Classroom behaviour problems: The relationship between preparedness, classroom experiences, and self-efficacy in graduate and student teachers

Past research indicates that teachers who are the most effective classroom managers, are teachers who are the most confident in their abilities. Therefore, the importance of preparedness and classroom experiences as factors that are involved in the development and maintenance of teacher self-efficacy in behaviour management were assessed. Differences in self-efficacy in behaviour management between graduate and student teachers were also assessed. The participants in this study were 54 primary education teachers with less than three years experience, and 25 student teachers in their final year of primary education training. The results revealed a significant positive association between self-efficacy in behaviour management, preparedness and classroom experiences. Furthermore preparedness and classroom experiences significantly predicted teachers' ratings of self-efficacy in behaviour management. However both graduate and student teachers reported feeling only moderately prepared and self-efficacious, with 83.5% of the total sample indicating they would like additional training in the area of behaviour management. The present findings provide important information for teacher training programs and school support structures.