Journal of College Teaching & Learning – November 2009 Volume 6, Number 7

Evaluation Study Of Competencies

Of Secondary School Teachers In Punjab
In The Context Of Classroom Management
Safia Saeed, University of Wah, Pakistan

ABSTRACT

There are so many characteristics and traits of personality and all the characteristics, qualities
and competencies need training, grooming, improvement and development. The best classroom
environment is one that results in efficient learning. Discipline involves employing guidance and
teaching techniques to encourage students to become self-directive and therefore to create an
atmosphere conducive to learning. Teachers are decision-makers as they manage the daily
routines of their classrooms. Some teachers squeeze out every minute of learning possible. They
are highly organized and well prepared, and they constantly think and plan ahead. This doesn’t
mean that they create a cold classroom atmosphere where students feel unwelcome. Rather, they
are warm and enthusiastic teachers who are simply well organized and equally well versed in
teaching. The major objective of this study was as to investigate the problems of classroom
management of the secondary school teachers in Punjab. The population of the study consisted of
the heads of the teacher training institutions, teacher educators, heads of secondary schools,
secondary school teachers, and students. The sample included randomly selected ten heads of
teacher training institutions, 50 teacher trainers, 800 hundred heads of secondary schools, 4,000
secondary school teachers and 4,000 students. Four questionnaires (one each for heads, teacher
trainers, teachers and students) were developed for collection of data. Data were collected,
analyzed and interpreted in the light of objective by using the Chi- Square. It was concluded from
the study that the majority of respondents agreed that secondary school teachers were aware of
time management skills, kept the classroom environment conducive for learning, and improved the
learning skills of the students by using different behavior modification techniques. The majority of
respondents agreed that secondary school teachers were dealing with the students in a non-
psychological way; it was the common areas in which secondary school teachers had weak
competencies. For improving the classroom management skills, in-service short courses should be
planned and attendance of secondary school teachers in such courses should be made obligatory.
For maintaining the discipline in the class, teacher should be trained in such a way that they
properly understand each and every method with its proper use in particular situations. Short
courses, seminars and symposia should be organized on a regular basis to refresh the knowledge
of working secondary teachers. Teachers should understand human, as well as educational,
psychology and apply it in their teaching process in the classroom.

Keywords: competences, secondary school teachers, classroom management, learning, discipline, time

INTRODUCTION

T he quality of education is directly related to the quality of instruction in the classroom. The teacher is
considered the most crucial factor in implementing all educational reforms at the grassroots level. It
is a fact that the academic qualifications, knowledge of the subject matter, competence and skills of
teaching, and the commitment of the teacher have effective impact on the teaching-learning process (Govt. of
Pakistan, 1998).

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A student who spends more time pursuing academic content learns more and receives higher achievement
scores. Researches have developed the following terms to allocate time, engaged time and academic learning time
(Sadker and Sadker, 1997).

Successful classroom management has been defined as producing a high rate of work involvement with a
low rate of deviancy in academic settings (Laslett and Smith, 1984).

Arranging the physical setting for teaching is a logical starting point for classroom management because it
is a task that all teachers face before the school year begins. Many teachers find it easier to plan other aspects of the
classroom after they have a clear idea of how the physical features of the classroom will be organized.

The following four keys are helpful for classroom management:

1. Keep high traffic areas free of congestion.

2. Be sure students can be seen easily by the teacher.
3. Keep frequently used teaching materials and student supplies readily accessible.
4. Be certain students can easily see whole-class presentations and displays (Evertson and Emmer, 2000).

The seating arrangement must depend on the type of lesson to be taught and the type of classroom
furniture. The possession of a seating plan helps the teacher to learn names more rapidly (Laslett and Smith, 1984).

Desks, chairs and tables can be arranged in a variety of ways. Light and temperature can be increased and
decreased. Painted wall coverings, artwork and plants can be used to enhance or detract from the attractiveness of
the physical classroom environment (Anderson, 1991).

A teacher establishes classroom rules either with his or her students or before the school year begins. There
is no research that one approach is better than the other. Rules are best if they are few in number, simple and easy to
understand, and fair. Also, rules should be posted in the classroom for all to see and the teacher should go over the
rules on the first day of school (Farris, 1996).

To some considerable degree, teachers control their instructional effectiveness in the classroom. The
passive teacher simply relies on the same old teaching techniques day after day. However, the active teacher, who
varies his/her day planning different teaching strategies and techniques, tends to achieve more success in teaching
(Dhand, 1990).

