Browsing by Author "Andersson, Mia-Maria"

Aim. The purpose of this study was to examine teachers' conceptions on classroom management, their experiences and ways in getting involved in classroom management problems, preventing these problems from occurring and what they consider as reasons behind these problems. Classroom management problems are still current phenomena that disturbs learning and teaching. That is why studying this topic is socially current and meaningful. The theoretical framework introduces the "functional school" – model, which closely relates to classroom management issues and concepts such as interaction skills and tries to explain reasons behind classroom management problems. The study concentrates on teachers' concepts and procedures based on their own experiences in getting involved and prevent classroom management problems from occurring. The aim is to add understanding of the examined phenomenon, identify and develop ways to get involved in classroom management problems. Methods. The study was conducted as a qualitative research and the manner of approach was fenomenographic. The fenomenographic approach used is appropriate, because this study focuses on ordinary day thinking by teachers on conceptions and experiences regarding the topic at hand. Ten classroom teachers from elementary schools around the metropolitan area of Helsinki participated in this study. The material was collected with a questionnaire that included open questions. The questions were derived from scientific literature and previous studies on classroom management problems. Results. The findings from this study suggest that teachers define classroom management in a similar manner. All the teachers taking part in the study had experienced classroom management problems in their classes and a majority have had situations where intervening to violent behavior was necessary. The teachers had various ways to prevent and get involved in classroom management problems. According to the teachers, the reasons for classroom management problems come mainly from the home situations of students, which highlights the importance of school and home collaboration in the prevention of classroom management problems.