For example, Brophy (1986) defines effective classroom management as "the ability to establish, maintain, and (when necessary) restore the classroom as an effective environment for teaching and learning." Others describe classroom management as a delicate navigation of advance planning (Franklin, 2006); rule setting; the establishment and implementation of daily protocols, routines, and interventions; and the teacher's own presentation (Baker, Lang, & Lawson, 2002; Freiberg, 2002)
" Also, in Bertalanffy's book, Perspectives on General System Theory, which was a compilation of Bertalanffy's work after his death, Ervin Lazlo honored the theorist by stating, "In this volume of papers, spanning some forty years of penetrating thinking and pioneering struggles -- often uphill -- the reader encounters a rare phenomenon which he should prize all the more for being so much in need today: a breadth of vision coupled with penetrating logic, founded on solid technical and experimental knowledge. It is only the truly great scientist who can rise above his field, having mastered its techniques and theories, and take in broader horizons," (Bertalanffy, 1975, p
" Also, in Bertalanffy's book, Perspectives on General System Theory, which was a compilation of Bertalanffy's work after his death, Ervin Lazlo honored the theorist by stating, "In this volume of papers, spanning some forty years of penetrating thinking and pioneering struggles -- often uphill -- the reader encounters a rare phenomenon which he should prize all the more for being so much in need today: a breadth of vision coupled with penetrating logic, founded on solid technical and experimental knowledge. It is only the truly great scientist who can rise above his field, having mastered its techniques and theories, and take in broader horizons," (Bertalanffy, 1975, p
" Also, in Bertalanffy's book, Perspectives on General System Theory, which was a compilation of Bertalanffy's work after his death, Ervin Lazlo honored the theorist by stating, "In this volume of papers, spanning some forty years of penetrating thinking and pioneering struggles -- often uphill -- the reader encounters a rare phenomenon which he should prize all the more for being so much in need today: a breadth of vision coupled with penetrating logic, founded on solid technical and experimental knowledge. It is only the truly great scientist who can rise above his field, having mastered its techniques and theories, and take in broader horizons," (Bertalanffy, 1975, p
It is not enough to have teachers change their teaching and classrooms to reflect their students' diversity. The schools that they teach in must also become culturally competent educational systems," (Brown, 2007
Classroom management theories and methodologies vary widely as well, and are a source of great debate. "While addressing student behavior was critical for teachers, especially given the many different approaches that existed (Bucher & Manning, 2001), determining the method to use in managing the classroom was even more challenging," (Glickman & Tamashiro, 1980)
Unal and Unal (2009) stated, "Though it is true that some teachers adapt to classroom management techniques easily, classroom management is a skill that can be gained through training and many years of experience in the field." For many individuals, it can take between four and seven years to develop into a proficient teacher (Carter and Doyle 1995; Gonzalez and Carter 1996; Varrella 2000)
When employing this theory, teachers are expected to use strategies that encourage students to make better decisions about their behavior, rather than using stimulus response theory, a reward/punishment management strategy. In fact, experts in the field recommend moving away from the stimulus response theory types of practices, "Teachers who established practices that developed personal responsibility in students showed increases in student achievement results (Clark, 2004; Sullo, 2007)
Critical Analysis Since the enactment of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001, expectations for teachers to provide a productive classroom environment that encourages positive academic achievement for all students have increased dramatically. To achieve this, effective classroom management is key, "Teaching is a complex profession requiring teachers to be effective in implementing and maintaining order while delivering effective instruction," (Friedman, 2006)
"In the current study, it is plausible that VMC teachers were using more of the positive strategies than VM teachers because VMC teachers' skills in recognizing such behaviors had improved because there were more positive and prosocial behaviors to praise among VMC students," (Shernoff & Kratochwill, 2007). Overall, study outcomes show that training is a necessary component to transferring EBIs to practice settings (Drake et al
" On a positive note, the Level System and use of labeled praise statements may have encouraged the teacher to attend to and reinforce appropriate classroom behavior. By concentrating on appropriate behaviors and providing social rewards for those behaviors, there is greater opportunity to promote a more positive classroom atmosphere (Filcheck, McNeil, Greco & Bernard, 2004)
" On a positive note, the Level System and use of labeled praise statements may have encouraged the teacher to attend to and reinforce appropriate classroom behavior. By concentrating on appropriate behaviors and providing social rewards for those behaviors, there is greater opportunity to promote a more positive classroom atmosphere (Filcheck, McNeil, Greco & Bernard, 2004)
This required teachers to employ strategies that supported students' abilities to make better choices regarding their behavior. As a result, by developing self-discipline, students had a greater chance of succeeding (Ford, 1994)
For example, Brophy (1986) defines effective classroom management as "the ability to establish, maintain, and (when necessary) restore the classroom as an effective environment for teaching and learning." Others describe classroom management as a delicate navigation of advance planning (Franklin, 2006); rule setting; the establishment and implementation of daily protocols, routines, and interventions; and the teacher's own presentation (Baker, Lang, & Lawson, 2002; Freiberg, 2002)
Critical Analysis Since the enactment of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001, expectations for teachers to provide a productive classroom environment that encourages positive academic achievement for all students have increased dramatically. To achieve this, effective classroom management is key, "Teaching is a complex profession requiring teachers to be effective in implementing and maintaining order while delivering effective instruction," (Friedman, 2006)
Classroom management theories and methodologies vary widely as well, and are a source of great debate. "While addressing student behavior was critical for teachers, especially given the many different approaches that existed (Bucher & Manning, 2001), determining the method to use in managing the classroom was even more challenging," (Glickman & Tamashiro, 1980)
Kimberly Lillig's dissertation (2003), "Implementation of Situational Leadership as an Effective Classroom Management Model in the Traditional Middle Grade Level Classroom," described the Situational Leadership Theory (Hersey & Blanchard, 1982) and its use in classroom management. Comparable to the Perceptual Control Theory outlined in Lanoue's dissertation (2009), the Situational Leadership model "takes students through the stages of increased self-direction and empowerment as the teacher moves from a directive role to one of facilitating and monitoring," (Grow, 1991, p
To gain a greater understanding of classroom management techniques, this thesis focuses on the Situational Leadership Theory. "The Situational Leadership Theory (Hersey & Blanchard, 1982) was originally designed as an organizational leadership model for industry; a contingency model that accepts the premise that no one best style of leadership exists for all situations," (Pascarella & Lunenburg, 1988)
The theoretical model chosen for the takeover is known as the diverse provider model. Unlike the Situational Leadership and transformational leadership models, the diverse provider model is described as "flexible, competitive school marketplaces in which districts manage a varied portfolio of schools, providers have wide rein to innovate, and both are held accountable for student outcomes by strong contracts and through the availability of meaningful choices for students and parents," (Hill, 2002, 2006)
The theoretical model chosen for the takeover is known as the diverse provider model. Unlike the Situational Leadership and transformational leadership models, the diverse provider model is described as "flexible, competitive school marketplaces in which districts manage a varied portfolio of schools, providers have wide rein to innovate, and both are held accountable for student outcomes by strong contracts and through the availability of meaningful choices for students and parents," (Hill, 2002, 2006)