EFL teachers’ beliefs about classroom management a study of a vietnamese university = quan điểm của giáo viên tiếng anh về quản lý lớp học ngoại ngữ nghiên cứu tại một trường đại học ở việt nam

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION GRADUATION PAPER EFL TEACHERS’ BELIEFS ABOUT CLASSROOM MANAGE

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION

GRADUATION PAPER

EFL TEACHERS’ BELIEFS ABOUT CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT: A

STUDY OF A VIETNAMESE UNIVERSITY

Supervisor: Nguyễn Thị Thu Hằng

Student: Nguyễn Nhật Hà

Course: QH.2017.E1

HÀ NỘI – NĂM 2021

ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ KHOA SƯ PHẠM TIẾNG ANH

KHOÁ LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP

QUAN ĐIỂM CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH VỀ QUẢN LÝ LỚP HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ: NGHIÊN CỨU TẠI MỘT TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC Ở VIỆT NAM

Giáo viên hướng dẫn: Nguyễn Thị Thu Hằng Sinh viên: Nguyễn Nhật Hà

Khoá: QH.2017.E1

HÀ NỘI – NĂM 2021

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ACCEPTANCE

I hereby state that I: Nguyễn Nhật Hà, class: QH2017.F1.E1, being a candidate for the degree of Bachelor of Arts (TEFL) accept the requirements of the University relating to the retention and use of Bachelor’s Graduation Paper deposited in the library

In terms of these conditions, I agree that the origin of my paper deposited in the library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the librarian for the care, loan or reproduction of the paper

Signature Nguyễn Nhật Hà Hanoi, May 3rd 2021

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to take this opportunity to express my deepest gratitude to the following individuals for their significant assistance upon the completion of this research

First and foremost, I owe my whole-hearted thanks to my supervisor Doctor Nguyen Thi Thu Hang, for her valuable guidance and encouragement since the very first day of my academic journey Her sharing expertise, inspiration and continuous support have enlightened me on multiple research aspects and guided me through the challenging process This accomplishment would not be possible without her critical feedback and practical advice

Second, my sincere appreciation goes to three teachers taking part in the pilot stage and 52 teachers participating in the data collection procedure, whose names are not directly mentioned due to ethical considerations They generously shared with me their time, knowledge and perspectives Without their willingness and enthusiasm, I would not have obtained sufficient questionnaire results and insightful interview data

Third, I am grateful to a number of teachers from the faculty who reviewed

my research proposal and progress reports Their constructive comments were of great significance to the completion of this paper

Fourth, I appreciate all members of class 17E1 and other close friends of mine for our beautiful friendship Their sharing and emotional support were invaluable to

me

Finally, I am in debt to my parents, my sister and Ken for their unconditional love, care and unfailing support In addition, heartfelt thanks go to my seven beloved people whose music has always motivated me during this challenging journey

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ABSTRACT

In recent decades, classroom management has become a compelling research topic (Aliakbari & Heidarzadi, 2015) A growing body of literature has emphasized the importance of classroom management for the teaching and learning process (Shinn, Walker & Stoner, 2002; Wang, Haertel & Walberg, 1994; Wehby, 2001) By exploring teachers’ beliefs, insights into the way teachers conceptualize themselves and their justification for real classroom management can be obtained (Johnson & Johnson, 1999) However, in the Vietnamese context, there has been insufficient research into teachers’ beliefs about classroom management Therefore, this study was conducted to address the research gap Using a mixed-method design, the study involved 52 EFL teachers from a university in Vietnam Data was collected via two instruments, namely questionnaires adapted from the Attitudes and Beliefs of Classroom Control (ABCC) inventory and semi-structured interviews The findings showed that the participants adopted the interactionist approach on the whole ABCC Inventory, Instructional and Behavioral Management but fell into the non-interventionist category on People Management The teachers were more involved in students’ transitions among learning activities, students’ in-class work, learning topics and resources However, they were unlikely to exercise control over students' seating arrangements, their daily procedures, their interactions with peers and tended

to value students’ opinions, interests and decision-making process The study shed further light on the beliefs of EFL teachers about classroom management in the local context with insightful implications for effective classroom practice

1.1 Statement of the problem and rationale for the study 1

2.1.1 Conceptualization of teachers’ beliefs 6

2.1.3 Teachers’ beliefs about classroom management 8

2.2.1 Conceptualization of classroom management 13 2.2.2 Dimensions of classroom management 14

5.3 Limitations and suggestions for further research 66

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

EFL English as a Foreign Language

FELTE Faculty of English Language Teacher Education

ULIS University of Languages and International Studies

VNU Vietnam National University, Hanoi

ABCC Attitudes and Beliefs of Classroom Control BIMS Behavior and Instructional Management Scale

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 1 Aspects of Interactionist, Interventionist and

Non-Interventionist Approaches to Classroom Management

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Table 2 Description of interview participants 23 Table 3 Changes in the wording of questionnaire items 84 Table 4 Description of questionnaire items 27 Table 5 Description of interview guideline 29 Table 6 Categorization of teachers’ mean scores 33

Table 8 Descriptive statistics for EFL teachers’ beliefs about

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1 The beliefs of EFL teachers on Instructional Management,

People Management and Behavioral subscale

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CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

The first chapter provides an overview of the research It begins with the introduction of the research background, in which the importance of classroom management in the teaching and learning process and the potential influence of teachers’ beliefs on the way they manage their classrooms are highlighted Following this, the chapter presents a review of existing literature on classroom management in the Vietnamese context that inextricably relates to the formulation

of the research question Subsequent sections detail the design and scope of the present study and signify its contribution to the field of classroom management both in the local and global settings The structure of the study and a chapter summary mark the end of the chapter

