Learners’ Perceptions of Pre-Service Teachers’ Classroom Management Practices

Abstract

<p style="text-align: justify;">Studies conducted on learners rarely focus their investigations on learner perceptions of pre-service teachers’ classroom management practices. In response to the changing school environments, this study investigated learners’ perceptions of pre-service teachers’ classroom management practices. A survey design was adopted in which 550 grade 11 secondary school learners from eleven secondary schools in the Copperbelt Province in Zambia formed the sample. A Likert scale questionnaire was used to collect data which was analysed using SPSS and also through an iterative process. The study revealed that learners positively perceived pre-service teachers’ classroom management practices. This is indicated by pre-service teachers’ interest in learners’ welfare, possessing good personal qualities, ability to handle learners’ disruptive behaviours, ability to teach effectively, and ability to assess learners effectively. Using an independent samples t-test, it was concluded that there were no statistically significant gender differences in learners’ perceptions of pre-service teachers’ classroom management. Regardless of which institution pre-service teachers came from, learners had a positive impression of pre-service teachers in terms of learner discipline (60%), assessment of learners (66.3%), learner and pre-service-teacher relationship (64.7%), pre-service teachers’ ability to teach (54%), interest in learner welfare (58.5%), pre-service teachers’ personal characteristics (82.6%) and acceptance of pre-service teacher (46.9%).</p>