In many educational settings, beginning

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teachers may feel isolated, This research shows a need to ensure that these teachers have

a mentor or teammate that they can go to for guidance.

Bear, Doyle, Osher, and Sprague (2010) in their study examine three approaches

to improve school discipline practices and student behavior. The main ideas expressed

are Ecological Approaches to Classroom Management, School-wide Positive Behavioral

Supports and Social Emotional Learning, and Positive Youth Development. It concluded

that there needs to be emphasis on collaboration with families, cultural and linguistic

competence and responsiveness, and ways to respond to the needs of students with

substantive mental health needs. The authors focused on these points as challenges in

improving school discipline. A major issue that teachers face in dealing with student

disruption is a lack of preparedness to appropriately meet the emotional needs of the

disruptive student. Bear et. Al (2010) show through research the necessity for teachers to

learn about cultural and linguistic differences, collaborating with parents, and positively

promoting desired behaviors.

Nelson, Olivera, and Wehby (2015) studied the long-term implementation of

classroom management tactics. The authors state that often teachers complete

professional development and implement the practices for a while, but slowly revert back

to their old style of teaching over time. Like Hoglund et al. (2015) this demonstrates the

need for initial, as well as ongoing, classroom management training. Furthermore, this

article emphasizes the need for continual self-monitoring to maintain the positive

practices over the long-term. In completing the study, the authors implemented the use of

what they referred to as the Good Behavior Game (GBG), which focused on positive

reinforcement rather than punishment. Nelson et al. (2015) found that the use of a teacher
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self-monitoring checklist assisted in a more long-term implementation of the GBG

method.

Oberly and Schonert-Reichl (2016) studied the connection between a teacher’s

stress level and higher levels of stress felt by their students. The study focused on the

effects of feeling overworked, teachers experiencing a lack of support and resources, and

dealing with challenging and disruptive students. Furthermore, Oberly and Schonert-

Reichl’s (2016) research focuses on how a teacher’s stress level impacts the cortisol

levels in their students. Cortisol levels are the natural indicators of levels of stress within

an individual.

The findings of this study were that in classrooms where the teacher was

experiencing a higher level of teacher burnout, the morning cortisol levels of their

students were elevated indicating increased stress levels. This research shows that

beginning teachers will have needs beyond training. Administrators and staff must focus

on providing the necessary support and resources that beginning teachers require.

Way’s (2011) research describes how stricter discipline policies are effective in

reducing serious offenses on school campuses, but also lead to classroom teachers losing

the role of an authority figure on campus. The research shows that due to increased

demand for student’s rights, free speech, due process, and student privacy in conjunction

with school discipline becoming increasingly litigious, school discipline matters are

generally handled by school administration, rather than the classroom teacher.

Way’s (2011) research included 10,000 respondents. Respondents included

teachers, administrators, parents, and students. The findings of the study were that

schools with stricter discipline policy experienced similar levels of disruptive behavior as
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those with more lenient policies. Similar to the findings of Bear et. Al (2010), the study

found that students were more likely to be compliant when they felt their school’s rules

and expectations were fair, and students were less likely to be disruptive when they had a

positive relationship with their teacher.

Kennedy (2011) researched effective teacher behavior when working with

disruptive students. The active research for this study took place at a continuation school

in Southern California where the student population was made up of middle and high

school students who had been expelled from their traditional public schools. The article

focused on three types of teachers who the author dubbed rapport builders, subject matter

experts, and blamers. The rapport builder focused on building relationships with their

students and modifying curriculum to meet their needs. The subject matter experts were

consistent in their classroom management and focused on subject matter, leaving the

personal issues of the students for the school counselors to handle. The blamers were

inconsistent in both their instruction and classroom management, often yelled at their

students and blamed them for not performing.

Through observation and interviews with teachers, students, and administrators,

similar to the findings of Bear et al. (2010) and Way (2011), Kennedy (2011) found that

the teachers under the title of rapport builders were most successful and experienced the

lowest levels of student disruptions. Although the research for this article took place with

a very small group in a single school setting, the article provides beneficial information to

be researched further.

Milner and Tenore (2010) conducted a study over the course of two years at an

urban middle school. The goal of the study is to ascertain a better understanding of why a
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disproportionate percentage of minority students are reported to be disruptive in the

classroom and referred to administration for discipline. Similar to Bear et al. (2010),

Milner and Tenore (2010) highlight the cultural misunderstandings that occur between a

teaching population, that is often primarily composed of white teachers, teaching

classrooms of culturally diverse students. The authors attempt to identify the classroom

management strategies of teachers who are effective in teaching diverse populations.

There is a clear connection between CMSE and teacher burnout. These studies

provide insight as to the importance of a teacher’s ability to view his or her job as

impactful and important. This research shows the importance of quality training in the

area of classroom management and effectively handling disruptive classroom behavior.

Understanding that a teacher’s overall self-efficacy directly relates to attrition, allows for

greater efforts to be made to prevent it. By better preparing educators to manage their

classrooms, progress can be made toward increased teacher longevity.

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References

Aloe, A. M., Amo L. C., & Shanahan M. E. (2014). Classroom Management Self-

Efficacy and Burnout: A Multivariate Meta-Analysis. Educational Psychology

Review, 26,101-126.

Bear G. G., Doyle W., Osher D., Sprague J. (2010). How can we improve school

discipline? Educational Researcher 39(4), 48-58.

Brouwers, A., & Tomic D. (2000). A Longitudinal study of teacher burnout and

perceived self-efficacy in classroom management. Teaching and

Teacher Education, 16, 239-253.

Elling J., Leutner D., Schmeck A. (2015). Reducing reality shock: The effects of

classroom management skills training on beginning teachers. Teaching and

Teacher Education, 48, 1-12.

Hoglund, W. L. G., Klingle, K. E., & Hosan, N. E. (2015). Classroom risks and

resources: Teacher burnout, classroom quality and children’s adjustment in high

needs elementary schools. Journal of School Psychology, 53, 337-357.

Kennedy B.L. (2011). Teaching Disaffected Middle School Students: How Classroom

Dynamics Shape Students’ Experiences. Association for Middle Level Education,

42(4), 32-42.

Lewis R., Romi S., Salkovsky M. (2015). Teachers' coping styles and factors

inhibiting teachers' preferred classroom management practice. Teaching and

Teacher Education, 48, 56-65.

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Martin, N., Sass D. A., & Schmitt, T. A. (2012). Teacher efficacy in student engagement,

instructional management, student stressors, and burnout: A theoretical model

using in-class variables to predict teachers’ intent-to-leave. Teaching and

Teacher Education, 28, 546-559.

Milner, H.R., & Tenore F.B. (2010). Classroom Management in Diverse Classrooms.

Urban Education, 45(5), 560-603.

Nelson R., Olivera R. M., Wehby J. B. (2015) Helping teachers maintain classroom

management practices using a self-monitoring checklist. Teaching and Teacher

Education, 51, 113-120.

Oberly E., Schonert-Reichl K. (2016). Stress contagion in the classroom? The link

between classroom teacher burnout and morning cortisol in elementary school

students. Social Science & Medicine, 159, 30-37.

U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Educational Statistics, (2015). Public School

TeacherAttrition and Mobility in the First Five Years: (NCES Publication No.

2015-337). Retrieved from https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2015/2015337.pdf

Way S.M. (2011). School Discipline and Disruptive Classroom Behavior: The

moderating Effects of Student Perceptions. The Sociology Quarterly, 52(3), 346-

375.