a qualitative study on classroom management

8/19/2019 A Qualitative Study on Classroom Management

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A Qualitative Study on Classroom

Management and Classrooin Discipline

Problems, Reasons, and Solutions: A

Case of Information Technologies Class

Mehmet

ERJJOGAN*,

Engin KUR ÇUN , Gulçin

Fatih

SALTAN ,

Ali

GÖK , î.mail

YILDIZ

bstract

The luirpcic of this stiuly w¡i.s to investigate classroom management and diseipline problems

that Information Teehnology teachers have faeetl, and to reveal iinderljing reasons and possih-

le solutions of these prohlenis hy considering the views of parents, teachers, and administrator.

'Ihis study w as design ed as qualitative study. Subjecis of this snidy consisted of 14 school a dm i-

nislrators, 14 teachers, ami 17 paren ts. Tliree difTereiu, bu t parallel, sem i-struc tured interv iew

schedules were used for tiata collection. Data were analysed through the use of content analy-

sis meth od . As a result of this an;ilysis, the problem s associated with classroom m an ag em en t

were grouped under following themes; lack of motivation, breaking the rules and routines, lack

of infrastructure, insufTieient time management, ineffective classroom environment, and lack of

interaction in classroom s. O n t he other side, participa nts related these prob lems with following

reasons; place and stnicture of the course in the curriculum, classroom environment, classroom

size and lack of hardware, lack of rules, home environment and parents attitudes, lack of teac-

hers '

management skills and students attitudes, l-' inally, following solutions were suggested to

overcome disciplines and classroom m anage me nt problems; imp rovem ent in teachers 'qualifica-

tiou, regulation at place and structure ofthe course in tlie curriculum, organizing motivational

activities, using software w hich con trols com puters usage in classroom/lab , reorg anizin g class-

room /lab sit t ing plan, giving pun ishm ent, ignoring m isbehavior, understan iiing reasons beh ind

problems, meeting with parents and providing coordination among different subject commu-

nities (Ziimre) in schools.

eywords

Infomiiitioti Technology Course, Classroom Management, Discipline Problems.

*

Cornwpoiuicncc:

Assist . Prof Dr. Aktleniz University, l- 'aciik) ' of K diication, De pa rtm ent of E duca tional Sci-

ences, 07 058 , Aniaiy;i/Turkcv.


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882 • EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES:THEORYSi PRACTICE

Advance in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have

been influencing almost all parts of our Hves. W it hou t doub t, it has

become necessary to prepare new generation to be equipped with these

I C T skills (Dursun & Çuhadar,

2009).

In fact. Information Technology

teachers, so called computer teachers, working at primary and second-

ary schools have pivotal roles to fulfill this mission (Kabakçi

c

odabaçi ,

2007).

However, this is not an easy task; especially the prevalence of

new technologies in schools has resulted in new classroom management

and discipline problems. Students'wrong usage and damage of techno-

logical tools in classrooms (Irving, 2003), ineffective time mana gement

while using technology, using cell phone in classrooms, video and sound

records which might influence the private life are some of the exam-

ples emerging as a result of the entrance of new technologies into the

schools. In this sense, a successful classroom management and organi-

zation is fundamental for designing an effective teaching and learning

environment and for preventing discipline problems and misbehaviors

(Brophy, 1983; Emm er, Evertson, 6c W orsham, 2000; E vertson, E m -

mer, Sanford, 6c Clements, 1983). Also, com municating w ith parents is

essential for ehminating these problems (Yildinm 6cDönmez, 2008).

The existing literature revealed frequent misbehaviors observed in

Turkish classrooms. For example, Atici and Merry (2001) reported

that Turkish students demonstrated misbehaviors such as talking out

of turn, wandering aimlessly, irritating pupils, and misusing materials.

Similarly, Türnüklü and Galton (2001) m entioned about Turkish stu-

dents'

frequent misbehaviors as illicit talking, inappropriate movement

and interrupting another pupil.

According to study conducted with twenty primary school teachers

from Turkey and Eng land

by

Türnüklü and G alton (2001), it was found

that most of the classroom management problems in both countries

were similar. Their study indicated tha t the m ost prevalent dis rup -


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1 - : R 1 ) O C A N . K U R $ U N , T A N , S A L T A N , G Ö K , Y 1 I .D IZ

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Qualitati .e

Study on Classroom •

BB3

of day, different part of the lesson, the seating arrang em ent in the class-

room , the type of learning activity and the subject matter (T urnükü ôc

G alton, 2 00 1 , p.296) . O n the other side, while financial problems of

parents could be main reason of these misbehaviors in Turkey, divorce

was likely to be main cause of

these

inappropriate behaviors in E nglan d

(T ürknüklü ô cG alton, 2001) .

