A Relational Analysis of Teachers’ Approaches to Curriculum Design and Classroom Management Styles

Abstract

The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between teachers’ approaches to curriculum design and classroom management styles. The sample of the study, which was designed using a correlational survey model, consisted of 334 teachers working in various schools in Turkey during the 2020 – 2021 academic year. The sampling method employed was convenient sampling. The Approaches to Curriculum Design Scale and the Classroom Management Styles Scale were used as data collection tools. Descriptive statistics (arithmetic mean & standard deviation), Pearson’s correlation coefficients, and multivariate regression analysis were used to analyze the data set. Analysis of the results of the study’s first question revealed that teachers, to a large degree, prefer learner-centered curriculum designs as well as the authoritative classroom management style. Within the purview of the second question of the study, significant relationships between teachers’ approaches to curriculum design and classroom management styles were examined. Analysis of the results of the study’s third question showed that teachers’ approaches to curriculum design significantly predicted classroom management styles. Consequently, teachers’ approaches to curriculum design were found to account for 17% of the variance of the authoritarian classroom management sub-dimension, 5% of the variance of the uninvolved classroom management sub-dimension, 25% of the variance of the authoritative classroom management sub-dimension, and 9% of the variance of the permissive classroom management sub-dimension. Keeping this in mind, various in-service training programs regarding the importance of approaches to curriculum design during the teaching and learning process can be organized. In addition, in another study to be conducted, more detailed results can be obtained by using the mixed method with a larger sample size.