PHY 311, Autumn 2004
ISU Physics Teacher Education Program
Copyright 1998 Carl J. Wenning
There are a number of management styles that both parents andteachers exhibit. There have been a number of psychological studiesof parenting styles that naturally would appear to extent to classroommanagement styles for teachers. I hypothesize that such a relationshipexists. Classroom management styles of teachers can be characterizedalong two dimensions (Baumrind, 1971): type of control exercised over students,and degree of involvement of teachers with students. The extremesof these two dimensions allow teacher management of students tobe readily identified.
Control can run the gambit from high in which teachers explicitly"lay down the law" and very strictly enforce it, tolow in which the teachers have no rules and no expectations fortheir students. Involvement, likewise, can range from high tolow. High involvement is characteristic of teachers who have highregard for students, likes students, enjoy being around students,and want to see students do their best. On the other hand, lowinvolvement shows a real lack of both regard and concern for students.
The classroom management styles of teachers can be readilyidentified on the basis of both degree of control and level ofinvolvement. The nature of each management style can be identifiedfrom the chart below.
| High Involvement | Low Involvment | |
| High Control | Authoritative | Authoritarian |
| Low Control | Indulgent | Permissive |
According to Baumrind (1971), the authoritative style encourages independence, is warm and nurturing, control occurs along with explanation, and adolescents are permitted to express their views.The authoritative approach is the best form of classroom management style because it is the one most closely associated with appropriatestudent behaviors.
- The authoritative style is characterized by behavioral principles, high expectations of appropriate behavior, clear statements about why certain behaviors are acceptable and others not acceptable, and warm student-teacher relationships.
- The authoritarian style tends to be characterized by numerous behavioral regulations, is often seen as punitive and restrictive, and students have neither a say in their management, nor are they seen to need explanations; the teacher's character is sometimes perceived as being cold, even punishing.
- The permissive style is characterized by a lack of involvement, the environment is non-punitive, there are few demands on students, and there is a lot of freedom.
- The indulgent style presents an environment where there are no demands on the student of any sort, and the students are actively supported in their efforts to seek their own ends using any reasonable means.
These four styles represent extremes, and most teachers demonstrate a certain degree of inconsistency in their use of styles.
Research has shown that
the type of management style used results incharacteristic behaviors.
- The authoritative style helps to produce students who are socially competent and responsible.
- The authoritarian style helps to produce students who are ineffective at social interaction, and somewhat inactive.
- Both indulgent and permissive styles help to produce students that are immature, show poor self-restraint, and who exhibit poor leadership skills.
QUESTIONS:
What sort of classroom management style will you exhibit once you begin teaching?
Which style is most consistent with your personality?
Would you feel comfortable with this style?
High might you work to achieve changes if you don't like what you see?
The ideas for this article were taken from: Baumrind, D. (1971). Current patterns of parental authority. Developmental Psychology Monographs, 4(1).
