Relationships among teachers' personality, leadership style, and efficacy of classroom management

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT

................................ ................................ ................................ ..................

ii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

................................ ................................ ..............................

iv

LIST OF TABLES

................................ ................................ ................................ ........ v ii

CHAPTER

I. INTRODUCTION

................................ ................................ ...................

1

Statement

of the Problem

Research Questions and Hypotheses

Definition of Terms

Delimitations

Assumptions

Justification

II.

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATU RE

................................ ...............

15

Classroom Management

Leadership

Personality

Experience

Certification

Theoretical Framework

III. METHODOLOGY

................................ ................................ .................

68

Overview

Research Design

Participants

Instrumentation

Procedures

Data Analysis

IV. RESULTS

................................ ................................ ...............................

77

Introduction

Descriptive

Analysis

Statistical

Analysis

vi

V. DISCUSSION

................................ ................................ ........................

89

Summary

Conclusions and Discussion

Limitation s

Recommendations for Policy or Practice

Recommendations for Future Research

APPENDIXES

................................ ................................ ................................ ..............

99

REFERENCES

................................ ................................ ................................ ............

114

vii

LIST OF TABLES

Table

1.

Description of Classroom Management Styles Based on Levels of Teacher Dominance and Student Nurturance

................................ ................................ ...

2 6

2.

Desc riptions of Leadership Styles

................................ ................................ ......

3 0

3.

Personality Descriptors for the Big Five Factors for Upper and Lower

Sco res on the Big Five Inventory

................................ ................................ .......

6 5

4.

Frequencies of Teacher Demographic Data

(N = 151)

................................ ........

7 8

5.

Descriptive Data for Teacher Demographic Informatio n

(N = 151)

....................

7 9

6.

Descriptive Data for Instrument Results (N = 151)

................................ .............

81

7.

Demographic Frequencies for Teachers from Different

Experience Groups

(N = 151)

................................ ................................ .............

8 2

8.

Experience Groups’ Score D escriptions for the Multifactor

Leadership Questionnaire

................................ ................................ ...................

83

9.

Experience Groups’ Score D escriptions for the Big Five Inventory

...................

84

10.

Experience Groups’ Score D escriptions for the Teacher

Sense of Efficacy Scale

................................ ................................ ......................

85

11 .

Multiple Regression R esults for Hypothesis 1

(N = 151)

................................ ....

8 6

12.

Correlations for Independent V ariables and TSES for Classroom

Management for Different Experience Groups

................................ ...................

8 8

1

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Classroom management and discipline are serious concerns for teachers, administrators, and the general public ( Braden & Smith, 2006; Ghafoori & Tracz, 2001;

Henson & Chambers, 2002; Jones, 1989; Kraft, 2010; Malmgren, Trezek, &

Paul, 2005; Walker, 2009).

Braden and Smith (2006) cite d evidence to suggest

disruptive behavior has become normal in today‟s classrooms.

If teachers do not use proper classroom management te chniques, disruptive behavior by

a few students can negatively

affect a teacher‟s instruction, can lead to other students joining in, and can cause the students to question the abilities of the teacher (Braden & Smith, 2006 ; Rogers & Freiberg, 1994 ).

Duke (1984) and Jones and Jones (1986) describe d

three ways teach ers typicall y approach classroom management:

(a ) t he teacher feels discipline is not a part of his job and sends disruptive students to the office for administrators

to handle,

(b ) t he teacher uses a

standardized management program

without consideration fo r his current students and their needs , and (c ) the teacher researches

new

classroom management techniques and incorporates

them into his

practices.

T eachers often decide which of these approaches to take

b ased on their

own personalities

(Braden & Smith, 2006).

There are several approaches teach ers can take when implementing their own classroom management strategies . Walker (2009) noted that the classroom management style used by the teacher can positively or negatively impact student engagement in the lesson. Trayner (2003) found that a teacher will choose a management style based on his experiences and expectations in the classroom. While t hey described different amounts of classroom management strategies, Walker (2009) and Trayner (2003) described t he

2

leas t effective management style as

permissive

or laissez - faire because it was low in both teacher dominance and student nurturance .