According to Arif (2003), in order to create a classroom environment with maximum productive time
utilization, the teachers must establish and maintain it through following teaching and managing practices.

1. Keeping the students motivated in learning, teachers set the stage for creating positive class environment.
2. Teachers must try to meet students‟ basic and age-related needs.
3. The degree of class control must be moderate.
4. Develop a set of few general classroom rules applicable in a variety of situations.
5. Keep instruction at the students‟ level.
6. Increase the „engaged time‟ by keeping the students involved in the learning tasks.

Management in the classrooms and schools tended to focus on a reactive approach to dealing with
problems as they arose. The teacher would concentrate on having stringent disciplinary measures in place. Students
would be obedient because they were afraid of the consequences of misbehavior.

The following are management problems found in the classroom.

1. Difficult relationship with teachers

2. Irrelevance of curriculum
3. Family and community problems
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4. Failure of teachers to meet individual students‟ needs

5. Individual learning problems (Smith and Ewing, (2003)

The master teacher is conscious of individual differences and provides appropriate learning materials to
meet these differences, utilizing various media of learning instead of limiting the class to reading and reciting. He
appeals to the various senses of the students.

The seating arrangement enables everyone to communicate in a face-to-face manner rather than reciting
only to the teacher. The expert teacher follows these practices because he has developed an understanding of
adolescent growth and of how learning takes place (Gilchrist. et al.1985).

The psychological environment accounts for approximately 30 percent of the variance in cognitive,
affective and behavioral outcomes beyond that accounted for by input measures, such as the entering ability or
achievement of students (Walberg, 1987).

The objective of this study was to investigate the problems of classroom management of the secondary
school teachers in Punjab.

The study is of great significance because it will provide workable guidelines to achieve the objectives of
teacher education by suggesting improvements in the pre-service and in-service teacher education programs. This
study will also be helpful to identify the personal and professional competencies of the teachers. It will provide
guidelines for preparing norms for recruitment of teachers and will provide feedback to the curriculum developers in
framing suitable curricula for teacher education programs. It will be helpful to improve the quality of education in
schools and, in turn, the achievement of the objectives.

PROCEDURE

The major purpose of this study was to evaluate the competences of secondary school teachers in Punjab in
the context of classroom management. The following procedure was adopted.

SAMPLE

Ten Universities and colleges of education and 40 secondary schools from each district were randomly
selected. The target areas of the researcher were: Attock, Rawalpindi, Chakwal, Jhelum, Gujrat, Lahore, Sargodha,
Faisalabad, Multan, Bahwalpur,Rahim Yar Khan, Bhawalnagar, Jhang, Okara, Toba Tek Sing, Mianwali, Sahiwal,
Khanewal, Sialkot and Gujranwala. Ten universities and colleges of education, which provide teacher training, were
randomly selected. From each district, the researcher selected 40 secondary schools, twenty from urban and twenty
from rural areas.

Due to limited time and resources available with the researcher, the study was delimited to government, as
well as semi-government, educational institutions in unjab. The institutions in the private sector were not included in
the sample.

INSTRUMENTS

The researcher prepared the following four questionnaires in order to measure the teachers‟ competencies.

1. A questionnaire for heads of Teacher Training Institutions and teacher- trainers comprising 28 items.
2. A questionnaire for heads of secondary schools consisting of 50 items.
3. A questionnaire for Secondary school teachers having 50 items.
4. A questionnaire for students with 50 items.

For the statistical treatment of data, Chi Square was applied using the following formula:

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2 = ∑ (fo – fe) 2
fe

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Table 1: Teachers come and leave the classroom in time.

Category Highest High Moderate Low Lowest Total 2
Heads 186 135 284 116 79 800 157.34*
Teachers 778 1145 1385 647 45 4000 1318.96*
Students 779 475 1443 1177 126 4000 1394.90*
* Significant df= 4 2 (Table value) at 0.05 level = 9.488

It is reflected from Table 1 that the 2 value in all three cases was found greater than the table value at 0.05
level. Hence, the statement “Teachers come and leave the classroom in time” is accepted.

Table 2: Teachers come to the class well prepared.

Category Highest High Moderate Low Lowest Total 2
Heads 138 179 165 302 16 800 261.06*
Teachers 1135 1070 1135 647 13 4000 1175.16*
Students 1271 1419 1029 233 48 4000 1930.55*
* Significant df= 2 (Table value) at 0.05 level = 9.488

Table 2 depicts that the 2 value in all three cases was found greater than the table value at 0.05 level.
Hence, the statement “Teachers come to the class well prepared” is accepted.

