From the discussion so far in this chapter it is clear that teacher–pupil interaction dur-ing the lesson involves a very rich fl ow of information concerndur-ing their perceptions, expectations, attitudes and feelings about each other and the learning activities in hand.
The notion of classroom climate draws explicit attention to the emotional tone and atmosphere of the lesson, and how this is shaped by teacher and pupil perceptions.
An effective classroom climate is one in which the teacher’s authority to organise and manage their learning activities is accepted by the pupils, there is mutual respect and good rapport, and the atmosphere is one of purposefulness and confi dence in learning (Campbell et al., 2004; Watkins, 2005). In discussing classroom climate here, attention will be paid to the ways in which the teacher’s behaviour may facilitate or undermine the establishing of an effective classroom climate. A key consideration is the extent to which the teacher is able to foster favourable perceptions towards learning among pupils, most notably by establishing in pupils self-respect and self-esteem regarding themselves as learners.
A study by Kunter et al. (2007) looked at the impact that classroom management can have on pupils’ interest in the subject being taught. This study looked at two particular aspects of classroom management: rule clarity and monitoring. They reported that pupils who felt closely monitored by their teachers and who perceived that the rules set in the classroom were transparent tended to become more interested in the subject.
Kunter et al. argue that this effect appears to have come because a well-managed class promotes pupils’ feelings of success and competence.
The writings of Carl Rogers have been particularly inspirational in advocating how a humanistic classroom climate can facilitate learning (see Rogers and Freiberg, 1994).
The humanistic approach to teaching and learning can be summarised in terms of four main principles:
An emphasis on the ‘whole person’ (a holistic of mind, body and feelings).
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An emphasis on personal growth (the tendency of moving towards higher levels of
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health, creativity and self-fulfi lment).
An emphasis on the person’s awareness (the person’s subjective view about
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themselves and the world).
An emphasis on personal agency (the power of choice and responsibility).
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A humanistic classroom climate will be in large measure based on the teacher display-ing a positive regard for pupils and givdisplay-ing them marked control over their learndisplay-ing through the use of active learning.
A study by Kyriacou and Cheng (1993) asked 109 student teachers at the beginning of their teacher training course to rate the strength of their agreement with 20 statements regarding the humanistic approach to teaching and learning. A sample of the student teachers were interviewed later in the year after they had completed a block of teaching practice in schools. The study reported that the vast majority of the student teachers agreed with the humanistic approach, but that those interviewed after their teaching practice said they had found it hard to put these qualities into practice. For example, they found it diffi cult to maintain a positive regard towards all their pupils and also to allow pupils a marked degree of control over their learning activities. These fi ndings accord with other studies indicating that most teachers hold such humanistic views as
‘ideals’ but feel that the constraints and realities of classroom life and pupils’ attitudes often make it diffi cult to sustain these in practice. Despite these diffi culties, the class-room climate in schools has become much more humanistic in its tone over the years.
A major infl uence of the classroom climate is the physical appearance and layout of the classroom itself. The move towards more informal teaching styles in schools has had a marked impact on this, particularly in primary schools. The increased emphasis on an active role for pupils through discovery and exploratory learning and group work shows itself in the use of different activity areas within the classroom, the use of tables set up for group work rather than for individuals sitting in rows, and relatively free access for movement to and from resource areas. In addition, the use of wall displays of pupils’ work contributes to a positive atmosphere indicating pride and esteem in the work produced in lessons.
Without doubt, the most important aspect of classroom climate is the hidden curricu-lum and how the teachers’ expectations and behaviour convey this. What is particularly interesting about the hidden curriculum is the extent to which much of the information signalled to pupils may be unintended by the teacher, and may indeed serve to under-mine the effectiveness of the teaching. Particular attention in this respect has been paid to the use of language. Who says what, when and how, lies at the heart of the hidden curriculum. In terms of classroom climate, the use of ‘spoken’ language by teachers and pupils has received the greatest attention. It has been widely observed that the classroom tends to be dominated by teacher talk. When pupils are allowed to speak, it tends to be in a context highly constrained by the teacher, such as in answer to ques-tions. Comments and observations by pupils tend to be drawn back into the line the teacher has envisaged for the dialogue. This not only fails to foster pupils’ language skills, but also tends to undermine their self-esteem as learners.