1.1 Statement of the problem and rationale for the study

In recent decades, classroom management has attracted a lot of interest and has become one of the most frequently researched topics (Aliakbari & Heidarzadi, 2015) A growing body of literature has emphasized the importance of classroom management for teachers (Shinn, Walker & Stoner, 2002; Wang, Haertel & Walberg, 1994), regarding classroom management skills as “the most valuable skills set a teacher can have” (Landau, 2001, p 4) How teachers manage their classrooms has been found to positively impact educational outcomes (DeLong & Winter, 1998) According to Sutherland and Wehby (2001, cited in Oliver & Reschly, 2007), effective implementation of classroom management strategies reduces disruptive behaviors, increases student engagement and benefits students’ learning time

When investigating classroom management, it is of great significance to explore teachers’ beliefs due to the possible connection between beliefs and practices (Ernest, 1991; Schoenfeld, 1992; Stipek et al., 2001) This relationship can be described as “reciprocal, but complex” (Basturkmen, 2012; Mansour, 2009, cited in Fives & Gill, 2015, p 70), in which one influences the other (Richardson, 1996; Thompson, 1992) Empirical research has revealed the correspondence

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between what teachers believe and how they manage their classroom (Barcelos, 2000; Stipek, Givvin, Tseng, 1999; Salmon & MacGyvers, 2001, cited in Phipps, 2009) For teachers, beliefs potentially serve as a guidance for instructional choices, teaching activities and interactions with students (Fang, 1996) By exploring teachers’ beliefs, understanding of the way teachers conceptualize themselves and their justification for real classroom management can be consolidated (Johnson & Johnson, 1999), hence deep insights into educational processes (Clark & Peterson, 1986)

Classroom management of teachers has been a favorite research topic for the past decades Investigation into their beliefs has taken place both in Western countries (Chambers, Henson & Sienty, 2001; Martin, Yin & Mayall, 2006) and Eastern countries (Unal and Unal, 2012; Caner & Tertemiz, 2015; Rahimi & Asadollahi, 2012; Evrim, Gökçe & Enisa, 2009) showing different levels of control teachers exert in class In the context of Vietnam, existing literature mainly deals with problems that teachers encounter in managing the class (Nguyen, Tran & Luu, 2016), their use of classroom management techniques (Vu & Nguyen, 2020; Tran, 2015) and their classroom instructions (Vu, 2011; Phan, 2018) Insufficient research has been dedicated to what teachers believe about classroom management This gap in research urged the researcher to conduct the study

entitled: “EFL teachers’ beliefs about classroom management: A study of a Vietnamese university”

1.2 Aims and objectives

The research sought to investigate the beliefs of Vietnamese teachers of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) about classroom management Data about teachers’ beliefs were collected via questionnaires and semi-structured interviews From the findings, discussion and suggestions were provided to assist teachers and educators in fortifying the understanding of management for successful teaching The aforementioned objectives mentioned could be summarized in the following

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research question: “What are EFL teachers’ beliefs about their classroom management activities?”

1.3 Scope of the study

The study was carried out within the context of one language university in Vietnam during the academic year 2020-2021 Since it focused on EFL teachers’ beliefs about classroom management, teachers from the Faculty of English (pseudonym) were the targeted participants of the study The first phase of the data collection procedure which employed questionnaires as the main instrument involved 52 teachers from the faculty Based on the results from questionnaires, the researcher interviewed five participants for the second phase of the data collection procedure

1.4 Design of the study

The study adopted a sequential explanatory mixed-method design utilizing two primary instruments of questionnaire and semi-structured interview Data gathered from the questionnaires helped to answer the research question concerning teachers’ beliefs about classroom management while data obtained after interviewing some participants enabled the researcher to gain a deeper understanding of the issue under investigation

1.5 Significance of the study

The present study hopes to make several contributions to the field of classroom management in both local and global settings First, the research is hoped to fulfill the gap in the existing literature on classroom management in the context of Vietnam Findings from this research can shed light on EFL teachers’ classroom management orientations and their beliefs about classroom management practice Moreover, despite the richness of global studies on teachers’ beliefs, most

of them are quantitative-based (Chambers, Henson & Sienty, 2001; Martin, Yin & Mayall, 2006; Unal & Unal, 2012; Caner & Tertemiz, 2015; Rahimi & Asadollahi, 2012) Consequently, this study can be of methodological value by adopting a mixed-method design

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Second, in practice, the research provides the participants an opportunity to obtain insights into their classroom management approaches The findings would also be useful for EFL teachers or anyone who are interested in examining the underlying beliefs of teachers about classroom management Understanding what influences teachers’ classroom practice may enable educators, course developers, school authorities and other stakeholders to enhance teachers’ classroom management competence through the provision of feedback and high-quality teacher education and professional development programs Additionally, this study may serve as a useful source of reference for future research in the field of classroom management on a larger scale

1.6 Organization of the study

This research paper consists of five main chapters as follows:

Chapter one: Introduction offers a brief overview of the study, which details the research problem and rationales, aims and objectives, significance, scope, design and structure of the present research

Chapter two: Literature review provides the conceptualization of key terms namely teachers’ beliefs and classroom management and reviews relevant literature including classroom management dimensions, different sources and theoretical frameworks of teachers’ beliefs with a view to identifying the important research gaps

Chapter three: Methodology details the methodology of the study, in which the selection of the research site, participants, sampling methods, research design and data collection instruments is presented The chapter also describes the methods and procedures of data collection and analysis as well as measures adopted to ensure ethical issues

