Browsing by Author "Tiinus, Satu"

It is an undeniable fact that the peaceful working conditions at school have a societal meaning, as the previous studies have shown it has positive impact on teaching-studying-learning process. Therefore, it is important to maintain order in the classroom expediently by using proactive and reactive classroom management strategies. The aim of this study is to research the phenomenon of the peaceful working conditions and, by utilizing that information, to create an instrument which enables to measure the classroom management strategies. The specific interest of this study is to study the most typical classroom management strategies used by classroom teachers. Moreover, the study investigates how the classroom management strategies represent three classroom management styles (instructional management, behavioral management, people management) and what kind of impact work experience and grade have on the classroom management strategies. Participants included 117 qualified classroom teachers who had worked during the school year of 2018–2019. The data was collected via a questionnaire, which was created as a result of my research on the phenomenon of the peaceful working conditions, and by utilizing previous instruments. The validation of this questionnaire was verified by using factor analysis and Cronbach’s alpha. The questionnaire was published on Facebook and sent to the classroom teachers of a certain school in Espoo. The data was analyzed by using descriptive and inferential statistics and Kruskal-Wallis-test. The most typical proactive classroom management strategies among classroom teachers were praising, prompting and giving positive feedback, while the most typical reactive strategy to maintain order were reminding pupils about expectations and given instructions. Altogether classroom teachers’ strategies represented comprehensively all three styles of classroom management. Out of these, behavioral management was the most used. Work experience and grade seemed to have statistically significant meaning only in a few strategies. Based on the results of this study, it is justified to say that classroom teachers have a wide range of classroom management strategies which arise from earlier research. This is significant when considering the comprehensive wellbeing of teachers and students.