AN INVESTIGATION OF THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CLASSROOM TEACHERS’ VIEWS REGARDING DISCIPLINE PROBLEMS
Journal Name:
- Turkish Studies
Keywords (Original Language):
| Author Name | University of Author | Faculty of Author |
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Abstract (2. Language):
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to determine opinions and suggestions of primary school teachers on the most common disciplinary problems, their reasons, methods to deal with them and their effectiveness.
Method
This is a qualitative study carried out in the phenomenology pattern to examine opinions of the class teachers on disciplinary problems in-depth. Study group of the research consists of 29 voluntary class teachers participating from four primary schools in Karakoçan district of Elazığ in the academic year of 2013-2014. 93.2% of the participants have graduated from the Faculty of Education, 58.6% is female, 48.2% is between the age range of 26-30, and 44.8% has 11-15 years of seniority. 51.7% of the teachers stated that they have taken courses related to classroom management during their undergraduate studies, and 93.1% has read books on classroom management. There are 21-30 students in the classes of 51.8% of the teachers, 34.5% and 31.0% teach in the second and forth grades respectively. Written Opinion Taking Form (YGAF) developed by the researchers has been used in collection of the data, and descriptive analysis technique has been used in their analysis.
Findings
Depending on the obtained results, teachers mostly encounter such behaviors as talking without permission, being indifference to the lesson and wandering in the class; moreover, they consider that these disciplinary problems occur due to the family and student factors. The most frequently used methods in coping with the discipline problems are stimulating and punishment which are usually found ineffective by teachers. On the one hand; investigating the cause of the problem and awarding the student are partially effective in dealing with the stimulation discipline problems; on the other, making some changes in the class, determining the rules with the students and showing affection towards the students have been found to be the effective methods. Among the recommendations of the teachers for the prevention of discipline problems, cooperation with the family and guidance counselors takes in the first place.
Results, Discussions and Recommendations
At the end of this research, it is determined that the class teachers mostly encounter problems of speaking without permission, indifference to the lesson and walking around in the classroom during the course in their classes. In accordance with these results, which are in line with the national and international literature, it can be said that classroom teachers frequently face similar issues (Boyacı, 2009; Carotenuto, 2011; Çankaya and Çanakçı, 2011; Saygılı and Gürşimşek, 2008; Kalaycı, 2005). According to Evertson and Emmer (2012), when they are short-term and limited to a few students, these behaviors are minor problems that will not significantly prevent learning. However, when they spread to the class and are long-term, they may reach levels that will shake the learning-teaching process. It is very difficult for the primary school children to sit in a certain place during the course, talk with permission, focus their attention on the activities carried out and act together (Geçtan, 1982). However, many researches show that the course content and the activities appropriate to the ages and development levels of students make the students become more interested in the lesson and reduce the disciplinary problems in the classroom (Çelik, 2003; Doyle, 1986; Reeeve, 2006; Korkmaz, 2009). In this case, these results may be an indication that teaching is mostly teacher-centered, students often move away from the activities and get bored during the lesson.
As a result of the research, it is determined that the teachers think that the disciplinary problems they experience in their classrooms are mostly caused by the family and the child. Teachers, who indicate that the families are indifferent to the school and what their children do in the school, stated that students are also unwilling and indifferent to the course. Characteristics related to the family (income, education level, size, family relationships and quality of the communication, etc.) affect behavior of the child at school (Baysal, 2009) and generally the teachers look for the source of disciplinary problems in the family and the child (Atıcı, 2007; Dağlı and Baysal, 2012; Jones and Jones, 2007; Sadık, 2002). This can be accepted as a natural result because of the primary importance of the family in the formation of an individual’s attitude, values and habits, and because most of the children’s time is spent in the family. However, there are research findings showing that most of the disciplinary problems experienced in the classroom are associated with intramural variables, such as qualifications of the teachers, number of students in the classroom, quality of the curriculum, layout of the classroom, school management etc. (Curwin and Mendler, 1988; Çelik, 2003; Doyle, 1986; Hemde, 2010; O'Neil and Stephenson, 2013; Öztürk Koç and Şahin, 2003).
