Emphasis placed on classroom management training in undergraduate teacher preparation in the State of Texas as perceived by teacher educators

The purpose of this study was to gather data indicative of the emphasis placed upon classroom management training in undergraduate teacher education programs in the state of Texas. The specific variable used in determining emphasis was the amount of time allocated to the topic during class instruction as reported by teacher educators. This study was descriptive in nature and utilized cross-sectional survey methods as described by Babbie (1973). From a list of those colleges and universities which grant teacher education degrees in the state, each dean or director was asked to provide the name of the most knowledgeable instructor for each course taught within the professional development sequence. Thirty-two of 66 institutions participated and a return rate of 40% was achieved. Analysis of data proceeded along three major lines- first, actual time allocated in minutes as a raw score was computed; second, the percent that this time represented in the total course time was determined; and third, a ranking of the fifteen competencies was determined based on the minutes allocated. Data were also analyzed according to nine subgroupings- size (the four quartiles based on the number of teacher education certificates awarded by each institution); type (whether the institutions were public or private); and level (whether the course was elementary, all-level, or secondary). Results indicated that for all respondents the median minutes allocated to classroom management training was 100 (out of a median 40.16 hours of total class instructional time). This represented a median of 4.16% of total time and a median ranking of 6.15 of the fifteen competencies. Of those respondents who included classroom management in their course(s) (14.7% did not), the median minutes allocated was 130 which represented 5.56% of class instructional time and a median ranking of 4.75. Interpretation of the data led to four main recommendations- 1) teacher educators could devote more time to the topic of classroom management training; 2) teacher education institutions could offer more courses relating to the topic of classroom management; 3) a major focus could center around inservice training with respect to classroom management; and 4) teachers could be encouraged to investigate classroom management theories and techniques on their own.