Chapter four: Findings and Discussion presents and discusses the findings obtained from two data collection instruments namely questionnaires and semi-structured interviews to answer the research question

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Chapter five: Conclusion summarizes the findings, offers implications and limitations of the study and recommendations for further studies

Following these chapters are References and Appendices

1.7 Summary of the chapter

The first chapter details the research problem and rationales, aims and objectives, significance, scope, design and structure of the present research Given the importance of classroom management in the context of teaching and learning and the influence of teachers’ beliefs on their classroom management practices, the study entitled “EFL teachers’ beliefs about classroom management: A study of

a Vietnamese university” was conducted to answer the research question: “What are EFL teachers’ beliefs about their classroom management activities?” Adopting

a mixed-method design with questionnaires and semi-structured interviews as the two main instruments, the study involved 52 teachers from one English faculty in

a university in Vietnam Findings from this study are expected to be of practical value which helps to consolidate teachers’ understanding of classroom management and contributes to the formulation and improvement of teacher professional development programs

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CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW

The second chapter serves as a theoretical foundation of the study It begins with the definition and sources of teachers’ beliefs Following this, the conceptualization of classroom management and the description of its three dimensions are presented A number of theoretical frameworks to measure the beliefs of teachers are analyzed in the next section with a view to selecting the most appropriate model The remaining parts include a review of related literature

on classroom management in both local and global settings to highlight the promising gap the study is expected to fulfill

2.1 Teachers’ Beliefs

2.1.1 Conceptualization of teachers’ beliefs

Due to its broad construct (Pajares, 1992), a myriad of definitions of belief have been proposed (Basturkmen, 2012) According to Rokeach (1968), a belief is

as “any simple proposition, conscious or unconscious, inferred from what a person says or does, capable of being preceded by the phrase, 'I believe that ” (p 113) Building on Rokeach’s work, Pajares (1992) later defines the term as “an individual’s judgment of the truth or falsity of a proposition” (p 316) Beliefs, whether explicitly or implicitly held, represent what an individual considers to be true In the context of teaching, beliefs of teachers refer to a system of assumptions

in relevance to teachers’ classroom practice (Fives & Buehl, 2012) Specifically, they relate to “students, learning, classroom, and the subject matter to be taught” (Kagan, 1992, p 66)

Barcelos (2003) perceive that teachers’ beliefs are dynamic, complicated, and contradictory in nature while Pajares (1992) views them as individualized and context-dependent Beliefs are said to be mentally constructed from experience (Sigel, 1985), which serve as an impetus or disposition to action and help to guide behavior (Brown & Cooney, 1982) Based on their beliefs, teachers form their reasoning of teaching and learning, resulting in a diversity of classroom practice (Clark & Peterson, 1986; Clark & Yinger, 1987, as cited in Li & Walsh, 2011)

The reason is that this definition features a comprehensive conceptualization of the key term, in which beliefs of teachers are recognized as individually, subjectively true claims that teachers use to filter and analyze information and direct their classroom practice

2.1.2 The origin of teachers’ beliefs

First, teachers’ beliefs are largely derived from their education and their experience as language learners Teachers’ beliefs about teaching and learning often mirror how they were taught at schools and their observation of their teachers (Richards et al., 2002; Levin & He, 2008) Lortie (1975) terms this as

“apprenticeship of observation” and argues that teachers, unlike other professions, have the privilege to “observe members of the occupation at work” as “the activities of teachers are not shielded from youngsters” (p 65) In line with Lortie’s study, various researchers, such as Zeichner and Tabachnick (1981), Finsterwald

et al., (2013), and Kennedy and Smith (2013), signify the influences that teacher education programs have on pre-service teachers’ beliefs which later impact their classroom decisions when they become in-service teachers

Second, teachers may form their beliefs from their own classroom experience (Breen, Hird, Milton, Oliver & Thwaite, 2001; Calderhead, 1996; Mok,

1994, cited in Borg, 2005) It is considered as the primary source of beliefs about teaching During their teaching process, teachers may recognize some effective and ineffective strategies, hence following what they perceive as successful routines Additionally, certain types of established practices that are consistently employed in their teaching context also impact teachers’ own beliefs (Richards & Lockhart, 1994)

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Third, research-based principles can also be a source of teachers’ beliefs In this sense, teachers may refer to their understanding of research in second language teaching to favor and implement certain practices in their classrooms (Kindsvatter, Willen & Ishler, 1988; Abdi & Asadi, 2011, cited in Gilakjani & Sabouri, 2017)

Lastly, teachers’ beliefs can be formed based on personality factors Teachers may show a preference for a particular teaching pattern, classroom arrangement or learning activity since it corresponds to their characteristics (Kagan, 1992; Kennedy, 1997; Williams & Burden, 1997; Donaghue, 2003; Ellis,

2008, cited in Mellati, Khademi & Shirzadeh, 2015) It has also been argued that beliefs are closely linked to teachers’ egos (Rokeach, 1968)

2.1.3 Teachers’ beliefs about classroom management

As documented by Evertson and Weinstein (2006), existing literature has proposed a number of theoretical frameworks on teachers’ beliefs about classroom management

2.1.3.1 Custodial and Humanistic Control Orientation

In Pupil Control Ideology, Willower, Eidell and Hoy (1967, cited in Evertson & Weinstein, 2006) conceptualize beliefs along a continuum from custodial to humanistic Teachers who have a custodial stance view a school as an autocratic organization in which students are required to comply with teachers’ orders without question and are strictly controlled through the implementation of punishments On the other hand, teachers who adopt a humanistic perspective regard a school as an educational environment where students learn through interaction and experience Instead of employing strict control, such teachers attempt to encourage students’ self-discipline and establish a democratic

community so that teachers and students can freely communicate with each other 2.1.3.2 Beliefs About Discipline Inventory

