Profiles of Teacher Behavior Management Style: Perceived School Climate, Stress, and Self-Efficacy

Fostering a supportive and productive classroom environment for students is an essential goal for most teachers and schools in general. In addition, teachers' behavior management practices have been an important topic of research due to the relationship between behavior management strategies and student success and well-being. Previous research has shown that punitive discipline techniques (e.g., office referrals, suspensions, expulsions) are likely to unintentionally increase misbehavior, as opposed to correcting it. Factors such as teachers' perceptions of their school climate, occupational stress, and self-efficacy have been found to contribute to teachers' selection of disciplinary methods. This study seeks to expand upon previous research of which factors are associated with positive and punitive behavior management techniques. Thus, latent profile analysis (LPA) and linear regression analysis examined K-12 teachers' (N = 112) perceived school climate, self-efficacy, and stress in association with their use of punitive and positive techniques. The 3-profile solution was observed as the best fitting model following examination of fit indices and likelihood ratio tests. Moreover, linear regression revealed that the covariates were not significantly correlated with their use of punitive discipline techniques. However, perceptions of school climate and self-efficacy were significantly positively associated with the use of positive behavior management strategies. These findings provide insight into the continued use of punitive techniques despite their known ineffectiveness in rectifying student misbehavior. Furthermore, a better understanding of the patterns of teachers' usage of behavior management strategies can inform recommendations for more effective ongoing professional development and ultimately promote positive outcomes for students.