Running Head: ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY 1

Annotated Bibliography

Eric Zachary

California State University Monterey Bay

February 13, 2018

IST 624 Research Design & Methods

Dr. Toutellotte
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References

Bear G. G., Doyle W., Osher D., Sprague J. (2010). How can we improve school

discipline? Educational Researcher 39(4), 48-58.

This article examines three approaches to improve school discipline practices and student

behavior. The main ideas expressed are Ecological Approaches to Classroom Management,

School-wide Positive Behavioral Supports and Social Emotional Learning, and Positive Youth

Development. The article concluded with emphasis on collaboration with families, cultural and

linguistic competence and responsiveness, and ways to respond to the needs of students with

substantive mental health needs. The authors focus on these points as challenges in improving

school discipline. This article was peer reviewed and published in the educational researcher.

This article will assist in the behavior and discipline portion of my project. It will provide

alternatives to the common methods for dealing with discipline.

Elling J., Leutner D., Schmeck A. (2015). Reducing reality shock: The effects of classroom

management skills training on beginning teachers. Teaching and Teacher Education, 48,

1-12.

This article examines the effects of varying levels of classroom management training for

new teachers. The authors conducted a researched based study in which they separated new

teachers into two groups, the first receiving a two and a half day training course on classroom

management which included: (1) classroom organization, (2) rules and procedures, (3) the

importance of the beginning of the school year, (4) maintaining the classroom management

system, (5) problematic behavior (6) interpersonal relationships, and (7) communication. The
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second group received a two and a half day stress management course which included time

management and progressive muscle relaxation.

The article concludes that the relatively short classroom management intervention still

provided a significant effect on beginning teachers. The article was published in the journal of

Teaching and Teacher Education, and lends itself to a professional audience. The author’s

research appears to have been gathered in a non-biased way using a standardized method and a

large research pool. This article is useful for my research topic because it provides input on

effective strategies for classroom management intervention.

Lewis R., Romi S., Salkovsky M. (2015). Teachers' coping styles and factors

inhibiting teachers' preferred classroom management practice. Teaching and Teacher

Education, 48, 56-65.

In this article, the authors review the coping styles of different teachers in terms of the

gap between the way they would like to manage their classes and the methods they are forced to

use based on the current classroom conditions. The article states that classroom management can

be broken down into three different approaches. The first approach involves minimal teacher

control and assumes students' responsibility for their behavior, The second approach views

student behavior as the combined and cooperative responsibility of students and teachers, The

third approach is based on the assumption that students are not capable of realizing what is best

for them, leaving decisions to the teacher. Furthermore, the article discusses the challenges

teachers face in dealing with difficult students including, increased stress, burnout, and

emotional distress.
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The article concludes that the most commonly used coping mechanism was social

problem solving. Furthermore, it was found that female teachers were more likely to use social

problem solving to cope and were more likely to support each other compared to their male

counterparts. The article was published in the journal of Teaching and Teacher Education, and

lends itself to a professional audience. The author’s research appears to have been gathered in a

non-biased way using a standardized method and a large research pool. In particular, this article

will provide a useful resource in guiding beginning teachers towards positive ways of coping

with challenging classroom management situations.

Nelson R., Olivera R. M., Wehby J. B. (2015) Helping teachers maintain classroom management

practices using a self-monitoring checklist. Teaching and Teacher Education, 51,

113-120.

The main ideas expressed in this article are in regards to long-term implementation of

classroom management tactics. The authors state that often teachers complete professional

development and implement the practices for a while, but slowly revert back to their old style of

teaching over time. Furthermore, this article emphasizes the need for continual self-monitoring to

maintain the positive practices over the long-term. In completing the study, the authors

implemented the use of what they referred to as the Good Behavior Game (GBG). The GBG

focused on two components, the first being: (a) explicitly teaching pro-social behavior and

systematically reinforcing instances of behavior and (b) employing positive peer pressure

through group contingencies thus focusing on positive reinforcement of behavior rather than

punishment. The teachers were provided with a checklist to monitor their own behavior.
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The study found that the use of a teacher self-monitoring checklists assisted in a more

long-term implementation of the GBG method. This article is useful for my research topic

because it provides an additional idea for lasting improvement. If, through training, I can get

beginning teachers to monitor themselves over the long-term, the chances of continuing success

greatly increase.

Oberly E., Schonert-Reichl K. (2016). Stress contagion in the classroom? The link between

classroom teacher burnout and morning cortisol in elementary school students. Social

Science & Medicine, 159, 30-37.

The authors describe the connection between a teacher’s stress level and higher levels of

stress felt by their students. The main ideas expressed are the effects of feeling overworked,

teachers experiencing a lack of support and resources, as well as dealing with challenging and

disruptive students. Furthermore, the authors’ research focuses on how a teacher’s stress level

impacts the cortisol levels in their students. Cortisol levels are the natural indicators of levels of

stress within an individual. The article was published in the journal of Social Science and

Medicine and lends itself to a professional audience.

The author’s research appears to have been gathered in a non-biased way using a

standardized method and a large research pool. The findings of this study were that in classrooms

where the teacher was experiencing a higher level of teacher burnout, the morning cortisol levels

of their students were elevated indicating increased stress levels. This article is useful for my

research topic in that it supports my organizational goal of increasing teacher retention by

increasing new teacher support.

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Way S.M. (2011). School Discipline and Disruptive Classroom Behavior: The moderating

Effects of Student Perceptions. The Sociology Quarterly, 52(3), 346-375.

The author states that research has shown that the stricter discipline policies worked in

reducing serious offenses on school campuses, but it also led to classroom teachers losing the

role of an authority figure on campus. The article goes on to explain that due to increased

demand for student’s rights, free speech, due process, and student privacy in conjunction with

school discipline becoming increasingly litigious, school discipline matters are generally handled

by school administration rather than the classroom teacher.

