Teacher Classroom Management Behaviors and Student Time-on-Task: Implications for Teacher Education

Abstract

An investigation of 17 second-grade and 17 fourth-grade classrooms was completed to determine the types of management behaviors teachers exhibited and the impact that these behaviors had on the teaching–learning environment for both teachers and students. Four hours of observational data were collected in each classroom. Data analyses indicated that the teaching–learning environment was greatly affected by the amount and quality of several teacher management behaviors. Teacher retreating, which is defined and discussed, was found to be a significant predictor of student off-task behavior. A detailed discussion of how the research findings can be used in teacher preparation programs is provided.