In thei r respective models, both researchers

indicated the most effective approach was authoritative . The authoritative approach

involves the teacher controlling the students through rules and reasonable consequences to produce a positive classroom environment.

Walker found this

management style lead to the greatest achievement by the students due to both high dominance and

high nurturance .

Researchers like Rogers and Freiberg (1994) have found that students in classrooms co ntrolled by behaviorist strategies

like school the least.

Unlike the authoritative approach where reasonable consequences are used, t hese classrooms are dominated by a strict adherence to rules and consequences, both positive and negative, which are used to control student behavior

without

regard to the students‟ individual needs ( Hensley, Powell, Lamke, & Hartman, 2007; Rogers & Freiberg, 1994).

According to Maslow‟s hierarchy of needs, students need to feel safe, and when teachers use fear as a means to control student behavior, learning

becomes difficult (Hensley

et al., 2007).

By understanding the different personality types

of their students and using appropriate classroom management techniques , teachers can build better relationships with each student (Talbott, 2005).

There have bee n several studies which have shown a relationship between a teacher‟ s Myers - Briggs personality type and his effectiveness in academic instruction and classroom management

(Chambers, Henson ,

& Sienty, 2001; Henson & Chambers, 2002 ; Martin, 1995 ; Roberts , Mowen, Edgar, Harlin, & Briers , 2007; Talbott, 2005 ).

These personality types occur as opposing pairs of characteristics and are extraversion or

3

introversion, intuition or sensing, thinking or feeling, and judging or perceiving.

Chambers, Henson, and Si enty ( 2001) found that teachers with the sensing and thinking personality types were more firm when interacting with students, with the sensing type assigning work to try to discourage misbehavior .

Gordon and Yocke (1999) found that certain personality ty pes used a wider variety of teaching strategies, provided more success opportunities, and were better able to engage the students.

Te achers who have the sensing

personality type were found to be slightly less efficacious in classroom instruction (Roberts

et al. , 2007).

Roberts, Mowen, Edgar, Harlin, & Briers

(2007)

also found that teachers with the judging personality type were more effective at classroom management.

While Chambers et al. (2001) found in their study that pre - service teacher‟s personality

type was the dominant predictor in the choice of classroom management strategies, Tschannen - Moran an d Woolfolk Ho y (2007) and Wolters and Daugherty (2007) found that once teachers had several years in the classroom, their experiences lead them to be more effective at classroom management and instructional practices. In their study, they found that teachers with less than three years experience scored lower for teacher efficacy than teachers with five or more years experience. The older group of teachers was able to rely on their own experiences while the newer teachers had to rely on the experiences of others in order to choose effective classroom management and instructional approache s (Tschannen - Moran & Woolfolk Ho y, 2007).

While years of teaching exp erience has been shown to be a predictor of effectiveness at classroom management in several studies, a teacher‟s route to certification has shown mixed results in making the same prediction (Darling - Hammond,

4

Holtzman, Gatlin & Heilig, 2005; Linek

et al. , 2009; Ludlow, 2010; Suell & Piotrowski, 2006). According to Darling - Hammond, Holtzman, Gatlin, and Heilig (2005), alternate route teachers were less effective than teachers from traditional backgrounds, and Linek et al.

(2009) found that fully certified t eachers received higher evaluations than alternate route teachers. However, Suell and Piotrowski (2006) and Ludlow (2010) found little difference between traditional and alternate route teachers based on their teaching efficacy.

Another factor which may

contribute to improvement in the effectiveness of classroom management is the educational level of the tea cher (Brown, 2009; Campbell, 199 6; Hoy & Woolfolk, 1993). In Brown‟s study of 297 special education teachers, she found that teachers with master‟s degrees were more effective at classroom management than teachers with only

a bachelor‟s degree. T hose

teachers

with specialist‟s degrees were the most effective

of all education levels

(Brown, 2009).

In another study, Campbell (199 6) also found that tea chers with advanced degrees were rated higher on effectiveness by their admi nistrators (Campbell, 199 6).