Wolfgang (2001) in his study summarizes three approaches towards discipline and classroom management namely relationship-listening, confronting-contracting and rules-consequences Teachers who endorse relationship-listening

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philosophy do not intervene in students’ disruptive behaviors in class They act as sympathetic listeners to help students balance their goals with the needs of other classmates and the curriculum For teachers who favor confronting-contracting approach, instead of being listeners, they interact with students to negotiate mutual goals and enable students to realize the importance of factors of classroom life such as classroom tasks and rules Lastly, teachers who embrace the rules-consequences strategies believe that only through rewards and punishments can students form acceptable behaviors in class Therefore, teachers’ roles include identifying what kinds of behaviors are appropriate in class and enforcing a system

of rules, rewards and punishments to foster these behaviors

2.1.3.3 Management as Power: Social and Political Perspective

Based on extensive studies of Johnson, Whitington and Osward (1994, cited

in Evertson & Weinstein, 2006), identify four orientations of teachers to classroom discipline, including traditional, liberal progressive, socially critical and laissez-faire Teachers who are categorized as traditionalists share many common beliefs

as those who have custodial perspectives (Willower, Eidell & Hoy, 1967) and rules-consequences approach (Wolfgang, 2001) They stress on providing a strict but fair set of penalties and maintaining a hierarchical relationship with students Students are expected to comply with the rules and show respect to teachers’ authorities inside class Teachers who hold a liberal progressive perspective favor democratic values Students’ decisions, therefore, should be taken into consideration A teacher-student relationship can be described as cooperative and equal For socially critical teachers, students' disruptive behaviors are regarded as resistance against an unfair and authoritarian school system Discipline problems are believed to be caused by the inappropriate implementation of school curriculum Teachers adopting the laissez-faire stance believe in a stress-free and stimulating learning environment Students’ self-discipline can be achieved if given choices and freedom

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2.1.3.4 Attitudes and Beliefs Regarding Classroom Management Style

Unlike the aforementioned orientations, Martin and colleagues’ framework views classroom management in broader terms (Martin & Baldwin, 1992, 1994; Martin, Yin & Baldwin, 1998, 2000, cited in Martin & Shoho, 1999) Rather than focusing on control and discipline only, it deals with teachers’ management of different classroom dimensions including Instructional management, People management and Behavioral management Teachers’ beliefs on three aspects are measured based on a continuum developed by Glickman and Tamashiro (1980) and Wolfgang (1995) Based on psychological theories of child development, the authors characterize three key approaches of teachers toward classroom management, namely non-interventionist, interventionist, and interactionist Although teachers can demonstrate characteristics of three approaches, they have the tendency to favor one over the others (Wolfgang, 1995; Wolfgang & Glickman, 1980) Levin and Nolan (1991, cited in Uhlenberg, Fuller, & Slotnick, 1993, p.117) summarize six main aspects of each approach in Table 1

Table 1 Aspects of Interactionist, Interventionist and Non-Interventionist

Approaches to Classroom Management

Interventionist

Teacher with some student input

Teacher

Allow some time for student to control own behavior but protect group

Teacher moves quickly to redirect behavior

Types of

Intervention

Nonverbal moves, conferences, communication, skills, messages

Coping skills, consequences, group meetings anecdotal records,

Rewards, punishments, token economy, contracting

Adapted from Principles of Classroom Management, by J Levin, and J F

Nolan, 1991, Englewood Cliffs, N.J: Prentice Hall

In the non-interventionist orientation, students are supposed to be capable

of expressing and accomplishing their own wishes and have an inner potential to make decisions for their personal development (Burden, 1995) Teachers, therefore, tend to be student-centered and exert minimal control over student behaviors (Witcher et al, 2008) To minimize their power in the classroom, teachers may implement some tactics such as glances and reflective forms of questioning (Unal & Unal, 2009)

Conversely, the interventionist approach presupposes that students’ growth

is the result of external factors including people and facilities Teachers are suggested to be fully involved in classroom situations (Witcher et al., 2002) Several disciplinary tactics employed by teachers who endorse the interventionist approach can be isolation, physical restraint, modeling, and reinforcement (Unal,

& Unal, 2009) Furthermore, teachers aim at creating an environment conducive

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to students’ academic, social and emotional development (Korpershoek, Harms,

De Boer, Van Kuijk & Doolaard, 2016)

In the midway of the continuum is the interactionist approach which posits that shared responsibilities are held between teachers and students concerning students’ in-class behaviors To facilitate the development of students, a combination of student autonomy and teacher authority should be implemented in the classroom Martin et al (1998) conclude that teachers who are more interactionist-oriented attach great importance to “what the individual does to modify the external environment, as well as what the environment does to shape the individual” (p 7)

In this study, the framework developed by Martin and colleagues was utilized for two main reasons First, the chosen framework demonstrates a broader construct to measure teachers’ beliefs on classroom management Compared to other frameworks, the one developed by Martin and colleagues (1998) reflects teachers’ stances toward not only discipline practices but also other actions to support the learning environment and optimize student engagement by including three dimensions of classroom management namely Instructional management, People management and Behavioral management The framework aligns with the researcher’s conceptualization of classroom management, which is detailed in the next section Moreover, since it adopts a more holistic approach to measure teachers’ classroom management beliefs, the study is expected to yield more conclusive findings

