Finding Balance: Impact of Classroom Management Conceptions on Developing Teacher Practice

A sociocultural perspective on teacher learning was used to investigate how three beginning teachers’ conceptions of classroom management affected their developing teaching practices. Students were followed from student teaching through their first 2 years of teaching. Data sources included interviews, classroom observations, and teacher education portfolios. Although all three teachers shared common conceptions of management as establishing positive learning environments, only two of the teachers were successful in doing so. Four key ideas shared by these two teachers served as pedagogical tools that framed their decision-making and scaffolded their early practice. These four conceptions are linked to a course on classroom management not taken by the third teacher. Implications of these findings for teacher education are discussed.