Program
Education Doctorate
Number of Pages
86
Year Approved
2023
First Advisor
Michael Lindstrom
Second Reader
Amy Reed, Barry Sullivan
Abstract
Disruptive classroom behavior is a frequent topic of concern for teachers who are emotionally exhausted by the profession. The discrepancies in the treatment of students from different demographic groups create the need to research the factors that affect decisions teachers make when managing disruptive behavior. Sending students out of the classroom in response to disruptive behavior results in less time spent engaged in learning, so the practice must be scrutinized to create equitable school experiences for students. The purpose of this study was to examine a potential relationship between teachers’ ratings of their self-efficacy for managing disruptive behavior and the beliefs and practices related to sending students out of the classroom. The teachers’ years of experience, gender identity, and race were also analyzed in comparison to their ratings of self-efficacy to determine if any relationship exists. Survey responses from 2,841 teachers revealed a statistically significant correlation between teachers with higher self-efficacy ratings and a lower rate of sending students out of the classroom. Teachers with higher self-efficacy were also correlated with the belief that sending students out of the classroom should happen less frequently. As teachers’ years of experience increased, their ratings of self-efficacy also increased. There was a significant difference between teachers with a binary gender identity when compared with teachers with a nonbinary gender identity. With regard to racial demographics, there was no conclusive correlation reflected in the data. Because there is a relationship between teachers’ self-efficacy and their beliefs, practices, and certain demographics, this study has implications for educational practice. School leaders should prioritize professional development that accelerates teachers’ self-efficacy for managing disruptive behavior to reduce the frequency with which students are sent out of the classroom and prevent teacher burnout.
Degree Name
Education Doctorate
Document Type
Doctoral dissertation
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Elliott, N. (2023). Teachers’ Self-Efficacy and Their Response to Students’ Disruptive Behavior [Doctoral dissertation, Bethel University]. Spark Repository. https://spark.bethel.edu/etd/1001