The author goes on to describe the process for data collection in which over 10,000

respondents participated. Respondents included teachers, administrators, parents, and students.

The findings of the study were that schools with stricter discipline policy experienced similar

levels of disruptive behavior as those with more lenient policies. Furthermore, the study found

that students were more likely to be compliant when they felt their schools rules and expectations

were fair, and students were less likely to be disruptive when they had a positive relationship

with their teacher.

A potential weakness in this study results in the fact that more defiant, lower performing,

and disruptive students and their parents, are less likely to respond to the study as opposed to

their more accomplished counterparts. This article is peer reviewed, and backed by extensive

research. It is relevant to my topic and research in that it presents possible drivers of student

disruption in the classroom.

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Scott T.M., Hirn R.G., Ater P.J. (2014). Teacher Instruction as a Predictor for Student

Engagement and Disruptive Behaviors. Preventing School Failure: Alternative Education

for Children and Youth, 58(4), 193-200.

The author of this article through the use of a team of paid coders, observed 1,197

students in elementary, middle, and high schools to identify the relationship between teaching

practices and disruptive student behavior in the classroom. The study was conducted by giving a

numerical value to different student behaviors, both positive and negative, as well as teacher

instructional practices and engaged learning time. The findings of the study were less

informative than I would have hoped. The findings indicated that there was a direct relationship

between the amount of time that teachers were actively engaged in instruction with students, this

included whole group instructions, small group instruction, guided practice, and modeling, and

student disruptive behavior. The results stated that the more time teachers spent actively engaged

in instruction, the fewer instances of disruptive behavior occurred. Furthermore, the study found

that there were greater occurrences of disruptive student behavior in middle and high school

classrooms. This disruption was attributed to a greater amount of independent work, and less

active instruction in those classrooms.

Although, this study yielded some basic points to address for my research, I am hoping

that through further research I can find more specific instructional methods that have been shown

to be more effective in reducing student disruption. I believe the sample size of the study as well

as the uniform way of collecting the data was appropriate, however, further research needs be

done because student disruption regularly occurs when active instruction is taking place.
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Kennedy B.L. (2011). Teaching Disaffected Middle School Students: How Classroom Dynamics

Shape Students’ Experiences. Association for Middle Level Education, 42(4), 32-42.

This article focused on effective teacher behavior when working with disruptive students.

The active research for this study took place at a continuation school in Southern California

where the student population was made up of middle and high school students that had been

expelled from their traditional public schools. The article focused on three types of teachers who

the author dubbed rapport builders, subject matter experts, and blamers. The rapport builder

focused on building relationships with their students and modifying curriculum to meet their

needs. The subject matter experts were consistent in their classroom management and focused on

subject matter, leaving the personal issues of the students for the school counselors to handle.

The blamers were inconsistent in both their instruction and classroom management, often yelled

at their students and blamed them for not performing.

Through observation and interviews with teachers, students, and administrators, the

author found that the teachers under the title of rapport builders were most successful, and

experienced the lowest levels of student disruptions. Although the research for this article took

place with a very small group in a single school setting, the article provides beneficial

information to be researched further. This article is beneficial for my research because it

provides practical solutions for correcting classroom disruption.

Brouwers, A., & Tomic D. (2000). A Longitudinal study of teacher burnout and perceived

self-efficacy in classroom management. Teaching and Teacher Education, 16, 239-253.

This article studied the effect of perceived self-efficacy in classroom management in

relation to teacher burnout. The study revealed that poor classroom management is the first link
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in a chain that eventually leads to teacher burnout. Teachers who do not effectively deal with

classroom disruptions lose confidence in their ability to manage their classrooms and often give

up on trying to fix the problem. The decreased feeling of self-efficacy causes teachers to doubt

their ability to do their job. This in turn causes emotional exhaustion, which leads to

depersonalization. Depersonalization is described as a negative attitude towards work and the

people with whom the worker interacts. Based on the result of the study, once teachers have

reached the depersonalization stage, they give up and often stop trying to solve the problem.

The authors offer specific suggestions to reduce the effects of teacher burnout. In order to

counteract the effects of burnout, teachers must believe that they are able to make a positive

impact. The authors suggest that these teachers need to have experiences of success. This success

may come through providing strategic skills with training, providing positive feedback, and

practicing in a simulated environment. Once teachers feel a sense of mastery, and feel more

confident in their ability, they will be more apt to implement the classroom management

methods into their classrooms. This article supports my research in that my organizational goal is

preventing teacher burnout and increasing beginning teacher retention.

Milner, H.R., & Tenore F.B. (2010). Classroom Management in Diverse Classrooms. Urban

Education, 45(5), 560-603.

In this article, the two authors conduct a study over the course of two years at an urban

middle school. The goal of the study is to ascertain a better understanding of why a

disproportionate percentage of minority students are reported to be disruptive in the classroom

and referred to administration for discipline. The article focuses on the cultural

misunderstandings that occur between a teaching population that is often primarily white
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teaching classrooms of culturally diverse students. The authors attempt to identify the classroom

management strategies of teachers who are effective in teaching diverse populations.

One of the authors H. Richard Milner IV is the Chair of Urban Education and the University of

Pittsburgh School of Education and the second author is F. Blake Tenore a coordinator of the

English Education program at Florida State University. Both authors have done extensive

research in the area of teaching in urban schools and provide knowledgeable insight into the

classroom management in diverse populations. This article is relevant for my research in that it

focuses on specific classroom management practices that have been shown to be effective with

disruptive behavior.