Teaching Education

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Teacher education for classroom management in

Israel: structures and orientations
Miriam BenPeretz , Billie Eilam & Gabi LandlerPardo
To cite this article: Miriam BenPeretz , Billie Eilam & Gabi LandlerPardo (2011) Teacher
education for classroom management in Israel: structures and orientations, Teaching
Education, 22:2, 133-150, DOI: 10.1080/10476210.2011.567842
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10476210.2011.567842

Published online: 09 May 2011.

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Teaching Education
Vol. 22, No. 2, June 2011, 133150

Teacher education for classroom management in Israel: structures

and orientations
Miriam Ben-Peretz*, Billie Eilam and Gabi Landler-Pardo
Faculty of Education, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel

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Teaching
10.1080/10476210.2011.567842
CTED_A_567842.sgm
1047-6210
Original
Taylor
202011
22
mperetz@construct.haifa.ac.il
MiriamBen-Peretz
00000June
&
and
Article
Francis
Education
(print)/1470-1286
Francis
2011
(online)

In our paper, we examine how classroom management is taught in teacher

education in Israel. Three questions are addressed: (1) What is the structure of
programs for classroom management (site, timing, duration, number of courses,
mandatory/optional)? (2) How is classroom management conceived (technical/
pedagogical, individual/systemic)? (3) Does the preparation in classroom
management relate to issues of cultural and ethnic diversity? Almost all teacher
education programs offer at least one course on classroom navigation and
management. However most of these courses are elective rather than mandatory.
Classroom management is mainly treated as a technical/behavioural issue.
Cultural issues, which are of major importance in the heterogeneous Israeli
classrooms, are not on the agenda in most of these courses.
Keywords: classroom management; classroom discipline; teacher education;
teacher development; Israel

Introduction
Classroom management may be defined as the thoughts and actions of teachers
designed to create an effective learning environment. Several researchers point to the
positive relationships between appropriate classroom behavior and learning achievements (Bennett, Finn, & Cribb, 1999; Nelson, Martella, & Marchand, 2002). Although
classroom management covers many aspects of planning and implementation, the
most prominent concern in the eyes of principals, teachers, parents, and students is
maintaining discipline (Romi & Freund, 1999). Therefore, classroom discipline plays
a central role in this paper.
In spite of the importance of classroom management, and especially classroom
discipline, in teaching and learning, it seems to be a rather perfunctory part of teacher
education programs.
Though research literature has consistently emphasized the importance of classroom management knowledge for teachers (Shinn, Walker & Stoner, 2002), beginning
and experienced teachers tend to feel unprepared in management strategies: novice
and experienced teachers consistently report that their training in classroom management was inadequate or impractical, and they require further preparation in this area
(Stough, 2006, pp. 909910). Similarly, teachers in Israel recalling their experiences
learning about classroom management in teacher education tend to claim that they
didnt learn much to help them in their everyday work.
*Corresponding author. Email: mperetz@construct.haifa.ac.il
ISSN 1047-6210 print/ISSN 1470-1286 online
2011 Taylor & Francis
DOI: 10.1080/10476210.2011.567842
http://www.informaworld.com