Second, in their systematic review on classroom management, Evertson and Weinstein (2006) also stress the importance of using valuable scales developed by Martin and colleagues to examine teacher knowledge, beliefs, and perceptions It

is implied that the instrument should be further utilized by other researchers other than its developers in future studies to examine its validity

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2.2 Classroom Management

2.2.1 Conceptualization of classroom management

Historically, the concept “classroom management” was associated with the notion of student control and discipline According to McCaslin and Good (1998),

“Classroom management has been seen largely as controlling students - getting them to respond quickly to teacher demands, needs, and goals” (p 169) It refers

to the various practices teachers adopt to maintain order in class (Doyle, 1986)

In contrast, a number of researchers and educators have contended that classroom management concerns more than just misbehavior prevention (Kounin, 1970; Brophy, 1988; Doyle, 1988; Watson & Ecken, 2003, cited in Evertson & Weinstein, 2006) When perceived in a broader and more holistic view, the term refers to all activities conducted by teachers in the classroom to enhance students’ academic involvement and cooperation in learning activities and to create a productive learning environment (Umoren, 2010; Evertson, Emmer, Sanford, & Clements, 1983) Similarly, according to Brophy and Good (2003), classroom management concerns not only discipline but also other aspects of classroom management such as the physical setting, teachers’ preparation and the presentation of the lesson

In this study, the latter approach was adopted, whereby classroom management is viewed as a multifaceted construct It encompasses teachers’ attempts to “plan and conduct activities in an orderly fashion, keep students actively engaged in lessons and seatwork activities; and minimize disruptions and discipline problems” (Brophy, 1988) In this respect, classroom management serves two main purposes as summarized by Brophy (1988, cited in Postholm, 2013)

The first aim of classroom management is to establish a quiet and calm environment in the classroom so that the pupils can take part in meaningful learning in a subject The second aim is that classroom management contributes

to the pupils’ social and moral development, which means that it aims to develop the pupils academically and socially (p 389)

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In brief, in this study, classroom management can be defined as any action taken by teachers to create and maintain an environment conducive to students’ learning and to facilitate their social and moral growth (Emmer & Sabornie, 2015; Evertson & Weinstein, 2006; Brophy, 1988; Kayikçi, 2009, Doyle, 1986)

2.2.2 Dimensions of classroom management

Since the study utilized Attitudes and Beliefs Regarding Classroom Management Style framework developed by Martin and colleagues (Martin & Baldwin, 1992, 1994; Martin, Yin & Baldwin, 1998, 2000, cited in Martin & Shoho, 1999), the term classroom management can be conceptualized as constituting three key dimensions, namely Instructional management, People management and Behavioral management

Instructional management refers to how teachers manage several aspects of classroom life such as establishing daily procedures, organizing seating, distributing learning materials, and monitoring students’ submission of homework The ways in which teachers deliver instructions influence the general classroom atmosphere and classroom management style (Kounin, 1970; McNeely & Mertz, 1990; Weinstein & Mignano, 1993; Burden, 1995, cited in Martin, Yin & Mayall, 2006)

Behavioral management relates to pre-planned means that teachers use to set standards for behaviors in the classroom and to enforce those standards (Laut, 1999) To be more specific, it includes setting rules, establishing a reward structure, and providing opportunities for student input

People management entails teachers’ efforts to develop and maintain relationships with students, their perceptions of the students as persons and their beliefs about what they can do to facilitate students’ personal growth According

to Weinstein (1996, cited in Martin, Yin & Mayall, 2006), teachers should take into consideration what their students are like by establishing a close teacher-student relationship, which can have a positive impact on students’ academic achievement and productive behavior (Ginott, 1972; Gordon, 1974; Glasser, 1986;

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Burden, 1995; Weinstein, 1996; Evertson et al., 1997, cited in Martin & Shoho, 1999)

2.3 Previous studies on the topic

A growing body of research is dedicated to classroom management in both international and national settings As classroom management is a multifaceted construct, the topic has been investigated from various perspectives (Evertson & Weinstein, 2006) Berger, Girardet, Vaudroz and Crahay (2018) outlined some directions of research on classroom management including “issues of discipline and management of misbehavior” (Landrum & Kauffman, 2006, cited in Berger, Girardet, Vaudroz & Crahay, 2018), “issues of management of cultural heterogeneity in the classroom” (van Tartwijk, den Brok, Veldman, & Wubbels,

2009, cited in Berger, Girardet, Vaudroz & Crahay, 2018) and “teachers’ interpersonal motivating style” (Deci & Ryan, 1987; Deci, Schwartz, Sheinman,

& Ryan, 1981; Reeve, 2009; Reeve, Bolt, & Cai, 1999, cited in Berger, Girardet, Vaudroz & Crahay, 2018, p 2)

The following section reports findings and methodology of relevant literature with a view to identifying important research gaps

2.3.1 In the global context

As regards teachers’ beliefs on classroom management, multiple researchers have investigated teachers’ classroom management approaches

Djigic and Stojiljkovic (2012) took both quantitative and qualitative approaches when examining the relationship among classroom management styles, classroom climate, and student achievement of 237 teachers in Serbia Results obtained through observations, Protocol for Classroom Management Styles Assessment and the Scale of Satisfaction with Class Climate suggest that 59.5% of the participants were interactionists, 24.2% were interventionists, and 16.4% were non-interventionists While interactionists’ classroom climate received the highest satisfaction from teachers, the opposite was true for interventionists

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In the U.S setting, Chambers, Henson and Sienty (2001) carried out a study identifying the correlation between teachers’ personality types and their beliefs of control in classroom management With the participation of 120 teachers in Texas and the use of four quantitative instruments - Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, Form

