"Student Problem Behaviors and Teacher Warmth, Discipline Predicting Student Classroom Instructional Experiences in First Grade"

SRCD 2019 Biennial Conference
March 21-23, 2019
Baltimore, Maryland

Title: Student Problem Behaviors and Teacher Warmth, Discipline Predicting Student Classroom Instructional Experiences in First Grade (Poster)
Session: Education, Schooling
Authors: Leigh McLean (ASU), Nicole Sparpani (UCD), Carol Connor, Stephanie Day

Abstract: Students with problem behaviors are at risk for decreased time in important learning opportunities (Barriga et al., 2002; DiPerna, Lei, & Reid, 2007), however these effects may be mitigated by teacher characteristics such as level of emotional support (Buyse et al., 2008) and approaches to discipline (de Jong et al., 2013). We used in-depth classroom observation methods to investigate how first grade students’ problem behaviors related to their time in six classroom instructional experiences, and examined the role of teachers’ warmth/responsiveness/control/discipline (W/R/C/D), a characteristic similar to authoritative parenting (Baumrind, 1971; 1978), within these relations. We hypothesized that:

1. More problem behaviors would relate to less student time in teacher-facilitated instruction in whole class and small groups settings, as well as with less student time working independently and in peer groups.
2. More problem behaviors would relate to more student time off-task and in disruptions/discipline.
3. Teachers’ W/R/C/D would buffer the hypothesized relations between students’ problem behaviors and their time in these instructional experiences.

Participants were 533 first-grade students and their 57 teachers. 51% of students were female, 43% percent were African American, 45% Caucasian, 3.8% Asian, and 1.3% Hispanic. The majority of teachers were Female (96%) and Caucasian (73%); 24% were African American and 3% other ethnicities, and ranged in teaching experience from 1 to 34 years, with a mean of 16 years (SD = 10 years).

Classroom video observations were coded for students’ instructional experiences using the Individualizing Student Instruction Framework (ISI) and for teachers’ W/R/C/D using the Quality of the Classroom Learning Environment Rubric (Q-CLE). Six student instructional experiences were considered: Teacher-facilitated instruction in whole-class and small-group settings, student-managed instruction in small-group and individual settings, time off-task, and time in classroom disruptions/discipline. Teachers reported on students’ behaviors using the Problem Behavior scale of the Social Skills Rating System (Gresham & Elliot, 1990). Two-level main-effects models were run with students’ problem behaviors modeled as predictors of each instructional experience. Two-level interaction models were then run including teachers’ W/R/C/D in an interaction with problem behaviors as additional predictors. All models controlled for student gender and teacher years of experience.

More problem behaviors in students were related to more teacher-facilitated, small-group instruction (β = .10, p = .01), less student-managed, small group instruction (β = -.11, p < .01), less student-managed, individual instruction (β = -.10, p < .01), and more time off-task (β = .04, p = .01). For students of teachers high in W/R/C/D, positive associations existed between students’ problem behaviors and teacher-facilitated, small group instruction, whereas for students of teachers low in W/R/C/D, a negative association existed (Figure 1). As well, for students of teachers high in W/R/C/D, a positive association existed between problem behaviors and disruptions/discipline, whereas for students of teachers low in W/R/C/D, a negative association existed (Figure 2). Results inform how certain teacher characteristics might bolster teachers’ abilities to apply effective instruction to their more challenging students, with implications for teacher professional development.