Assessing Teacher Manageability: A Factor Analytic Approach

Abstract

An ecologically valid appraisal of students' problem behaviors must include assessment of the teacher's role as perceiver on various levels. This study analyzes the teacher manageability construct, examining educators' beliefs about their ability to manage 39 generally maladaptive behaviors within their own classroom. To address measurement limitations of previous investigations (including nonfactor analytic clustering of behaviors), a principal component analysis followed by a varimax rotation was administered on teacher manageability ratings (N = 182). This statistical analysis yielded nine component subtests (the Teacher Manageability Scale) and demonstrated that by changing the method used to group behaviors, you also modify the structure of a teacher checklist. Lack of Communication was identified as the most difficult behavior to manage. Implications for professionals working with students identified as behaviorally disordered and for future research are discussed.