Becoming a competent classroom manager: A case-study of a preservice teacher education course

ABSTRACT

Classroom management (CM) is one of the major challenges faced by novice teachers. We define CM as the set of actions that teachers undertake to build a classroom climate that promotes students’ academic, and socioemotional competence (SEC). This study is an evaluative case study of an innovation in a CM course for students, in a teaching education undergraduate program at a private University in Colombia. Specifically, we examined the potential of a set of pedagogic strategies (i.e. active learning and reflective journals) to develop preservice teachers’ SEC, CM self-efficacy and non-controlling discipline beliefs. Results from quantitative and qualitative analyses showed the potential that active learning and reflective journals have to prepare preservice teachers for the challenges of CM.

KEYWORDS:

• classroom management
• preservice teacher education
• socioemotional competence
• teacher beliefs
• teacher self-efficacy

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by a grant from the Center for Research and Training in Education at Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia.

Notes on contributors

Ana M. Velásquez

Dr. Ana M. Velasquez is an Associate Professor in the School of Education at Universidad de los Andes, Colombia. She holds a Ph.D. degree in Developmental Psychology from Concordia University, Canada. She has been a teacher trainer for over two decades. Her areas of expertise are related to classroom management, socioemotional learning, and citizenship education programs.

Diego F. Mendoza

Diego Mendoza is a social science school teacher in a public school in Bogota, Colombia He holds a Master in Education from Universidad de los Andes, Colombia. He has more than 10 years of experience as a social science teacher and his research interests are related to historic memory and its role on citizenship education and pedagogical practices.

Sanjay K. Nanwani

Dr. Sanjay K. Nanwani holds a Phd in Education from Universidad de los Andes, Colombia. At present he heads the Internationalisation Office in the Faculty of Finance, Government and International Relations at Universidad Externado, Colombia, where he also teaches and conducts research in the areas of democratic citizenship education, classroom and school climate, and internationalisation of higher education. He is also internal consultant on safe schools at the World Bank.