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Few courses in teacher education programs seem to focus directly and specifically
on classroom management. A study conducted by Wesley and Vocke (1992) showed
that only 36.9 % of courses in 111 universities that educate teachers are focused on
classroom management: Even more striking, when classroom management content
was covered within another course, rather than as a stand-alone course, this content
was allotted merely an average of 13% of the total course time (Stough, 2006, p. 910).
It seems that this important component of teaching is rather neglected in teacher
education programs.
In view of the seeming lack of attention to classroom management in teacher
education programs, we were particularly interested in whether classroom management is treated as a required or optional part of teacher preparation in one country,
Israel and what is included in it. Thus, our paper focuses on the issues of requirements
related to classroom management in a range of teacher preparation programs in Israel.
Various modes of classroom management are discussed and the Israeli concepts of
classroom discipline are presented. Our paper examines how classroom management
is taught in 11 different teacher education programs in Israel. We draw from data
collected from five Israeli universities; four major teacher education colleges; two
Israeli schools, that developed special in-service programs for teachers on classroom
management; and interviews with five novice teachers. Tables presenting our data are
included. The relationship between issues of classroom management and global
changes leading to multiethnic and multicultural schools is discussed.
Conceptual framework
Classroom discipline may be conceived as part of a socialization process, a process of
introduction into a lifestyle of continuous autonomous learning and of productive interpersonal relationships. Emphasizing the social aspects of classroom discipline
enhances the importance of effective classroom management, to ensure that smooth
and effective teaching and learning occur, providing the basis for students to participate
in the learning community (Ben-Peretz, 1998).
Classroom management in relation to teachers phases of development
According to Feiman-Nemser (1983) there are three phases of teachers initiation into
teaching: (a) the survival stage, when the novice teachers knowledge of teaching,
professional insights and perceptions are limited, thus resulting in uncertainty, insecurity, and a preoccupation with their status in the classroom and with classroom
management; (b) the stage of growing confidence and mastery of basic teaching tasks,
when teachers can concentrate on improving their teaching but still do not attend to
how this improvement affects student learning; and (c) the stage when students learning processes and their understanding become the focus of teachers reflections and
planning. It seems that learning about classroom management is most appropriate at
the first stage mentioned by Feiman-Nemser.
Classroom management in relation to cultural and ethnic diversity
The pre-dominance of behavioural directives concerning classroom management and
discipline might be related to the ambiguity of cultural norms that characterize societies in transition. Almog (2002), for instance, states that in the last decade, Israeli

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educators report the worsening of school discipline problems, expressed in students

inappropriate behaviour and violation of behavioural norms. It is suggested that
students misbehaviour stems from decrease in teachers status, resulting from the
blurring of borders between youth and adults, lack of behavioural norms, psychological over-awareness, and atmosphere of over-openness (Almog, 2002). These changes
may be one of the results of Israel being an immigrant country.
The phenomenon of multicultural school classrooms, each containing several
groups of students originating in different cultures, religions, ethnicity or race, is one
of the immediate and explicit outcomes of present individuals wide mobility, processes
of immigration and the resulting demographic changes characterizing most parts of the
western world. Awareness of the impact made by this human factor on teachers instructional and management activities in todays classroom composition is often expressed
(Weinstein, Tomlinson-Clarke, & Curran, 2004). In spite of these vast changes, teacher
education programs mostly continue to prepare teachers for teaching in homogeneous,
middle-income classrooms, and knowledge is presented as detached from social,
cultural, historical and political characteristics. A culturally relevant pedagogy, including teachers awareness of the wider sociopolitical contexts in which their students live
and learn, is needed (Grant & Wieczorek, 2000; Ladson-Billings, 1992, 1999).
Several researchers developed this line of viewing classroom management as fitting
the ideology of culturally responsive teaching, claiming that it is imperative to the effective management of ethnically or racially diverse classrooms and recommending the
making of teaching and classroom management compatible with the human nature of
students (Charles, 2000; Gay, 2006). Gay (2006) summarized few studies, suggesting
correlation between students identification with their cultural background and their
classroom behaviour. She concluded that teachers acquisition of knowledge concerning their students cultural background and incorporating it into their classroom practices is fundamental to successful teaching and management (Gay, 2006).
Research concerning Ethiopian-born students indicated that, in general, students
adapt to school rules and norms, with hardly any behavioural classroom problems due
to students strict education to respect adults and accept their authority. However,
students still exhibit high tendency to be shy, avoid participation and lack self-confidence (Eilam, 1999; Lifshitz, & Noam, 1994). According to Gay (2006) lack of selfconfidence may result from their perception of classroom routines inadvertently
violating their cultural norms regarding social interactions and self-presentation.
Golan-Cook, Horowitz and Shfatia (1987) stress teachers responsibility to initiate an
atmosphere of respect toward adults, a core norm among Ethiopian families, making
clear to students that they are there for them, keeping an open ear for anything they
wish to say. Still, mostly, culture is not mentioned as a factor to be considered while
the issue of discipline is being taught in pre-service courses. For example, pre-service
teachers examining discipline as related to contextual factors mention only the socioeconomic status and family personal problems of students, rather than their cultural
background (Eilam & Shoham, 1998).
Yet, classroom management and issues of classroom discipline are at the core of
students perception of classroom situations, and of their understanding of schools and
teachers roles as exemplified in the following study.
A study conducted by Steinhardt (2000) examined immigrant youths perception
of the new classroom situation they encountered in a youth village in Israel. This
perception is compared to students perception of the classroom situation in their
homeland (Ethiopia and the former Soviet Union FSU). The assumption was that the

