The relationship of teacher optimism to attitudes and beliefs regarding classroom management
Year: 1999
Type: dissertation
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: This study analyzed the relationship between degrees of attributional style (optimism and pessimism) and dimensions of classroom management (instructional, people-orientation, and behavioral).The sample consisted of 126 self-contained elementary (K-6) classroom teachers throughout Montana.These teachers self-reported attributional style using the Attributional Style Questionnaire (Seligman, 1984).They presented an average range of optimism with a small majority being more optimistic than pessimistic.When queried regarding their attitudes and beliefs about classroom management, the Attitudes and Beliefs o f Classroom Control Inventory (Baldwin & Martin, 1992) proved the survey sample to be very similar to previously validated elementary populations.Survey respondents aligned closely on the continuum from the least controlling non interventionist to the most controlling interventionist Valued demographic questions included years of teaching, position permanence, and training in classroom management.Correlational analysis resulted in a failure to reject the null hypotheses.No statistically significant relationship was found between optimism/pessimism and classroom management dimensions.Cross-tabulation produced second-level findings of interest Confirmed by Fisher's Exact test, the relationship between highly optimistic teachers and strong instructional managers proved significant Additionally, pessimistic teachers tended to be less controlling regarding instructional management and more controlling when dealing with people and behaviors than were optimistic teachers.Findings from the study yielded the following major conclusions: 1.The majority of elementary teachers surveyed have positive attributional style, yet a significant number were clinically depressed.2. The predominant instructional management approach of the sample fell at the upper end of the continuum between interactionalist and interventionist 3.People management scores appeared to exhibit a strong interactionalist approach.4. Behavior management scores also appeared mid-range, representing an interactionalist approach.5. Extremes of optimism and pessimism confirmed that greater control was exhibited by the optimist in the instructional management dimension while the corresponding pessimistic group scored more interactionalist in this dimension.In both the people and behavior dimensions, optimists were more interactionalist and pessimists tended toward greater controlling attitudes and beliefs.This finding is confirmed by the responses from the most hopeful respondents.6.The longer a teacher remains at a grade level, the more controlling are his/her attitudes and beliefs regarding both instructional management and student behavior.ii R ep ro d u ced with p erm ission o f the copyright ow ner.Further reproduction prohibited w ithout p erm ission.Dedication This work is dedicated to my family, Tom, Tracy, and Peter, whose encouragement and confidence made everything possible.Together your love bolstered me.iii R ep ro d u ced with p erm ission o f the copyright ow ner.Further reproduction prohibited w ithout p erm ission.committee, for her decade of inspiration.Complimented by the ever-present support of Dr.
Source: The Mathematics Enthusiast
Author: Debra Peters Yerkes
Language: English
Subfield: Applied Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: green
Funder: Ministry of Education, India
OpenAlex ID: W2483286036