Classroom Management Training, Class Size and Graduate Study: Do These Variables Impact Teachers' Beliefs Regarding Classroom Management Style?

This study represents a continuation of research efforts to further refine the Attitudes & Beliefs on Classroom Control (ABCC) Inventory. Formerly titled the Inventory of Classroom Management Style, the ABCC is an instrument designed to measure teachers' perceptions of their classroom management beliefs and practices. It is based on a continuum originally suggested by C. Wolfgang and C. Glickman (1980, 1986). Objectives were to: (1) investigate the impact of classroom management training on classroom management style; (2) study the relationship between class size and classroom management style; (3) investigate differences between the perceived classroom management style of teachers who had and had not enrolled in a graduate course within the preceding 6 months; and (4) further substantiate the construct validity of the ABCC. Data were collected from 281 certified teachers, who were primarily urban, and female. Most of the teachers were Caucasian (69.9%) and they had an overall average of 14.35 years of teaching experience. Results show significant differences on the Instructional Management subscale of the ABCC regarding classroom management training as well as significant positive correlations between average class enrollment and teachers' scores on the People Management and Behavior Management subscales of the ABCC. A one-way analysis of variance did not yield significant differences between the teachers who had enrolled in graduate courses in the last 6 months and those who did not. Results seem to be in keeping with the construct. (Contains 3 tables and 26 references.) (SLD)