According to the findings obtained, the most frequently used methods of the teachers to deal with the disciplinary problems are warning and punishment. Eye contact has been qualified as ineffective by the teachers participating in this research; searching for the cause of the problem and rewarding the right behavior are considered as partially effective. When researches related to the subject are examined, it is observed that the teachers generally refer to warning and punishment methods against discipline problems (Karahancı, 2013; Kazu, 2007; Konti, 2011; Sadık, 2008; Uğurlu, 2014). The reason for this may be the teacher’s focus on stopping the inappropriate behaviors as soon as possible in order to ensure continuity of the education. However, both methods are insufficient alone to teach the student which behavior is appropriate or inappropriate. In fact, it has been determined in many researches that the teacher’s attitude in this respect annoys the students more and causes increase of the discipline problems in the classroom (Deniz, Avşaroğlu and Fidan, 2006; Pala, 2005). The results of this research have also been in this direction; the teachers found warning and punishment methods ineffective because the undesirable behaviors mostly continue. The long-term purpose of discipline is to prevent recurrence of the behavior(s) creating the discipline problem. This requires preparation of an environment supporting assessment of their own behaviors by the students, their understanding why such behaviors are inappropriate and their proper behavior. From this point, determining the rules with the students, searching for the reason of the behavior, creating a plan to change the behavior, assessing the process and the result regularly, noticing and approving the positive changes in the student, cooperating with the family and other teachers, being supportive and approaching the students lovingly are the strategies that can be more effective (Habacı, Tanrılulu, Atıcı, Ürker and Adıgüzelli, 2013; Musal, 2005; Tertemiz, 2012; Pianta, 2006; Öz, 2012). Most of these methods were among the suggestions of the teachers to prevent discipline problems, and some of the teachers stated that they have used the methods of changing teaching way of the lesson, defining the class rules together, negotiating with the parents and showing affection to the student and obtained positive results. In this case, it can be said that although the teachers know the methods that will positively affect the student behaviors, they do not include them in practice. In line with the derived results, it can be recommended to give application oriented in-service trainings to the teachers on knowing the student, methods and techniques of student-centered education, ensuring motivation in the classroom, collaboration with the family, preventive discipline and the discipline strategies that encourage the students to take the responsibility of their behaviors.
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Abstract (Original Language):
Bu araştırmanın amacı, ilkokul sınıf öğretmenlerinin sınıflarında en sık karşılaştıkları disiplin problemleri, nedenleri, baş etme yöntemleri ve etkililiği hakkındaki görüş ve önerilerini incelemektir. Nitel araştırma desenlerinden olgubilim deseninde olan araştırmanın çalışma grubunu, 2013-2014 eğitim-öğretim yılında Elazığ ili Karakoçan ilçesinde görev yapan 29 ilkokul sınıf öğretmeni oluşturmaktadır. Verilerin toplanmasında açık-uçlu sorulardan oluşan Yazılı Görüş Alma Formu kullanılmıştır. Verilerin analizinde ise betimsel analiz tekniği kullanılmıştır. Araştırma sonuçlarına göre öğretmenler; sınıflarında en çok izin almadan konuşma, derse karşı ilgisizlik ve sınıfta dolaşma davranışlarıyla karşılaşmakta, disiplin problemlerinin daha çok aile ve öğrenci özelliklerinden kaynaklandığını düşünmektedir. Öğretmenlerin disiplin problemleriyle baş etmede en çok kullandıkları yöntemler, çoğunlukla etkisiz buldukları uyarma ve ceza verme yöntemleri olmuştur. Sorunun nedenini araştırma ve öğrenciyi ödüllendirme uyarma disiplin problemleriyle baş etmede kısmen etkili; derste değişiklik yapma, kuralları öğrencilerle birlikte belirleme ve öğrenciye sevgi gösterme ise etkili bulunan yöntemler olmuştur. Öğretmenlerin disiplin problemlerini önlemeye yönelik öneriler arasında aile ve rehber öğretmenlerle işbirliği yapılması ilk sırada yer almıştır. Araştırmanın sonuçlarına dayalı olarak; öğretmenlere öğrenciyi tanıma, öğrenci merkezli öğretim yöntem ve teknikleri, sınıfta motivasyon sağlama, aileyle işbirliği yapma, önleyici disiplin ve öğrenciyi davranışının sorumluluğunu almaya teşvik eden disiplin stratejileri hakkında uygulama ağırlıklı hizmet içi eğitimler yapılması gibi öneriler geliştirilmiştir.
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