Date of Award
Fall 10-6-2017
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctorate of Education, Ed.D.
College
College of Education
Department
Education
First Advisor
Barbara Weschke, Ph.D.
Second Advisor
Julia Britt, Ed.D.
Third Advisor
Peggy Dupey, Ed.D.
Abstract
This observational case-study examined teacher efficacy and its influence on classroom management when teaching African American males in grades preK-2, through the lens of choice theory (Glasser, 1998). Data were analyzed with the intent of gaining an in-depth understanding of how teacher efficacy influenced classroom management when addressing the needs of survival, power, freedom, fun, and belonging of African American males in grades preK-2. Through the use of professional development, the intended goal was to discover insight of how to better assist teachers in supporting the social and emotional needs of their African American male students in grades preK-2. The researcher expected to find a relationship between classroom management and teacher efficacy, when considering the influences of various elements such as professional development, teacher bias, the availability of educational resources, and cultural awareness. Data was collected from pre-and post-professional development responses, as well as from observations. Research was conducted in a suburban Illinois school district, located on the outskirts of a major Midwestern city. Participants included 10 teachers whose classroom population consisted of 5 or more African American male students in grades PreK-2. Using the comparative analysis design, teacher pre-and post-professional development responses were compared to one another. Findings revealed that teachers who understood how to fulfill students’ needs of survival, power, freedom, fun, and belonging, through the use of professional development, were able to identify, create, and implement appropriate classroom-management strategies that were directly tailored to the needs and abilities of their African American male students.