A tici (2007) attributed the reasons of misbehaviors to family related is-

sues and s tudent related issues. A mong these, family related reasons have

been observed to be one of the most prevalent reasons of inappropri-

ate behaviors (A tici, 2007; Weishew

& ,

Peng, 1993) . O n the other side,

Çaglar (2008) divides the factors related to misbehaviors into two dif-

ferent, but related categories; internal and external factors. He Rirther

explains that although teachers could have direct influence on internal

factors (student, teacher, environment), they do not have direct impact

on external factors. H e divides external factors into two groups, one is re-

lated to students' lose environment (family, school and friends) and the

other one is related to remote environment (educational management,

country governance and development in the W orld) (Çaglar, 2008 ).

Studies on nfo rm ation Technology Teachers

The review of the literature indicated that studies addressing to the

depa rtment of C om puter Education and Instructional T echnology

(C E IT ) are scarce because it

is

a newly established d epartment. Existing

studies on this area mainly covered the following subjects; professional

requirement of Information T echnology T eachers, their status and w ork

conditions (K iyici Sc K abakçi,

2006),

perceptions about the dep artm ent

of C E I T (Du rdu ôcYildn-im, 2005) , and their problems and difficulties

they encountered in their professional life (Dursun

& .

Çuhadar, 2009) .

Results of these studies indicated that problems that IT teachers have

faced can be categorized under four them es; namely problems related


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8 8 4 - EDUCAnONALSCIENCES:TllEORYScl'RACTlCE

A study conducted hy Dursun and Çuhadar (2009) investigating the

pre-service com puter teachers' views on the teaching profession indi-

cated tha t the m ain reason of classroom managem ent problem was that

the efforts of students in IT classes were not graded and students did

not obtain any grade from IT courses at the end of the semester. An-

other study which was conducted with 70 IT teachers showed that 43 %

of the problems were mainly due to student-related issues and crowded

classroom (Deryakulu, 2005). Still ano ther cause of the problem assert-

ed by Çagiltay, Çakiroglu, Çagiltay, and Çakiroglu (2001) is the limited

num ber of available technological tools in classroom and computer labs.

urren t Status of Info rm atio n Technology ourse in Turke y

According to 2378 numbered issue and Ministry of National Educa-

tion gu ide dated with 15 M arch

1993,

it was stated tha t teaehers who

will teach computer [Information Technology] course will be selected

from candidates who hold major or minor in Computer Education

field , if needed number does not meet, IT teachers will be selected

from teachers who are already work ing in the M inis try of Nationa l

Education w ith a higher education diploma. Initial Co m pute r Ed -

ucation and Instructional Technology department was founded in

Middle East Technical University in 1993 (Durdu 8cYildinm,2005).

Up to this date, infrastructures necessary for computer education and

training for computer teachers were established, and those trained

hy Ministry of National Education were selected from various fields

to become computer teachers. One of these trainings was realized in

1985 for 225 teachers. They were taken to training about com puter lit-

eracy and B AS IC program ming language (Akkoyunlu ôc ímer, 1998 ).

ö n the othe r side, it was 1998 when com puter lesson were firstly in -

cluded into national curriculum as a 1 or 2 hours per week for 4* to

8'' ' graders. Later, the nature of the course was changed and it was


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K . R D O Ô A N , K U R Ç U N , T A N , S A L T A N , G Ö K , Y I L D I Z /

/I Qualitative S tudy on Classroom •

88S

by considering the views of parents, school administrators and teachers.

In scope of this general aim, following specific research questions were

addressed;

1. What are the classroom management problems that Information

Technology Teachers faced?

2. What are the discipline problems that Information Technology

Teachers faced?

3 . W h a t are the underlying reasons of these classroom managem ent

and discipline probleins?

4.

W h a t are the possible solutions suggested by teachers, adm inistra-

tors and parents for these classroom management and discipline

problems?

ethod

The design of the study was made use of qualitative research method,

lilis method provides the researchers to work small groups, but thus

to gain in-depth information, understanding and wider insight on the

selected subjects Pa tton, 1990; Yildinm 6c Çimjek, 20 08).

ubjects

Subject of this qualitative study consisted of 17 family mem bers 13

Mothers ,

3

Fathers, and

Elder B rother) whose children or sibling took

an Information Technology course, 14 Information Technology Teach-

ers 6 Females, 8 M ales) and 14 school principals and vice principals 6

Females, 8 Males). While selecting the sample, convenience samphng

method was

used

This sampling method help the researchers aecess the

subjects easily and facilitates the research process Yildinm 6c Çimjek,


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886 • EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES:THEORY Sol RACTICE

Table 1.

