Experiences of pre-school children and their teachers regarding class rules and behavior management: A case study

Abstract

The aim of the study is to determine experiences of children attending a preschool class and their teacher about class rules, desirable and undesirable behaviors and strategies followed by the teacher concerning these behaviors. The study is a case study, which is one of the qualitative research methods. The participants were 14 children attending a class for 5 year-olds in an independent kindergarten and the teacher of the class. Semi-structured interview technique was used in the study. In addition, in two of the questions in the interview, the students were asked to draw pictures to help them describe their experiences in more detail. The data in the study were analyzed by content analysis, categorized by coding, and themes and sub-themes were obtained. As a result of the research, it was found that the opinions of the children and their teachers about class rules and undesirable behaviors were in parallel with each other. The study revealed that the experiences of children and the teacher overlap in terms of behaviors and strategies followed by the teacher in response to desirable behaviors. However, it was found that the experiences of children and their teacher differ with regards to the way class rules are determined, and behaviors and strategies followed by the teacher concerning undesirable behaviors.