An Analysis of the Pre-Service Foreign Language Teachers’ Beliefs about Classroom Management in Terms of Several Variables

An Analysis of the Pre-Service Foreign Language Teachers’ Beliefs about Classroom Management in Terms of Several Variables

AKKUTAY, Ülker
TERTEMIZ, Neşe

Key words: Foreign language education, classroom management, teacher training ABSTRACT Teachers’ beliefs on teaching and learning reflect their theoretical orientations as well as their teaching practice (Dooley, 1997). Teachers try to provide the optimal learning conditions for their students and to meet their learning needs. Given that teacher training experiences affect the pre-service teachers’ views about teaching, the investigation of their views about classroom management is significant to improve teacher training programs. One of the tools dealing with the pre-serice teachers’ views on classroom management was developed by Martin, Yin and Baldwin (1998). This tool analyses the pre-service teachers’ beliefs on classroom management under three categories: management of teaching, management of people and management of behaviour. The current study will employ this tool, “The scale of the attitudes towards and beliefs bout classroom management”, developed by Martin et. al. (1998) to collect the data of the study. The major aim of the tool is to identify the teachers’ perceptions and beliefs in regard to classroom management and practices. The adaptation of the tool into Turkish was done by Savran (2002). The participants of the study are third and fourth grade pre-service foreign language teachers attending a public university in Ankara during the acadmic year of 2012-2013. Firstly, their mean scores on the scale will be revealed, indicating their attitudes towards and beliefs about classroom management. Then their mean scores will be analysed and compared based on some variables, indicating the department they are attending, gender, whether or not taking the course of classroom management, whether or not taking the course of educational philosophy, school experience and practical experience. T-test will be employed to see whether or not the mean scores of the participant groups differ significantly. The findings will be discussed in the light of previous findings.

Article
PeerReviewed

IBU Publishing

2013-05-03

1940