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findings might contribute to a deeper understanding of the new immigrant students

integration process in school. The most striking finding of the study was that each year
the students from FSU and Ethiopia criticized and rejected the modes of teaching and
classroom management in the new environment. The non-authoritarian approach of
teachers in the youth village was perceived as non-teaching, as playing, and as
lacking explicitly defined subject matter knowledge. The open classroom climate was
interpreted as laissez faire, so that all barriers of classroom management might be
broken. This perception was expressed in their classroom behaviour. The students
interpreted autonomy as a challenge toward school authorities:
Yes I remember. There was disorder because of the singing and game playing in the class.
There was an argument among the students because there were those who wanted to learn
in their usual way like in Russia and they went to talk with I the counselor. They told
him that this way we are not learning anything and it is like Kindergarten and not a school.
Then he went to talk to the principal and with the teachers and there was a huge mess
Me? No, I love fooling around and the games. (Russian) (Steinhardt, 2000, p. 223)

Classroom management and discipline styles and modes

Several chapters in the Handbook of classroom management (2006) deal with the
impact of classroom management styles and models of discipline requirements as
shaping the world of students. Classroom management may serve the building and
sustaining of caring communities in the classroom (Watson & Battistich, 2006). Elias
and Schwab (2006) argue that classroom management practices communicate
messages about social norms and emotional behaviour and appropriate skills. Gay
(2006, p. 343) claims that:
First, classroom management is more comprehensive than controlling student misbehavior and administrating discipline. It involves planning, facilitating, and monitoring experiences that are conductive to high levels of learning for a wide variety of students. It also
entails creating and sustaining classroom environments that are personally comfortable,
racially and ethnically inclusive, and intellectually stimulating.

Globalization and classroom management

Hallak (2000, pp. 3233) in a chapter on globalization and its impact on education
claims that the teaching profession will require major adaptation to new situations,
new skills, and new demands:
To achieve the main goal to educate and train an increasingly heterogeneous group of
pupils and teach them sustainable and interchangeable skills the teacher must enjoy
autonomy in his/her different tasks: class management, teaching strategies, arrangement
of furniture and work spaces, adoption of flexible hours, individualization of training to
meet different requirements of learners, etc.

As the world changes and more and more classrooms include a great diversity of
students, these aspects of classroom management become essential and crucial.
Philosophicalpedagogical approaches to discipline
Three main philosophicalpedagogical approaches to school discipline in Israel are
prevalent: (a) the progressive approach regarding individuals as autonomous, aspiring

