| The purpose of this study was to investigate the sources, identify the characteristics, and validate the perceived effectiveness of classroom rules as adopted by classroom teachers. In addition, the researcher was also interested in the possible effects that the number of years of teaching experience and/or the possible effects of the number of postgraduate and/or inservice training opportunities in behavioral management techniques have had on the type of classroom rules adopted and/or the perceived effectiveness of the rules in controlling the behavior for which the rule was designed. A six-page, 32-item questionnaire was developed to identify public school teachers classroom rules, their source, characteristics, and perceived effectiveness in maintaining classroom discipline. The survey was delivered through a district mailing route to a random sample of 182 public kindergarten through high school teachers. Three surveys were returned and a total of 126 individuals responded (70.3% response rate). Most respondents were female (N = 98) and had a bachelor's degree plus twenty-four graduate hours earned. On average, the typical teacher was 41 years old and taught in one of four settings: K–3 = 25.4%, Gr. 9–12 = 21.4%, Gr. 3–5 = 18.3%, Gr. 6–8 = 18.3% and had been teaching for 15.5 years of which nine years had been at their current assignment and 13 years had been with the same school district. A mean average of 5.36 rules was reported. Four subgroups of teacher responses were compared: teachers who had less than five years experience, teachers with five or more years experience, teachers who had taken less than three opportunities to participate in college courses and/or inservice opportunities that emphasized classroom management/discipline techniques, and teachers who had participated in three or more such courses. This study suggests that teaching experience and participation in college courses and inservice opportunities do positively effect the generation of classroom rules that are better aligned with suggestions made by expert's in the field, research studies, and professional journals. Most rules reported in these studies were used to govern the interaction, speaking, or movement of students and these rules were phrased in a positive manner. It may be beneficial for such courses or inservice opportunities to focus on prominent placement of rules and to allow participants to explore the purpose for which the rule is being generated. In addition the teacher must be clear in his/her mind of whether they wish to democratic participation or obedience to authority before they make the choice of involving the student in initial rule generation. |