G (MBTI), the ABCC Inventory, and the Teacher Efficacy Scale, the study showed that teachers were categorized as interventionists who tended to be more controlling in the people and instructional management subscales Higher teacher efficacy was observed in the interventionist group Martin, Yin, and Mayall (2006) explored the influence of classroom management training on classroom management styles, differences in attitudes toward classroom management in terms of teaching experience and genders Data were collected from a total of 163 American teachers via ABCC Inventory and a demographic questionnaire The study shows that experienced teachers were significantly more controlling than novice teachers and female teachers were more interventionist than males regarding people and behavior management

In line with Martin, Yin, and Mayall (2006), Unal and Unal (2012) investigated the differences in beliefs of classroom management of 268 elementary teachers in Turkey concerning years of teaching Data were collected via the Behavior and Instructional Management Scale (BIMS) Inventory and a demographic questionnaire In general, teachers with more experience belonged to interventionists Additionally, teachers were found to be more controlling in behavior management than instructional management Also in Turkey, by adopting ABCC Inventory, Caner and Tertemiz’s study (2015) on 280 pre-service teachers reveal that more interventionists and interactionists were found on Instructional Management while non-interventionists fell into People Management subscale Moreover, there existed a relationship between gender and participants’ beliefs

In the Iranian context, Rahimi and Asadollahi (2012) investigated 300 EFL teachers’ classroom management orientations through the use of ABCC Inventory and Teaching Activities Preference questionnaire The findings show that the

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teachers followed interventionist or controlling classroom management approaches on behavior and instructional management In contrast, Aliakbari and Heidarzadi’s research (2015) on EFL teachers’ beliefs and practice toward classroom management through the use of BIMS and classroom observation show that they endorsed interactionist orientation on the same dimensions

Some researchers went further on the issue and examined how teachers’ beliefs about classroom management are related to their own practice in class Evrim, Gökçe, and Enisa (2009) carrying out a case study on a university Turkish EFL reveal congruence between what the teacher stated as beliefs and her actual classroom management In contrast, while using the same research design, Aksoy’s (2015) study shows both consistencies and inconsistencies between a Turkish teacher’s practice and beliefs

2.3.2 In the Vietnamese context

In the setting of Vietnam, varied themes concerning classroom management have emerged Some researchers have examined the common techniques teachers use to manage classes For example, Vu and Nguyen (2020) employed a mixed-method case study design to investigate classroom management techniques in inclusive classrooms having students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorder Gathering data through the use of questionnaire, interview and in-class observation with 109 English language teachers from different regions of Vietnam, it is concluded that despite considerable challenges they encountered when dealing with students of special needs, the teachers were able to establish creative and flexible teaching techniques

to manage class in terms of physical classroom arrangement, classroom regulation system and student interaction management

Another widely investigated topic is teachers’ English competence for classroom management To this end, Vu (2017) adopted a case study design with videotapes of 113 teachers in their micro-teaching sessions Qualitative data

by trainee teachers Data were collected through questionnaire data from 18 teacher trainees while conducting the Tutoring Program The findings indicate that managing time and dealing with students’ misbehaviors were the most significant problems for the pre-service teachers Pham, Nguyen, Ho, Hoang and Pham (2020) investigated the influence of Teaching Practicum on novice lectures’ classroom management skills Using survey research through questionnaires and interviews with 29 participants, the study shows that thanks to Teaching Practicum, novice lecturers could enhance classroom management skills, mostly in physical and emotional teacher-student interactions, attention-drawing and response encouragement, the establishment of an engaging environment

2.4 Research gaps

Undoubtedly, existing literature has offered profound insights into teachers’ beliefs about classroom management However, most of them have been conducted outside Vietnam Little attention has been paid to investigate teachers’ beliefs in the Vietnamese context Past studies in the context of Vietnam mainly deal with techniques that teachers use when managing class, problems they encounter in real practice or the impact of training sessions on classroom management (Vu & Nguyen, 2020; Vu, 2017; Nguyen, Tran & Luu, 2016; Pham, Nguyen, Ho, Hoang & Pham, 2020) This study, therefore, was designed to address the research gap and make contributions to the investigated field in the following areas

First, a review of global research reveals that teachers’ beliefs about classroom management are not a newly examined topic However, since the majority of existing research outside Vietnam uses a single design, mostly

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quantitative approach (Chambers, Henson & Sienty, 2001; Martin, Yin & Mayall, 2006; Unal & Unal, 2012; Caner & Tertemiz, 2015; Rahimi & Asadollahi, 2012), this research which employed a mixed-method design with questionnaires and semi-structured interviews is expected to yield more comprehensive findings of the research problem As a result, although dealing with a similar topic, the present study which has a different research design potentially contributes to the literature

in terms of both methodology and findings

Second, when it comes to research in the context of Vietnam, this study aims to address the lack of studies on classroom management since it investigated

a topic that has not received enough attention in recent years Specifically, it adds

to the existing literature what beliefs Vietnamese EFL teachers hold about their classroom management practice

Moreover, since mixed results were obtained from previous studies using ABCC Inventory, there is a need to re-examine this instrument in the Vietnamese context

2.5 Summary of the chapter

The second chapter has provided theoretical backgrounds for the study It begins by elaborating on how teachers’ beliefs are defined and what contributes to the formation of teachers’ beliefs Following this, the conceptualization of classroom management and its three dimensions is presented Subsequently, a number of theoretical frameworks developed by Willower, Eidell and Hoy (1967), Wolfgang (2001), Whitington and Osward (1994), Martin and Baldwin (1992, 1994), Martin, Yin and Baldwin (1998, 2000) are reviewed and analyzed, followed

by the justification for the selected model The researcher decided to adopt the framework suggested by Martin and colleagues since it demonstrates a broader construct to measure teachers’ beliefs on classroom management and there is a need to re-examine the ABCC inventory in a different context Finally, a synthesis and critical review of existing literature on EFL teachers’ beliefs about classroom management with a view to identifying the important research gaps The study is