A number of studies of classroom discourse has illustrated clearly how teachers chan-nelled pupils’ contributions along pre-determined lines, which resulted in pupils’ com-ments being rejected as unacceptable or incorrect, not because the pupils’ comcom-ments did not make sense, but because they did not fi t closely enough to the teacher’s require-ments (Mercer and Sams, 2006; Myhill et al., 2006). From the pupils’ perspective, the overriding message was that their contributions needed to match what the teacher wanted. Hence, pupils are led to search for clues to the right answers required, rather than to genuinely enter into intellectual dialogue with the teacher. Barnes also noted that teachers seemed to place undue emphasis on pupils using the correct terminology in their contributions, rather than to the intellectual quality per se of what they were saying. As such, much attention is now given to ways in which teachers can make more
RELATIONSHIPSWITHPUPILS 113 effective use of oral work in the classroom to encourage pupil involvement and critical thinking (e.g. Mercer and Sams, 2006; Myhill et al., 2006).
Effective teaching thus requires that the teacher gives pupils plenty of opportunities to contribute and elaborate their own ideas, and that he or she genuinely listens to what pupils say (or are trying to say), and attempts to consider this from the pupils’
perspective. To some extent this means that the teacher needs to accept the value of each pupil’s contribution and the relevance of the pupil’s experience. Of course, if carried to extremes, such a policy would pose diffi culties and would undermine real-istic feedback. What is being argued here is the need to maintain a balance between teacher talk and pupil talk, which is less markedly weighted in favour of the teacher than is typically the case. Fortunately, the trend in many schools over the years has been towards this more desirable state of balance.
A particularly diffi cult issue concerning pupils’ language is the teacher’s response to strong regional and ethnic accents and dialects. On the one hand, it is important for all pupils to be accepted as they are. On the other hand, there is also a need for all pupils to be able to communicate acceptably in Standard English. To some extent, the
‘more correct’ speech of teachers in schools may contribute to some pupils viewing school as an alien environment. There is no easy solution to this problem. However, attempts have been made, most often in English lessons, to look at such differences in speech with a view to recognising these as different rather than as intrinsically inferior to Standard English. The most important point is that an undue emphasis on correct speech should not be allowed to inhibit and restrict pupils elaborating on their own ideas. Somehow, a balance of concerns needs to be maintained here.
A very important aspect of classroom climate derives from the choice of words a teacher uses in his or her communication with pupils. Every utterance that a teacher makes during a lesson involves a choice of words. The particular choice made will convey a clear message to pupils, over and above its actual content, concerning the teacher’s underlying feelings and expectations. This is particularly evident in how teachers react to pupils’ incorrect contributions and how they reprimand misbehaviour.
In both these contexts, it is important that the teacher comments on the contribution or behaviour rather than on the pupil. This indicates that it is these rather than the pupil that are at fault. For example, saying ‘I might have known you would not have the right answer,’ or ‘You are an insulting little boy,’ are in effect ‘character attacks’, which are best avoided. Dealing with the nature of the answer or misbehaviour itself, without reference to the pupil’s character, is much less likely to undermine mutual respect and rapport. The key rule here is to try to criticise the behaviour rather than the person.
Another important aspect of classroom climate is the way in which the teacher’s choice of words may contribute to the effects of labelling pupils. Labelling refers to the pro-cess by which pupils come to see themselves and act more in accordance with the labels that teachers typically use to describe them. As well as overt examples of such labelling, for example when a pupil is described as ‘thick’ or a ‘trouble maker’, there are also covert examples, such as when a pupil is never invited to make a contribution to class discussion or expected to do better. Labelling also arises from organisational charac-teristics of the school. For example, being in a low set appears to foster underachieve-ment through its effects on pupils’ attitudes and self-esteem. Overall, it would appear that teacher labelling does have an infl uence on pupils, but it is extremely diffi cult to separate out the infl uence of the teacher’s behaviour on the pupil from that of the pupil’s behaviour on the teacher.