Table 3: Teachers maintain discipline in the classroom.

Category Highest High Moderate Low Lowest Total 2
Heads 109 311 205 123 52 800 252.88*
Teachers 1012 1458 1036 428 66 4000 1513.43*
Students 1221 1389 783 575 32 4000 1456.13*
* Significant df= 4 2 (Table value) at 0.05 level = 9.488

Table 3 reflects that the 2 value in all three cases was found greater than the table value at 0.05 level.
Hence, the statement “Teachers maintain discipline in the classroom” is accepted.

Table 4: Teachers apply educational psychology in the classroom

Category Highest High Moderate Low Lowest Total 2
Eads 121 168 131 265 115 800 96.73*
Teachers 118 797 1065 1012 1008 4000 779.46*
Students 312 1198 321 1418 751 4000 1262.89*
* Significant df= 4 2 (Table value) at 0.05 level = 9.488

Table 4 indicats that the 2 value in all three cases was found greater than the table value at 0.05 level.
Hence, the statement “Teachers apply education psychology in the classroom” is accepted due to the value of Chi
Square. Otherwise, the negative responses are more than the positive, which indicats that teachers did not apply
educational psychology in the classroom.
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DISCUSSION

The results of the study indicate that all the respondents were of the view that the secondary school teachers
came and left the classroom in time.

A teacher‟s function is not mere promotion of literacy by imparting a certain amount of knowledge to
pupils. A teacher is the ideal model to be followed by students. He is a key to the whole education process.
Successful teaching is linked to certain patterns of teaching behavior rather than specific personal characteristics or
disciplinary methods. A teacher should be a person who commands the respect of pupils by virtue of what he is. So,
the majority of respondents reported that secondary school teachers come to the class well prepared.

Another competency, which is more important for secondary school teachers, is classroom control. Sound
classroom control is achieved most efficiently if the teacher is equipped with a theoretical and working knowledge
of relevant principles that underlie classroom behavior – principles related to curriculum, planning, objectives and
procedures, activity and experience, meaning and behavior, habits, growth and development, environmental
influences, adolescent needs, expectations, readiness, and motivation.

In this way, they maintain the conducive environment of the classrooms for the improvement of learning
skills of the students. This skill not only maintains the discipline in the classroom, but also makes teaching an
interesting activity. So the majority of respondents reported that secondary school teachers maintain the discipline in
the classroom.

The majority of all categories of respondents agreed that secondary school teachers did not treat the
students in a psychological way. The reason may be the lack of knowledge of the secondary school teachers in the
area of child psychology. This may be attributed to the weak programme of teacher training where the prospective
teachers are not practically trained in dealing with the students in a psychological way. If they were fully trained in
child psychology they would have developed and utilized this competency in the proper way.

CONCLUSIONS

On the basis of analysis of data, the following conclusions were drawn:

A vast majority of heads of teacher training institutions, teacher trainers, heads of secondary schools,
secondary school teachers, and students accepted that secondary school teachers came and left the classroom in
time.

On the basis of results, all categories of respondents reported that secondary school teachers maintain
discipline in the class to improve the learning skills of the students by using different behaviour modification
techniques.

The teacher used his/her best professional judgment to decide which method; strategy and techniques work
best for a particular situation.

The best classroom environment is one that results in efficient learning. If teachers come to the class well
prepared, it encourages students to become self-directive, thus creating an atmosphere conducive for learning.

Therefore, the majority of respondents agreed that secondary school teachers come to the class well
prepared.

The majority of the heads of secondary schools, heads of teacher training institutions, secondary school
teachers, and the students, agreed that secondary school teachers deal with students in a non-psychological way.
Perhaps teachers did not understand child psychology and were unaware of the problems of students that may occur
due to lack of training in this area and poor knowledge in child psychology that demands proper training in these
areas.
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AUTHOR INFORMATION

Dr Safia Saeed obtained a (B.A) Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Punjab Lahore (Pakistan) in 1999
having Education as Elective subject, a Master of Science Education in the year 2002 and a Doctor of Philosophy in
Education from UAAR (University of Arid Agriculture Rawalpindi) in the year 2005. He has now been serving as
an Assistance Professor in the Department of Education University of Wah, Wah Cantt (Pakistan). His areas of
interest are, Teacher Education, Educational System, Curriculum Development, Educational Research, Planning and
Management. This article is written in the light of “An Evaluation Study of Competencies of Secondary School
Teacher in Punjab in Context of Classroom Management”.

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