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expected to yield more comprehensive findings due to differences in the research context and methodology Moreover, it aims to address the lack of studies on the investigated topic in the context of Vietnam

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CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY

The third chapter provides the methodology of the research It begins with the description of the targeted university to shed light on the context of the study Information on the mixed-method design, simple random sampling and convenience sampling is also presented which directly links to the selection of participants and two instruments, questionnaires and semi-structured interviews The chapter also details the methods and procedures of data collection and analysis

3.1 The context of the study

The study was conducted at one leading university in the field of language teaching in Vietnam To ensure the anonymity of the research site, it was pseudonymized as University A in the study

Of all Vietnamese universities, A has been long regarded as one of the top higher educational institutions for pedagogy and linguistic studies at the undergraduate level As stated on its website, the university aims at contributing

to the growth of the country by offering high-quality education, research and other services relevant to social demands It consists of multiple language departments including Russian, Chinese, English, French, Japanese, Korean, German and Arabic

The Faculty of English (pseudonym) is the biggest one with multiple enrolments every year One mission of the faculty is to provide English teacher training programs to the students In such programs, students are required to attend English classes to enhance their proficiency level during the first two years of education Teachers from English Division One and Two and the Honor Division

of the faculty are in charge of these classes

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3.2 Research design

To seek answers to the research question, a mixed-method design was deployed, which allowed the researcher to “collect and analyze data, integrate the findings and draw inferences using both qualitative and quantitative approaches […] in a single study” (Tashakkori & Creswell, 2007, p 4)

The use of this research design is justifiable since previous studies have confirmed that various types of data are sufficient to accurately capture and describe beliefs (Pajares, 1992; Richardson, 1996), which in this case refers to EFL teachers’ beliefs about classroom management A combination of quantitative and qualitative approaches is expected to provide better insights into the research problem than one single approach (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2007)

In the study, the sequential explanatory strategy was adopted with a quantitative phase coming first, followed by a qualitative phase (Creswell, et al., 2003) Specifically, quantitative data were collected via the use of questionnaires while semi-structured interviews were employed in the second phase of data collection

3.3 Sampling method

In the first phase of the study, the participants were picked up randomly from the list of all teachers in charge of 2020-2021 language classes in University A’s Faculty of English By utilizing simple random sampling, the study can

“remove bias from the selection procedure” and “result in representative samples” (Gravetter & Forzano, 2018, p 146)

Among those who had completed the questionnaire, the researcher employed convenience sampling to select participants for the interview This is a non-probability sampling method in which subjects are selected based on practical criteria, such as “easy accessibility, geographical proximity availability at a given time or the willingness to participate” (Etikan, Musa & Alkassim, 2016, p 2) This sampling method is believed to be both time-saving and cost-efficient (Bornstein, Jager & Putnick, 2013)

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3.4 Participants

The research aimed at investigating the beliefs of EFL teachers on classroom management The population consisted of teachers in The Faculty of English who taught language classes The research only involved those who had classes in the 2020-2021 academic year to enable the researcher to conduct the data collection procedures more conveniently

52 out of 83 teachers agreed to participate in the study Since this was a medium-scale study, the number of participants was sufficient to guarantee validity and reliability From the respondents of the questionnaires, the researcher interviewed five teachers to obtain data for the qualitative phase

To ensure participant anonymity, the interviewed teachers were identified

by codes in Table 2

Table 2 Description of interview participants

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3.5 Data collection instruments

3.5.1 Questionnaire

3.5.1.1 Rationale for the use of questionnaire

Questionnaire defined as “a set of standardized questions, often called items, which follow a fixed scheme in order to collect individual data about one or more specific topics” (Lavrakas, 2008) was one main instrument of this study Questionnaire was used as it allows the researcher to effectively capture participants’ beliefs and opinions according to Griffee (2012) Specifically, this instrument enabled the researcher to explore teachers’ beliefs about their classroom management Munn, Drever and Scottish Council for Research in Education (1990) also highlight four key advantages of questionnaires for researchers namely: “an efficient use of time, anonymity (for the respondent), the possibility of a high return rate, standardized questions” (p 10)

3.5.1.2 Questionnaire development

The questionnaire used in the study was adapted from the revised version

of Attitudes and Beliefs of Classroom Control Inventory, which was originally developed by Martin et al (1998) It was designed to measure “various aspects of teachers' beliefs and predispositions toward classroom management practices" (Martin, Yin, & Mayall, 2007) The first version of the questionnaire consists of

48 items concerning three dimensions of classroom management: Instructional Management, People Management and Behavioral Management In the revised version, only 26 items are retained To be specific, the number of items on each dimension is 12 items, 10 items and 4 items respectively All the items are rated based on a four-likert scale: (4) Describes me very well, (3) Describes me usually, (2) Describes me somewhat and (1) Describes me not at all After inversely scoring some items, the obtained figures indicate whether participants are interventionist, non-interventionist or interactionist in each subscale High scores from each subscale are associated with the interventionist approach while low ones imply the non-interventionist approach (Martin, Yin & Baldwin, 1998, cited in Savran &

of the instrument (Martin et al., 1998)

To find out possible areas of improvement, the researchers contacted the supervisor for feedback and adjustment After that, the researcher asked three teachers from the Faculty of English who taught specialized courses to pilot the questionnaire because generally they had the same characteristics as the targeted participants Thanks to the valuable suggestions from the supervisor and the teachers, the researchers finalized the questionnaire with the following adaptations

