| The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of primary teachers' personal, professional and contextual background characteristics on their classroom management styles and other teacher characteristics such as teaching beliefs and sense of efficacy. The participants were selected from the membership list of the National Association of Education for Young Children (NAEYC). Quantitative data were collected from 297 U.S. primary grade teachers through mail survey. The survey included Teacher Beliefs Scale (TBS), Pupil Control Ideology Form (PCI), and Teacher Self-Efficacy Scale (TSES) instruments in addition to a demographic instrument. Results of data analysis revealed that teachers' personal, professional, and contextual background characteristics were not related to their classroom management styles. However, teachers' teaching beliefs and efficacy levels were highly related to their classroom control beliefs and their scores on the teacher beliefs and efficacy instruments were strong predictors of their classroom management style. Results also indicated that teachers' teaching beliefs were influenced by their experience as teachers, their educational level, and school settings. Furthermore, their efficacy levels were found to be influenced by the type of training they received, size of their school, and the percentage of minority students in their schools. Discussion of the findings, implications of the study and recommendations for further research were presented. |