The crucial question for effective teaching is to what extent a teacher’s avoidance of negative labelling behaviour in the classroom can mitigate against the gradual erosion of low-attaining pupils’ attitudes towards themselves as learners. In a school with an ethos of concern for attainment based on comparisons between pupils, the teacher has an uphill struggle. In a school adopting more pupil-centred teaching, emphasising the process of learning rather than merely products, and where attainment is based on individual progress rather than comparisons with age-norms, the teacher has much more opportunity to mitigate such effects.
It also needs to be noted that learning is an emotionally charged and high-risk activity for pupils. When they encounter diffi culties, it is all too easy for this to undermine their self-esteem and attitudes towards making an effort in future. As such, an impor-tant aspect of an effective classroom climate is that is provides continual support and encouragement for pupils when they encounter diffi culties and make mistakes.
Written comments by teachers are also important in the same way. Here too, a code seems to operate whereby more is signalled by the comments than is apparent at its face value. Marking pupils’ work involves more than assessment. It also involves giving pupils feedback about how their work could have been improved. Comments such as
‘hopeless’ or ‘inadequate’ are likely only to discourage, whereas positive guidance such as ‘this essay would have been better if more material had been covered’ or ‘always calculate the length of the sides fi rst’ is more helpful to pupils. An important aspect of classroom climate is the standard of work expected by the teacher. There is, however, a problem if the standard is set so high that most pupils experience prolonged failure (in the form of low marks). On the other hand, too low a standard of expectation may create a false sense of progress, so that the pupil is shocked to fi nd that after a year of apparent success they are likely to gain a low attainment grade. In this respect, com-ments made in school reports are of particular interest, both in terms of their typical ambiguity regarding progress and of the meaning to be attached to various phrases commonly used, such as ‘could do better’.
It is interesting to note here that a study by Rubie-Davies (2007), which compared the classroom practices of teachers categorised as having high expectations compared with teachers categorised as having low expectations, reported that teachers with high expec-tations spent more time providing a framework for their pupils’ learning, provided their pupils with more feedback, questioned their pupils using more higher-order questions, and managed their pupils’ behaviour more positively. In effect, it appears that teachers with high expectations are purposively more committed through their teaching to creat-ing a classroom climate within which pupils may make greater progress.
Generally speaking, the most effective classrooms appear to be those in which the atmosphere is task-oriented but where at the same time the social and emotional needs of the pupils are met by establishing mutual respect and good rapport. There is clearly an overlap between the notion of classroom climate and school climate, which have implications for and links with each other. Studies of the ways in which the school climate infl uences pupil learning have typically shown that it is far easier to be an effective teacher in some schools than in others. The overall ethos of the school draws on the expectations and norms of teachers and pupils at the school. A positive school ethos can provide a large measure of support that facilitates effective teaching, in which positive expectations towards working well are mutually reinforcing among both teachers and pupils. Conversely, a negative school climate acts as a barrier for effective teaching and for pupil motivation. Such studies have shown that certain features of
RELATIONSHIPSWITHPUPILS 115 school organisation and management, such as effective leadership from the head-teacher, can have a marked impact on establishing a positive school climate, even in schools serving very disadvantaged communities.
Indeed, a report by Ofsted (2008a) looked at a sample of schools that had been judged to be performing below an acceptable standard and placed in ‘special measures’, and which had subsequently improved and sustained that improvement. The report identi-fi ed a number of key factors involved in bringing about this improvement. One of the key factors was strong leadership by the headteacher in establishing productive work-ing relationships between teachers and pupils in the classroom based on mutual respect, and establishing among pupils a greater engagement in school life, thereby enhancing their identity and sense of belonging. An important aspect of this involved improving teachers’ skills in dealing with challenging behaviour in order to stabilise pupils’ behav-iour and create a calm classroom climate.