Teacher Personality, Pupil Control Ideology, and Leadership Style Bonnie Ann Appleton, Douglas Stanwyck The problem of classroom discipline has been a con- tinuing concern of educators. Numerous studies have been conducted and countless dollars spent finding ways to deal with children who exhibit behavior problems in the classroom. Changes in society have had an influence on how children behave and respond to adult attempts at disci- pline and/or control. Throughout the world we are wit- nessing the fall of autocratic governments moving in the direction of democracy. Children no longer have mod- els of submission and obedience. There has been an in- crease in peoples’ desires to be treated with dignity and respect, and schools are a reflection of societal changes. Along with these changes have come the need for new and different approaches to classroom manage- ment and discipline. Discipline strategies have been shifting from authoritarian forms toward more human- istic methods utilizing democratic principles and techniques. The movement has been away from pu- nitive strategies whose primary function is to make children pay for their misbehavior to discipline tech- niques that focus more on teaching acceptable appro- priate behavior. Many teachers, however, are not clear on the difference between punishment and dis- cipline (Rich, 1984). Promoting self-discipline is the surest and most enlightened way to maintain order in schools (Gilbert, 1989; Wayson, 1985). This shift in discipline philosophy has met with resistance from some educators. A review of the lit- erature indicates the difficulty and complexity related to educational change and suggests several barriers to educational change (Briscoe, 1991; Duffy & Roehler, 1986; Short & Short, 1987). One of those barriers is Individual Psycholopy. Vol. 52, No. 2, une 199% (©1996 by the University of Texas Pres. PO. Box 7819, Austin, TX 78713-7819120 Bonnie Ann Appleton and Douglas Stanwyck the personal beliefs of the educators responsible for implementing change. This research addresses teacher personality/beliefs from the Adlerian Perspective of personality or life-style. According to Adler (1956), personal- ity is a behavioral manifestation of a collection of beliefs about life. The fo- cus of the proposed research is on the educator's personality or personal beliefs and what effect they may have on educational change in the area of classroom management and discipline. More than 15 years ago, Fenstermacher (1979) predicted that the study of beliefs would become the focus for teacher effectiveness research. More recently, Pintrich (1990) suggested that beliefs ultimately will prove the most valuable psychological construct to teacher education. Beliefs influence how individuals characterize phenomena and make sense of their world (Pajares, 1992). Teachers solve problems largely by re- lying on their own beliefs and experiences (Ashton & Webb, 1986; Hoy, 1969). When teachers do accept information from outside sources, they fil- ter it through their own personal belief systems. Many discipline programs deal with mechanics or techniques; however, they ignore the dimensions of interpersonal relationships involved between teacher and child in the classroom. They often assume that the link between student behavior and discipline techniques is clear and direct and that effec- tive discipline strategies produce good behavior. This approach may be too simplistic. Classroom interactions are complex. Disruptive behaviors often have multiple causes. Several writers have suggested that organizational/ school factors, such as administrator or teacher beliefs, may be important in explaining and dealing with discipline in schools. Teachers’ personal beliefs must be taken into consideration in educa- tional inquiry because they influence teacher thinking. Teachers determine whether and how they use discipline techniques, in part by their beliefs about the way children should behave. The relationship of teacher discipline philosophy to school discipline has recently assumed greater prominence in the study of discipline (Glickman & Tamashiro, 1980; Pajares, 1992; Short & Short, 1987; Smith, 1978; Willower, 1975). It becomes apparent that if changes are to occur in practice, teachers must examine their beliefs regard- ing what they do and how they do it. Pupil control and leadership style are two concepts that separate demo- cratic classrooms from traditional classrooms. Pupil-control ideology has been associated with classroom and school atmosphere (Lunenburg & Stouten, 1983; Willower, 1975; Multhauf, Willower, & Licata, 1978). Willower’s (1975) framework for teacher discipline philosophy is one of the earliest and most thoroughly studied concepts in the area. He found that educators vary along a continuum of beliefs about the way children learn to behave and conceptualized this as one’s pupil-control ideology. At one extreme of the continuum, custodial educators seem to empha-__ Teacher Personality & Leadership Style_121 size classroom organization and structure. They believe that students are relatively passive receptacles of knowledge who learn best when there is a clear payoff for learning. Custodial educators believe that students must learn