Finally , another teacher characteristic which may influence a teacher‟s efficacy of classroom management is leadership style. Teachers must possess some leadership ability so they know how to motivate their students to want to learn and behave better (Stein,

2010 ). Teachers need to have a vision, be adaptable, take risks, and be honest (Can, 2009). According to Stein (2010), most teachers simply rec eive training in managing their classrooms, but to successfully achieve, students need teachers to lead and guide t hem in ways they would not do

on their own. Teachers, as leaders, are able to

5

affect their students‟ performances, goal attainment, and beha viors (Bull, 2010; Can, 2009).

Leaders can be translational, transactional, or situational

(Thomas, 2007; Yukl, 1989) . Translational leaders use ideals and values to get people to follow them, and they work with their followers to set goals and conseque nces (Thomas, 2007). Transactional leaders, on the other hand, are more concerned about carrying out routine tasks and tend to set goals and consequences themselves with little input from their followers (Thomas, 2007). Yukl (1989) argues that leaders n eed to be both translational and transactional, depending on the situation, and therefore situational leadership is most appropriate. Others have also found that the most effective leaders are the ones who are most capable of adapting their leadership sty les based on the situation (Fidler, 1997; Larkin, 1973; Thomas, 2007; Walter, Caldwell, & Marshall, 1980; Yukl, 1989).

Studies by Leithwood (1993, 1995, 2006) have shown that translational leadership by the principal can impact teachers‟ instructional practices (Leithwood & Jantzi, 2006), teachers‟ commitment to change (Leithwood et al., 1993), and teachers‟ perceptions of transformational leadership in others (Jantzi & Leithwood, 1995). Bolkan and Goodboy (2009) found that the transformational leaders hip ability of college professors led to improved student learning, participation, and perceptions of the teachers‟ credibility. Treslan (2006) found that transformational leadership is often used by teachers who consistently practiced effective teaching practices as the teachers attempted to inspire their students to try to perform better.

6

Statement of the P roblem

The No Child Lef t Behind Act (2001) requires individual

states to establish standards by which each of their schools will be held accountabl e.

Each state establishes accountability standards using statewide testing programs to measure student achievement at various grade levels in math, language, and science. For instance, i n Mississippi, students at the high school level are tested in Algeb ra I, Biology I, and English II. According to Massey (2009), s tudent scores are

determined and classified as

minimal, basic, proficient, or advanced.

These scores are then averaged acc ording to a weighted percentage ,

added together

and combined with a sc hool‟s growth level and graduation rate

to determine the school‟s accountability level

(Massey, 2009) .

In order to reach the highest accountability ratings, teachers provide a quality education to each of their students

(Massey, 2009) .

However, disrupti ve student behavior in the classroom

can negatively impact the learning environment of the classroom (Braden & Smith, 2006; Etheridge, 2010).

Mayer and Patriarca (2007) indicate d

that there is a complicated relationship between academic achievement and be havioral problems in the classroom.

When discipline issues continue in a classroom due to inadequate classroom management and discipline strategies, all students are impacted because of the time it takes for a teacher to handle the disruptions (Etheridge,

2010).

When teachers are unable to handle discipline issues, administrators find it easy to turn to discipline programs such as assertive discipline which makes it easier for teachers to implement and follow (Ellis & Karr - Kidwell, 1995; Malmgren

et al. , 2005).

Unfortunately ,

some studies have shown that programs like assertive

7

discipline only react to the misbehavior instead of dealing with the source of the problem (Jones, 1989).

One of the reasons schools do not reach their academic goals is a lack of

teacher leadership (Stein, 2010).

Leaders are able to bring about change and adjust to new circumstances (Bull, 2010).

In the classroom, teachers must accurately identify the needs and ability levels of their students and adjust their leadership style in order to best teach these students so that they learn and improve (Thomas, 2007).

A teachers ‟

leadership style can be influenced by their personal characteristics such as their personality (Bull, 2010).

