Experienced and prospective teachers' selections of compliance‐gaining messages for “common” student misbehaviors

Abstract

Research has examined either prospective or experienced teachers’ reported use of Behavior Alteration Techniques (BATs). In extension, this study differentiates between both preteachers’ and experienced teachers’ cognitive schemes for classroom management. Respondents selected those strategies they would use to gain student compliance in misbehavior scenarios reflecting misbehavior type (active/passive) and intensity (frequent/occasional). Employing pro and antisocial BAT factors as criterion variables, four significant multivariate effects resulted. Experienced teachers reported using more pro and antisocial strategies than did prospective teachers. Both relied on antisocial techniques for active misbehaviors and pro social for passive; both pro and antisocial for frequent, as opposed to occasional, misbehaviors; and males were associated with more antisocial techniques. Implications are discussed in terms of design alternatives to the standard selectionist approach.