Evidence-based practices in classroom management coursework preparation of beginning primary teachers: Where for art thou?

Classroom management is thought to be one of the major tasks undertaken by teachers. When positive learning environments are established and maintained, teachers can teach, and their students are more likely to learn. Beginning teachers often report feeling less than adequately prepared by their teacher education programs in the area of classroom and behaviour management, claiming that their preparation was either non-existent or too theoretical or abstract to be of use in real classrooms. This paper reports on an investigation of the coursework content on offer in Australian undergraduate primary teacher education programs with a focus on the inclusion of evidence-based practices in classroom and behaviour management (CBM).

Data were extracted from publically available information on tertiary institution websites, survey item responses of academics responsible for the coordination of coursework units with CBM content, and the survey responses of beginning primary teachers on what they could recall being taught about CBM in their coursework. To establish what classroom management models, approaches, programs, or strategies might be considered as evidence-based, journal articles, reviews, and texts that examined evidence-based practices in CBM were examined to compile a list of models, approaches, or strategies that were considered to have empirical support. This list was then compared to what content was found to be offered in undergraduate primary teacher education programs.

Examination of the literature suggested that few evidence-based models or approaches in CBM existed, mainly drawn from Applied Behaviour Analysis, however, a number of evidence-based strategies do. The prevalence of evidence-based models or approaches in CBM in Australian primary teacher education coursework units was low, with many models of management yet to be shown to be effective included forming the bulk of unit content. The prevalence of evidence-based strategies appeared to be higher, although there were many strategies that lack evidence of effectiveness included The implications of presenting multiple models of management and strategies that have yet to be proven as effective to beginning teachers is discussed.