PREFERRED PUPIL CONTROL STRATEGIES RELATED TO SELECTED VARIABLES

Abstract

This study addressed socio-psychological factors of pupil control within the junior high school. Specifically, this study investigated whether junior high school teachers' pupil control ideology and expectations for student achievement are associated with their preferences for control strategies when dealing with disruptive student behavior. The effect on the major variables of selected demographic variables (teachers' sex, age and years of teaching experience), and student variables of race and socioeconomic status, were also examined. The rationale was based mainly on Etzioni's theory of organizational compliance, and recent literature on teacher expectations. Junior high school teachers were of interest because the early adolescent student may present special pupil control problems. The sample was drawn from three school districts in Brooklyn, New York in order to include teachers serving varied communities, including minority groups (black) and low to middle SES groups. 227 public junior high school teachers voluntarily responded to three data-gathering instruments: The Pupil Control Ideology Form (Willower & Hoy, 1967), the Teacher Expectation Questionnaire (Beady & Hansell, 1981), and the Student Behavior Response Questionnaire (Ciaglia, 1980). Chi square and gamma coefficient statistics were used to analyze the data. It was hypothesized that older, more experienced, male teachers would tend to be custodial in pupil control ideology, hold low expectations for student achievement, and select coercive control strategies when dealing with student misbehavior, whereas younger, less experienced, female teachers would tend to be humanistic in pupil control ideology, hold high expectations for student achievement, and select normative control strategies when confronted with student misbehavior. Conjectures were made concerning teachers in high minority and low SES schools. Analysis of the demographic variables indicated little association with the hypothesized relationships. However, the main hypotheses and conjectures were partially and, in certain cases, fully supported. The findings imply an imperative for change and suggest varied continuing research.