While several studies have shown that both leadership and personality can influence a teacher‟s effectiveness at classroom management, other studies show that the teacher‟s experience level and possibly educational level has just as big of an impact (Gordon &

Yocke, 1999; Lillig, 2009; Martin, 1995 ; Smith, 1981;

Tschannen - Moran & Woolfolk Hoy, 2007).

The purpose of this study was to determine if a teacher‟s leadership ability, personality, experience, and certification significant ly influenced their efficacy of

classroom management. High school teachers across southern Mississippi were given questionnaires containing three instruments: the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire, the Big Five Inventory, and the Teachers Sense of Efficacy Scale. Demographic questions were also asked to determine yea rs of experience and certification type. Questionnaires were mailed to 358 teachers at six high schools chosen by a search of school websites to find which ones listed their faculty members. The remaining questionnaires were given to 242 teachers at four

schools in which permission was gained

8

from the superintendents to meet with their high school teachers. There were 151 questionnaires that were returned for a return rate of approximately 25%.

Research Questions and

Hypotheses

The purpose of this study

was to determine if a teacher‟s leadership ability, personality, experience, and certification significantly influenced their efficacy of classroom management. R esearch questions include d :

Research Question 1:

Is there a relationship between personality, leadership style, experience, certification and efficacy of classroom management?

H1 -

There is a statistically significant relationship between a teacher‟s personality, leadership style, experience, certificati on and efficacy of classroom management.

Research Question 2: When teachers are categorized based on experience, is there a relationship between personality, leadership styles, certification, and efficacy of classroom management?

H 2 :

There is a statistic ally significant relationship between personality, leadership styles, certification and efficacy of classroom management in different stages of experience.

Definition of Ter ms

Agreeableness –

a personality factor in the Five Factor Model that describes a prosocial orient ation toward others (John, Naumann, & Soto , 2008) .

Big Five Inventory

(BFI) –

an i nstrument created by John, Donahue, and Kentle (1991) to measure

personality traits along the five domains of agreeableness, conscientiousness, extraversion,

neuroticism, and openness

(Benet - Martinez & John, 1998; John, Donahue, Kentle,1991; John et al., 2008) ; the Big Five Inventory is one of the questionnaire instruments

used in this study.

9

Certification –

type of teacher license

issued by the state of Miss issippi

categorized as A, AA, AAA, and AAAA based on the educational level of the teacher; for the purposes of this study, the path of certification will be included with educational level

Classroom m anagement

–

efforts made by the teacher to oversee lear ning, student interaction, and behavior (including discipline) ( Martin, 1995 ) .

Conscientiousness –

a personality factor in the Five Factor Model that describes

a person with s ocially approved impulse control and who follow rules and norms (Humbyrd, 2010; John et al. , 2008).

Efficacy of classroom management –

the degree to which a teacher believes he can control disruptive behavior in the classroom (Tschannen - Moran &

Woolfolk

Hoy , 2007); measured by

the degree to which a teacher believes he can influence the behavior of his students .

Extraversion –

a personality factor in the Five Factor Model that describes an energetic approach to the outside world (John et al., 2008) .

Experience –

the number of years a teacher has taught .

Follower –

someone who follows the direction of another (Bull, 2010) ; for the purposes of this study, a follower will be a student .

Full - Range Leadership Theory (FRLT) –

a leadership the ory established by Bass

( 1985 )

made up o f nine factors across three leadership styles: transformational, transactional, laissez - faire style of leadership ( Antonakis, Avolio & Sivasubramaniam, 2003) ; for the purposes of this study, only transformational leadership will be used from the Full - Rang e Leadership Theory .

10

Idealized influence

–

a transformational leadership quality that describes a leader

as one

who is perceived to be a strong role model (May, 2010; Sutherland, 2010) .

Individual consideration

–

transformational leadership quality that describes a leader as one who cares about the needs of his followers ( Marzano ,

Waters, & McNulty,

2005 ; May, 2010) .

Inspirational motivation

–

transformational leadership quality that describes a leader as one w ho communicates high performance expectations ( Marzano et al., 2005 ;

May, 2010; Sutherland, 2010).

Intellectual stimulation

–

transformational leadership quality that describes a leader as one who encourages innovation (May, 2010) .

