Does a year make a difference? The classroom management practices of primary student teachers before and after a one-year teacher education programme

The purpose of this study was to examine primary student teachers' use, confidence and success in various classroom management strategies at the start and at the end of a one-year teaching programme and ascertain any significant differences between the two time periods. One hundred and twenty-four English primary student teachers were surveyed at both time periods. Student teachers indicate that they would employ mostly preventative and lower-level corrective strategies at the start and at the end of the programme. Over the one year there was a significant increase in the use, confidence and success of preventative and relatively more intrusive corrective strategies, while the use and confidence of lower-level corrective strategies remained the same. The study tentatively highlights the cumulative impact of a one-year teaching programme on some but not all classroom management skills.