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Teacher attunement to peer-nominated aggressors
Molly Dawes1, Chin-Chih Chen2, Sharon K Zumbrunn2
1School of Education, College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia.
Aggressive Behavior
|October 26, 2016
Summary
Teachers are less attuned to aggressive students who are popular or have high affiliation and internalizing behaviors. However, students with high Olympian qualities increase teacher attunement to aggressive youth.
Area of Science:
- Educational Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Teacher attunement is crucial for managing aggressive student behavior.
- Understanding factors influencing teacher perception of aggressive students is essential for effective classroom management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between student characteristics and teacher attunement to aggressive students.
- To identify specific student traits that may facilitate or impede teacher attunement.
Main Methods:
- A sample of 278 5th-grade students was analyzed.
- Teacher attunement was operationalized as the agreement between teacher and peer nominations for students initiating fights.
- Teachers rated students on academic competence, affiliation, popularity, internalizing behavior, and Olympian qualities.
Main Results:
- Higher student affiliation, popularity, and internalizing behaviors were linked to decreased teacher attunement to aggressive students.
- Conversely, higher Olympian qualities in students were associated with increased teacher attunement.
- These findings suggest student characteristics significantly moderate teacher perception and response to aggression.
Conclusions:
- Student characteristics play a significant role in shaping teacher attunement towards aggressive behavior.
- Interventions should consider student traits like affiliation, popularity, internalizing behaviors, and Olympian qualities to improve teacher attunement.
- Targeting these characteristics could enhance the effectiveness of classroom management strategies for aggressive youth.
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