A NEW LOOK AT PRESERVICE TEACHERS' CONCEPTIONS OF CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION: UNCOVERING COMPLEXITY AND DISSONANCE

This article examines preservice teachers' conceptions of classroom management and organization in light of their training and beliefs about good teaching. Students in their final year of a 5-year program discussed their definitions and conceptions of classroom management, organization, and rul...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Teacher educator Vol. 45; no. 2; pp. 118 - 136
Main Authors Kaufman, Douglas, Moss, David M.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Muncie Taylor & Francis Group 12.04.2010
Routledge
Taylor & Francis Inc
Subjects
Beginning teachers
Behavior
Beliefs
Classroom Environment
Classroom management
Classroom Research
Classroom Techniques
Discipline
Education
Educational Practices
Educational Strategies
Grounded Theory
New England
Pedagogy
Preservice Teacher Education
Preservice Teachers
Questionnaires
Social interaction
Student Teacher Attitudes
Teacher Educators
Teacher Effectiveness
Teaching
Teaching Methods
Theory
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Summary:This article examines preservice teachers' conceptions of classroom management and organization in light of their training and beliefs about good teaching. Students in their final year of a 5-year program discussed their definitions and conceptions of classroom management, organization, and rule systems through an open-ended questionnaire. Researchers analyzed responses using a grounded approach. Findings revealed a portrait of student perceptions more complex than those in previous studies, with conceptions often changing according to the nature of the question asked. Respondents exhibited a preoccupation with behavior management previously recognized in other studies; however, findings also revealed underlying conflicts between respondents' theoretical orientations and conceptions of management, a lack of attention to developing student independence, and a conceptual schism between organization and management. Findings suggest a need for teacher educators to clarify the role of management, clarify relationships between organization and management, and help students to bridge specific theory-practice gaps.
ISSN:0887-8730
1938-8101
DOI:10.1080/08878731003623669