Demographic information of administrators and teachers

Administrator (n=14)

Demographic Information

Gender

Female

Male

Experience in the profession

First vear

1-.S

6-10

Graduation

department)

Computer Education Teacher

Technology and Design Teacher

Applied Science (Science E d...etc)

Social Studies (History, Literature...etc)

la s s Teacher

Math Teachers

Others

Type

of adm inistrator

rincipal

Assistant Prineipal

Not indicated

f

6

8

-

9

5

2

1

3

3

2

2

1

5

3

6

Teacher n=14)

Demographic

Information

Gender

Female

Male

Experience

in the projession

First year

1-5

6-10

Grad tation

department)

Com puter Teacher

Computer System

Teachers

Teehnology and Design

Teaeher

Com puter Tech. 8c

Programming Teacher

Vocational Schools

Others

Work

i oad

in a week

1-10 hours

11-20 hours

21-30 hours

f

6

8

2

8

4

7

2

1

1

1

2

4

4

6

Data ollection Instruments

Three different, but parallel, semi-structured interview schedules; for

family members, teachers and administrator, were developed for the


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KRDOÖA N, KUR^UN,

TAN,

SALTAN, GÖK , YILD IZ / /Í

ualitative Study on

Classroom • 887

Da ta Co ilection an d nalysis

Data were obtained from the subjects in the spring semester of

2008/2009 academic year. Qualitative data analysis process was organ-

ized in five steps which were parallel to the method proposed by Schloss

and Smith (1999) and updated by Erdogan and Ok (2007).These steps

were called as (1) transcription, (2) reliability analysis, (3) coding, (4)

establishing themes and categories and (5) writing up and interpreting

the results. Collected data were firstly transformed into written format

and then subjected to content analysis for examining tbe common codes

and thus categories. Later, three randomly selected transcripts were

coded independen tly by three coders in order to examine the consisten-

cy among the codes emerged and to find inter-rater reliability. Then, all

transcripts were other three researchers and then these emerged codes

were controlled by another researcher. Categories and themes were later

established based on the codes and their similar characteristics. Finally,

the emerged codes and established categories and themes were inter-

preted along with the quo tation taken from the transcripts.

Findings

In light of the data obtained from the participants, the possible problems

of IT teachers associated with classroom management were (1) lack of

motivation, (2) rule and routines breaking, (3) lack of infrastructure,

(4) ineffective time management, (5) classroom environment, and (6)

lack of classrotim interac tion.The discipline problems and misbehaviors

that teachers encountered in IT classes were mainly related to off-task

bebavior, (i.e. hstening music, using M SN ), noisy talking, walking aim -

lessly, and inappropriate use of classroom materials.

he

possible reasons

behind classroom management problems and students discipline prob-

lems were (1) tbe nature and status of the course in the curriculum, (2)


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888 • KDUCATIONAL

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T lEO RY ít PRACTICE

es,

(6) giving punishment, (7) ignoring, (8) investigating the reasons of

the p roblem, (9) establishing rules, (10) con tacting with paren t and (11)

cooperating with other groups of teachers in the school.

sults

As indicated by the teachers, studen ts' lack of motivation, and breaking

rules and routines can be mainly due to the nature of the course (i.e.

one class hour in a week) in the curriculum. This is almost consistent

with the previous findings (Altun

Atej ,

2008; Deryakulu Sc Olkun,

2006; Seferoglu, 200 7). Students' motivation can be increased throug h

the use of various instructional methods and techniques (i.e. project

based learning design, Öz dener Özcob an, 2004) H igh number of

the students in classroom and relatively low num ber of the techn ologi-

cal equipm ents also created problems in terms of effective management

and effective usage of the materials (Altun, 2007; Çagiltay et al., 2001).

The teachers indicated that since classrooms were too big, students ' dis -

ruptive talking and wandering within the classroom could not be eas-

ily controlled. However, Ersoy (2005) believed that spaces should be

available between the computers in order to control the students. Thus,

the classes should be large enough for recruiting the available materials

and should be equipped with the technological tools (i.e. com puter) by

considering the number of the students taking a course in that class.

Lack of available software programs w hich con trol studen ts'usage of in-

ternet and the programs in the computer emerged as another reason to

studen ts' out-o f task behavior. Purchasing and using software program

in the com puter labs can be a solution to eliminate this prob lem.

Lack of rules which organizes the daily activities and class routine s, and

breaking the established rules were observed to be the reason of the

emergence of the classroom management and discipline prob lems. Rule


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Ç akiroglu, 2004 ) , teachers should be taken to in-service training in

terms of classroom management, conflict resolution and stress manage-

ment. Furtherm ore, teachers should be equipped with self-organization

and time -mana gem ent skills Bingimlas, 2009 ) .

In short, research on classroom management in the available literature

revealed similar results. Discipline problems and possible reasons were

indicated in many of the studies. H owever, solutions to these emerged

problems were not frequently spelled out. This research study, in this

sense, served beneficial solutions to deal with the classroom manage-

ment and discipline problem s of I C teachers in specific and oth er teach-

ers teaching various topics in general. his study

is

very significant since

it provides different viewpoints in the context of problem-reason-solu-

tion associated with classroom management.


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CImsroom...

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