Ικανότητα χειρισμού προβλημάτων συμπεριφοράς στο σχολείο και ανάγκες εξειδίκευσης εκπαιδευτικών

This publication reports findings from a study with the following aims: a) to explore teachers' perceptions of behavioural problems in their classrooms, and b) to evaluate any associations between the teaching experience and the gender of teachers with their views on their competence on classroom management. A sample of 259 teachers working in regular schools completed the Teacher Manageability Scale by Safran and his colleagues. Statistical analysis revealed that teachers did not seem to face any difficulty in handling any behaviour problem. However, teachers indicated that social isolation, lack of attention, lack of cooperation and avoidance of communication present the greatest challenges for their handling. On the other hand, teachers seemed to feel competent to handle children's behaviours, such as dependency on teachers' instructions, complaints for grades, and being sensitive to criticism. Besides, teaching experience appeared to be significantly related with teachers' perceptions on the management of four types of behavioural problems. Last, it became evident that the ins service training needs of teachers on classroom management need to be focused on the handling specific behaviours that they consider as challenging in their daily practice at school.