How Confident are Kindergarten Teachers in Their Ability to Keep Order in the Classroom? A Study of Teacher Efficacy in Classroom Management

Abstract

The objective of the study was to investigate kindergarten teachers’ efficacy beliefs in classroom management. The sample size was 299 teachers drawn from both public and private kindergarten schools in the Kumasi Metropolis of Ghana. The efficacy beliefs of the teachers with respect to their classroom management practices were measured on a six-point Likert agreement survey questionnaire. Findings from the study indicated that kindergarten teachers in the study area had high efficacy beliefs in classroom management practices. No statistically significant difference was found in the efficacy beliefs in classroom management practices of trained and untrained kindergarten teachers, and of public and private kindergarten teachers. The study drew the conclusion that the professional status of the teachers (i.e. whether they were trained or untrained) and their institutional placement (i.e. whether they taught in a public or private school) were not important influential factors in the teachers’ efficacy beliefs in classroom management. Recommendations for early childhood teacher education programme and research are made.

Keywords: Classroom management practices, early childhood teacher education, kindergarten teachers, self-efficacy beliefs