The content of rules and classroom management

Abstract

Rules make an important contribution to successful teaching where there is little disruption and a high level of participation. However, so far research has barely paid attention to the contents of these rules and to their relationship to the classroom management. This article highlights with the help of teachers’ (N=605) and pupils’ (N=923) data these questions. It identifies aspects (social interaction, silence and order) where regulation is needed. But an unbalanced focusing on rules of order is often accompanied by a higher degree of disruption during classes. Finally, the indirect nature of this correlation is illustrated in a model and the role of the intermittent variables (especially the relationship between teachers and pupils) is discussed.