First, the researcher omitted two items “I believe class rules stifle the student’s ability to develop a personal moral code.” and “While teaching a lesson,

a student begins to talk about her own work I would remind the student that the class has to finish the lesson before the end of the class period.” from the questionnaire as they either use confusing expressions or reflect unclear purposes Additionally, the researcher found the inclusion of both items “I believe students should choose the learning topics and tasks.” and “I believe the teacher should decide what topics the students study and the tasks involved.” in the questionnaire unnecessary as they concern similar issues Therefore, only the latter was kept in the final version Besides, the researcher also added some items which were carefully selected from the original version to obtain sufficient results into the research problems To be specific, the additional items were item 4 “I believe the teacher should decide what topics the students study and the tasks involved” (Instructional management), item 18 and 19 “I believe student’s emotions and decision-making processes must always be considered fully legitimate and valid”

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(People management), item 26 “When a student is repeatedly off-task, I will most likely talk with the student to find out why” and item 27 “When a student bothers other students, my first reaction would be to say nothing and let the students work

it out themselves” (Behavioral Management)

Second, as suggested by the pilot teachers, the use of a four-likert scale: (4) Describes me very well, (3) Describes me usually, (2) Describes me somewhat and (1) Describes me not at all, was quite problematic They found that the three options (2), (3) and (4) were not clear enough in wording, thus making it hard for them to rate the statements Moreover, the options are measured in different categories For example, while the word “very well” in number (4) concerns degree, “usually” in number (3) relates to frequency Another drawback of a four-likert scale is the lack of a midpoint According to Johns (2005), the presence of the midpoint allows respondents to express their neutral viewpoints, especially in case of complicated topics such as beliefs Consequently, the original scale was substituted with a five-likert scale ranging from “Strongly disagree” to “Strongly agree” to address the mentioned shortcomings

Finally, in order to clear any ambiguous parts of the questionnaire, the wording of some items was changed with careful consideration of the context For some items, such as “The teacher knows best how to allocate classroom materials and supplies to optimize learning.”, the subject was replaced by “I” to directly indicate the respondents For other items, the modification is illustrated in Table 3 (See Appendix A)

3.5.1.3 Questionnaire description

The questionnaire begins with the researchers’ brief self-introduction, basic information about the study and the instruction on the questionnaire completion

At the end of the questionnaire, there is a thank-you note

The major part of the questionnaire is divided into three main sections 1, 2 and 3 with 28 items investigating three dimensions of classroom management namely Instructional management, People management and Behavioral

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management respectively (See Appendix B) The choices for 28 items are written

in the form of a numerical rating scale from one (Strongly disagree) to five (Strongly agree) Detailed description of questionnaire items is presented in the following table:

Table 4 Description of questionnaire items

1 Instructional management Items 1-13

3 Behavioral management Items 23-28

3.5.2 Interview

3.5.2.1 Rationale for the use of interview

Apart from questionnaire, the study utilized interview as a second data collection instrument It is defined as a verbal interchange “where one person – the interviewer is seeking responses for a particular purpose from other person: the interviewee” (Gillham, 2000, p.1)

The use of interview can be attributed to three main reasons First, according to Lambert and Loiselle (2007), interview enables the researcher to elicit data on participants’ experiences and beliefs pertaining to a particular research problem or a subject of interest In this study, it aimed at providing more insights into teachers’ beliefs on their classroom management Second, interview could serve as an effective means to capture not only verbal but also non-verbal cues such as facial expressions, gestures and tone of voice As suggested by Opdenakker (2006), non-verbal features prove to be extremely useful when the interviewer wishes to know the attitude of the participant on a specific phenomenon Lastly, the employment of two data collection instruments, interview and questionnaire, helped to address the limitation of quantitative approach “Data from interviews

Babbie (2007) identifies three major types of interviews, the structured interview, the semi-structured interview and the unstructured interview To fulfill the research purpose, the format of semi-structured interviews was implemented According to Given (2008), it is defined as “a qualitative data collection strategy

in which the researcher asks informants a series of predetermined but open-ended questions” (p 810) The flexibility of semi-structured interviews not only facilitates the exploration of participants’ perceptions and opinions but also allows for the clarification of interesting and relevant issues spontaneously raised during the conversation (Ryan, Coughlan & Cronin, 2009) In addition, this method is suitable when the number of interviewees is relatively small (Drever, 1995)

3.5.2.3 Interview guideline development and description

Prior to the interviews, a written guideline was carefully designed by the researcher (See Appendix C) The guideline adopted the semi-structured approach with a set of 14 open-ended questions being prepared in line with three sections of the questionnaire, Instructional management, People management and Behavioral management This set of items served the purpose of enriching data collected from the questionnaire and exploring undiscovered issues The researcher then submitted the interview guideline to the supervisor for further feedback After the

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discussion, some questions were reworded to avoid ambiguity and some were added to enhance the data richness A detailed description of the final interview guideline is presented in Table 5

Table 5 Description of interview guideline

Dimension Topic Question Sample

Lead-in Question 1-4 Which courses/subjects

are you in charge of at university?

Instructional

management

Seating arrangement

Question 5 In which way do you

think the seating arrangement influences the way you manage your class? In which situation

do you think specific seating should/ should not

be assigned to students and why?

Homework submission

Question 6 How do you feel when

your students do not submit their

homework/assignments

on time? What do you often do if they are behind the deadlines and why? Behavioral

management

Class rules Question 7 Can you describe a

situation when you