Leader

–

anyone who is

exerting influence on another person in order to bring about some type of change (Osburne, 1991) ; for the purposes of this study, the leader will be the teacher in the classroom

Mu ltifactor Leadership Question naire Form 5X (MLQ - 5X) –

a n instrument create d by

Bass and Avolio (1995)

to measure transformational, transactional, and laissez - faire leadership behavior (May, 2010; Sutherland, 2010) ; this is a questionnaire instrument used to measure transformational leadership qualities

only.

Neuroticism

–

a personality factor in the Five Factor Model that contrasts a person‟s emotional stability with negative emotions

such as anxiousness, nervousness, and self - consciousness (John et al., 2008) .

Openness –

a personality factor in the Five Factor Model that describes a person who is more open to new ideas, is more creative, and is innovative (Humbyrd, 2010; John et al., 2008) .

11

Personality –

a person‟s characteristic patterns of thought, emotion, and behavior (Chan, 2003) ; for the purposes of this study, pers onality factors will be determined using the Five Factor Model

as measured by the Big Five Inventory .

Teacher Sense of

Efficacy Scale

–

an instrument developed by

Tschannen - Moran and Woolfolk Ho y (2001) to measure a person‟s efficacy of

three teaching dim ensions: instructional strategies, classroom management, and student engagement

(Tschannen - Moran &

Woolfolk

Hoy , 2007);

the Teacher Sense of

Efficacy Scale will be used as a questionnaire instrument in this study to determine efficacy of

classroom managem ent

only.

Transformational leadership –

a leadership style that appeals to the values, morals, and ethics of both the leader and followers in order to create a shared vision and motivate fol lowers to perform at their best

( Antonakis et al., 2003; Sutherla nd, 2010) ; in this study, only transformational leadership will be measured using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire .

Delimitations

The sample was guided by the following delimitations :

1.

The population was delimited to h igh school teachers (grades 9 –

12)

from schools in south Mississippi

who were chosen for the convenience of the researcher .

2.

The population was delimited to teachers who were

selected by finding schools in southern Mississippi which list ed

their staff members online and by contacting s elected superintendents for permission to include their high

school faculties in the study.

12

3.

T he population was delimited to teachers who returned their questionnaires within the two weeks provided.

4.

The study was

delimited by sample size as to the statistic al tests that

could

be conducted.

5.

The variable for leadership was delimited to include only the transformational leadership

style (Burns, 1978) .

6.

The variable for personality was delimited by t he use of the Five Factor Model

(John et al. ,

1991) .

Assumptions

This study will be gui ded by the following assumption :

1.

All participants will answer honestly.

Justification

According to Rogers and Freiberg (1994), the amount of order in the classroom affects the types of learning activities that can take place.

Class room management has been identified as an important component of effective instructional practices (Kraft, 2010; Marzano & Marzano, 2003; Marzano, Pickering, & Pollack, 2001; Jones, 1989).

Since classroom management is an important component to effective teaching, it is important to identify any possible factors that lead to some teachers having better classroom management than other teachers (Tschannen - Moran & Woolfolk Ho y, 2007).

Quality teachers possess many characteristics such as personality, self - e steem, and commitment that influence their instructional practices (Chambers

et al. , 2001).

Because personality affects so many human behaviors, it is relevant to study its effects on classroom management ( Chambers et al. , 2001; Henson & Chambers, 2002).

For

13

example, Chambers et al.

(2001) found personality traits affecting classroom management were assertiveness, self - confidence, willingness to take risks, and being friend ly and

caring.

According to Henson and Chambers (2002), a teacher‟s personality h as been shown to impact his use of different instructional techniques.

Teachers are obviously managers of the classroom in that they plan, organize, and control in order to optimize the production of their students (Bull, 2010). However, one of the reas ons Stein (2010) believes schools aren‟t achieving to their potential is the lack of teacher leadership. Leaders are able to do all the things a manager can do, but he can also motivate his followers in order to bring about change (Bull, 2010). The chang e in students is learning (Stein, 2010). The degree to which a teacher can correctly apply the different leadership factors included in the Transformational Leadership model, the more effective the teacher has been found in terms of their effectiveness (B olkan & Goodboy, 2009; Treslan, 2006).