to conform to the system. They emphasize routine and standardiza- tion, minimizing accommodation to individual differences in children. At the other extreme, humanistic educators emphasize the individual student. Humanistic educators believe that students are by nature active, positive, intrinsically motivated learners. They are comfortable with much activity and allow students to make choices concerning their educational ac- tivities. They minimize routine, are more flexible with rules, and view chil- dren as unique and active problem-solvers. This is very much in line with the more current approaches being suggested today employing democratic prin- ciples and techniques. Positive teacher-student relationships are critical in democratic class- room management. Democratic classroom management requires a leader- ship style that seeks input from all group members and involves them in the decision-making process. Maintaining a democratic classroom requires cre- ating an atmosphere where everyone is valued and all are treated with equal dignity and respect. Teachers with different discipline philosophies vary in their identification of problem behaviors and their choice of strategies to deal with them (Glickman & Tamashiro, 1980; Short & Short, 1985). Thus, discipline philosophy or preferred classroom management style may determine perception of discipline problems as well as acceptability of discipline techniques in the classroom. Behaviors and techniques consistent with an educator's views about discipline may get more attention and action than those that are inconsistent. Teachers determine whether and how they use discipline techniques, determined in part by their beliefs about the way children should behave and should be taught. Discipline philosophy may determine perception of discipline problems as well as accept- ability of discipline techniques (Short & Short, 1985). Research strongly indi- cates a more humanistic pupil-control ideology reaps positive results (Bean & Hoy, 1974; Lunenburg & Stouten, 1983). Millions of dollars are being spent in an effort to help teachers employ new democratic/humanistic strategies, such as conducting class meetings, replacing punishment with logical consequences, use of encouragement, and promoting shared responsibility. In spite of teacher inservice training in this direction, there continues to be a resistance in teachers to accept or implement such strategies and techniques. It is one thing to understand democratic/humanistic approaches to discipline and another to implement change in that direction. Identifying the source of resistance in teachers can assist in establishing democratic classrooms more successfully. The primary purpose of this study was to explore the relationship among teacher personality, pupil-control ideology; and leadership style. The122 Bonnie Ann Appleton Douglas Stanwyck specific questions addressed were: What are the relationships among teacher personality, pupil-control ideology, and classroom management style, and how do these dimensions relate to attitudes about corporal pun- ishment? The purpose was to evaluate: 1, the relationship between teacher personality/beliefs and pupil-con- trol ideology: (a) Taking Charge and pupil-control ideology, and (b) Striving for Perfection and pupil-contro! ideology; . the relationship between pupil-control ideology and leadership style; and - pupil-control ideology related to (a) use of corporal punishment and (b) belief about corporal punishment effectiveness. 2. 3. Method Participants. Participants included 115 graduate students enrolled in a southeastern university in the college of education who were currently employed as classroom teachers, grades K-12. Participants were told the study concerned teacher personality and classroom management style. Informed consent was obtained. The range for years of experience was one year to 31 years, however, the majority of respondents had fewer than eight years of teaching experience. The median was five years. Ap- proximately 17% of the subjects were male and approximately 83% were female. Participants completed three instruments; the BASIS-A, the Pupil Control Ideology Form, and the Leader Behavior Description Ques- tionnaire. Instruments. The BASIS-A (Basic Adlerian Scales for Interpersonal Suc- cess-Adult form) (Wheeler, Kern, & Curlette, 1993) was used to assess teacher personality. The BASIS-A is based on Adler's (Ansbacher & Ansbacher, 1956) Individual Psychology, one of the first personality theories to recognize that individuals tend to organize their repertoire of personality characteristics around central themes or approaches, that Adler referred to as “life-style.” Through obtaining one’s lifestyle, the underlying belief system is revealed. Scales on the BASIS-A measure five basic personality/life-style themes: Belong- ing-Social Interest, Taking Charge, Going Along, Wanting Recognition, and Being Cautious. Internal consistency reliability for BASIS-A scales range from -82 to .87. The standard error of measurement is 2.3 for each scale. Subscales in- clude: Harshness, Entitlement, Liked by All, Striving for Perfection, and Soft- ness. The BASIS-A is a self-scoring booklet which most people complete in 15 minutes or less.