Why do some teachers change and others don't? A review of studies about factors influencing in‐service and pre‐service teachers’ change in classroom management

Abstract

Considering the crucial goals dependent on classroom management, such as creating a classroom environment conducive to student learning and facilitating student engagement and motivation, it is an important skill for teachers to learn. Accordingly, this literature review aims at untangling the factors influencing the evolution of teachers’ classroom management beliefs and practices, offering a review and synthesis of the studies on this topic. A systematic review of 24 qualitative, quantitative and mixed‐method longitudinal empirical studies focused on teacher change in classroom management resulted in the following findings: prior beliefs, the teaching context and teachers’ own limited willingness to change were identified as the main obstacles to teacher change. Programmes that include activities focused on (i) reflecting on prior beliefs, (ii) studying alternative practices, (iii) enacting those practices, and (iv) reflecting on action (v) in a collaborative learning environment seem to be successful in eliciting change in classroom management. Finally, this review suggests that it useful to design programmes that build bridges between the different settings in which the teacher learns.