This study is needed because two of the major problems teachers consistently report are classroom management and discipline issues ( Braden & Smith, 2006; Ghafoori & Tracz, 2001; Henson & Chambers, 2002; Jones, 1989; Kraft, 2010 ; Malmgren et al. , 2005; Martin, 1995 ; Walker, 2009).

The beginning years of teachers‟ caree r are

seen by many educators to be the toughest years of their careers, especially in terms of classroom management and discipline issues, with estimate s indicating that about 30%

of teachers leave the profession after three years and that almost 50%

of teachers leave within their first five years of entering teaching (Etheridge, 2010; Fry, 2009; Ludlow, 2010).

There are several research studies that ha ve only focused on one of the factors of teacher personality, l eadership style, experience, or

certification at a time and have not

14

studied a possible interaction between these ( Brown, 2010; Ellis & Karr - Kidwell, 1995; Ghafoori & Tracz, 2001; Gordon & Yock e, 1999; Lillig, 2009; Miller, 2008; Schussler, 2009; Talbott, 2005; Traynor, 2003 ;

Walker, 2009; Zuckerman, 2007 ).

I t is important to determine any unique characteristics of teachers who are effective in classroom management in order to help teachers so they‟ll remain in the classroom (Walker, 2009).

15

CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Classroom Management

According to Walker (2009), “The best teachers don‟t simply teach content, they teach people” (p.

122 ).

Marzano, Pickering, and Pollack (2001) state d

that to effectively teach their students, teachers need to use effective classroom management strategies, implement appropriate instructional strategies, and design a strong curriculum.

When teachers implement an organized strategy for classroom ma nagement, they can positively impact student behavior and decrease aggressiveness between students (Bonner, 2010).

Discipline and classroom management are consistently report ed as problems by teachers, administrators, students, parents, and the general public

(Braden & Smith, 2006; Etheridge, 2010; Ghafoori & Tracz, 2001; Henson & Chambers, 2002; Jones, 1989; Kraft, 2010; Malmgren

et al. , 2005; Martin, 1995 ; Walker, 2009).

While the public focuses on high - profile discipline issues such as school violenc e which are reported in the news, teachers often face continuous minor offenses that include students getting out of their desks without permission, chewing gum, texting on cell phones, cursing, and talking to their friends (Etheridge, 2010).

Discipline i ssues in all levels of education are no longer the exception ,

but have become normal occurrences in the classroom

and threaten to impede learning and instruction

(Braden & Smith, 2006; Etheridge, 2010).

Discipline typically refers to efforts by the teacher to make students comply with school and classroom rules, while classroom management includes efforts by the teacher to oversee efforts in the classroom such as learning, social interactions, and student

behavior (Etheridge, 2010; Martin, 1995 ). As such, discipline, along with meeting the

16

needs of the students, forming positive relations, communication, and instructional engagement, is a part of an effective classroom management strategy (Bonner, 2010; B owman, 2004; Martin, 1995 ).

There appears to be a relationship, although complicated, between academic achievement and behavioral problems in the classroom (Etheridge, 2010; Mayer & Patriarca, 2007).

In a study by Myers, Baker, Milne, and Ginsberg (1987) , they found that students who report low grades in their sophomore year tend to have an increase in misbehavior by their senior year and students who report more misbehavior their sophomore year tend to have a decrease in academic performance by their sen ior year.

When students with behavior problems are not addressed properly, studies have shown that they can negatively impact the learning environment by encouraging others to join

them, by causing the teacher‟s effectiveness to be questioned, and by caus ing increased stress for the teacher (Braden & Smith, 2006; Etheridge, 2010).

In addition, it has been shown that students who are most disruptive are

more likely to drop out of school (Etheridge, 2010; McIntosh, Flannery, Sugai, Braun ,

& Cochrane, 2008).

McIntosh et al. (2008) describe d

dropping out as a series of events in a student‟s life that is influenced b y academic performance and a