A Comparative Study Of Classroom Discipline Management Beliefs And Behaviors Between Novice And Experienced English Teachers In High School

Classroom discipline management is an important part of the teaching and learning process and is particularly important for English teachers in the context of the new standards because their classrooms are often dynamic,fast-paced,and unpredictable.This study compared the classroom discipline management beliefs and behaviors of novice and experienced high school English teachers.Novice teachers were defined as those with less than five years of teaching experience,while experienced teachers were defined as those who had been teaching for more than ten years and whose teaching abilities were well-recognized.Comparative studies of novice and experienced teachers have identified significant differences and suggested improvements.However,the differences in classroom discipline management between the two groups are still unknown,and the available suggestions for improving teachers’ effectiveness in classroom discipline management lack empirical data to support them.In this paper,it is important to research the differences in classroom discipline management between novice and experienced high school English teachers and make recommendations.This paper mainly aims to examine the differences between novice and experienced teachers of high school English in terms of classroom discipline management beliefs and behaviors.In order to achieve this goal,the study examined three questions: the current status of classroom discipline management of novice and experienced high school English teachers,the differences between them,and the causes contributing to the differences.In order to answer these questions,this study used a mixed research method that combined questionnaires,semi-structured interviews,and classroom observations to collect data.100 subject teachers participated in this study,including 50 novice teachers and 50 experienced teachers.Quantitative data were collected through questionnaires,while qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews and classroom observations.The results showed that while novice and experienced teachers had some similar beliefs and behaviors regarding classroom discipline management,they differed in a number of other areas.In terms of classroom discipline management beliefs,compared to novice teachers,experienced teachers had a higher sense of self-efficacy regarding their disciplinary actions,were more inclined to consider students who frequently violated discipline as bad students,were more likely to believe that big class would have an impact on the maintenance of classroom discipline,and were more likely to believe that classroom discussions should be curtailed in terms of the need for classroom discussions than did the novice teachers.Novice teachers also placed greater emphasis on the democratic aspects of classroom discipline management,including encouraging student participation in making discipline standards and valuing the democratic spirit of classroom discipline management.In terms of classroom discipline management behaviors,novice teachers showed less control over students and the classroom than experienced teachers did.On the other hand,novice teachers were more likely to have negative emotions in the face of discipline problems,while experienced teachers were quicker to take measures to stop discipline problems than novice teachers.There was a significant difference between novice teachers and experienced teachers in that experienced teachers tended to inform students of the rules and possible punishments in advance,and once the rules were set,they were generally not changed.By analyzing the qualitative data,it can be concluded that the main causes that led to significant differences in classroom discipline management beliefs and behaviors included differences in teaching experience,knowledge of students,perceptions of the purpose of classroom discipline management,and understanding and acceptance of the new standards between the two groups.Combining the information gathered from classroom observations,we also found that experienced teachers’ classrooms were relatively less noisy than novice teachers’ classrooms,and novice teachers spend more classroom time maintaining discipline than experienced teachers,but relatively speaking,novice teachers have a more active classroom atmosphere and students are more willing to speak and engage in discussion than experienced teachers.Finally,based on the findings of this study,the author attempts to give high school English teachers some suggestions for improvement in classroom discipline management.Classroom discipline management should uphold the humanistic and student-centered principle,and adopt the principle of minimal intervention to help students form good habits and self-awareness,and should also adhere to the principle of prevention by detecting signs of classroom discipline problems before they arise and trying to avoid students’ violations as teachers can.