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for self-actualization and fulfilment, developing through experiences with others, with
no need for external control (Shimoni, Segal, & Sharoni, 1996); (b) the traditional
approach perceiving discipline as the necessary means of education and socialization,
the individual having to abide by social norms (Dor, 1994); and (c) the conciliatory
approach integrating the individual autonomy approaches with the requirement to
abide by teachers presented norms (Dor, 1994).
In Israel the governing approach to discipline issues is a traditional one, which
might be defined as having two dimensions (Saad & Hendrix, 1993): (a) a continuum
between mandated, externally determined, and open, locally designed frames of discipline; and (b) a continuum between an individualistic and a societal orientation toward
classroom discipline.
Mandated frames of discipline are those dictated by the Ministry of Education, and
communicated to the teachers in official documents. Locally determined frames of
discipline are those determined at school level. The societal (systemic) orientation
views classroom management and discipline in terms of a cooperative, shared feature
of a group of students, whereas individual approach focuses on personal attributes of
individual students. These individualistic and systemic approaches are the two main
approaches to classroom management outlined in an Israeli book intended for elementary education (Smilanski & Bar-Lev, 1991).
The individual mode focuses on a single student as the target of a teachers
actions. Careful observations of an individual students misbehaviour result in deliberate choices of the teachers disciplinary actions. The systemic mode focuses on the
group as the target of a teachers actions. This is based on the assumption that the
individual is shaped by the social context. It is therefore necessary to establish group
norms and relationships in order to create a productive learning environment. A relevant definition of individual discipline would include students ability and readiness
to become part of a community by accepting its norms and regulations. A disciplinary
problem arises when behaviour is disruptive and disturbs the functioning of the group
and its development. It is the teachers role to create a classroom climate that is
conductive to the development of a classroom community (Shimoni, Segal, &
Sharoni, 1996).
In Israel there is a growing emphasis on teacher autonomy together with the
implementation of more student-oriented teaching strategies, such as cooperative
learning, and these tend to create a more open and flexible classroom climate.
Teachers are encouraged to develop school-based curricula and to use a greater variety of instructional strategies beyond the regular teacher-centered mode. These
expectations pose a daily dilemma for teachers who have to maneuver between the
potential for classroom chaos, on one hand, and the limitations of a traditional learning environment, on the other hand. This dilemma increases the need for adequate
strategies of classroom management and discipline and demands of a high level of
pedagogical knowledge, practical experience, and reflective abilities (Ben-Peretz,
1998).
Main issues related to classroom management treated in our paper
In view of the central role that classroom management plays in teachers practice it is
crucial to include this topic in teacher education courses. The following part of the paper
presents data concerning the way in which 11 Israeli programs of teacher education
both school and university-based programs deal with this topic.

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The following are some specific questions addressed in our paper:

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(1) What is the structure of such programs (site, timing, duration, number of
courses, mandatory/optional)?
(2) How is classroom management conceived (technical/ pedagogical, individual/
systemic)?
(3) Does the preparation in classroom management relate to issues of cultural and
ethnic diversity?
These questions are related to our conceptual background. The structure of teacher
education programs concerning classroom management, and their specific requirements, reveals how this issue is treated by program planners in view of its importance
in the lives of teachers (for instance, Feiman-Nemser, 1983). The differentiation
between technical and pedagogical issues is highly important as it reflects the possible
relation between classroom management and student learning (for instance, Hallak,
2000). In our theoretical background we emphasized the importance of cultural
context thus leading to the third research question.
Study design and method
In order to find answers to the main questions of our study, we looked at the teacher
education programs of the five major universities in Israel: Hebrew University, Tel
Aviv University, Bar Ilan University, University of Haifa, and Ben Gurion University,
and at four teacher education colleges: Levinsky, Orainm, Beit Berl, and Talpiot. We
chose these colleges because they are established and well known colleges in the country, and they serve diverse populations, being located in different areas in Israel.
Levinsky College is located in metropolis Tel Aviv, the largest city of Israel, and serves
its population and other cities in the vicinity. Oranim College is located in the north
of the country, a region with a multiethnic and multicultural population. Beit Berl
College is situated in central Israel and it attracts students from varied multicultural
and multi-religious backgrounds, Jews, Arabs and new immigrants. Talpiot College,
which operates in the spirit of religious Zionism, accepts only female candidates.
We examined each of the programs twice, starting with an overall view, which
focused on the following questions, summarized in Tables 1 and 2:

Does the program offer a course on classroom navigation and management?

When, during the course of the studies, is it offered?
What is the length of the course?
How many credits does the course grant?
Is the course mandatory or elective?

The second examination was a more specific one, in which we analyzed the syllabi
of classroom management courses to reveal their rationale and approach.
Besides looking at teacher education programs in universities and colleges, we
turned to in-service programs because of our perception that problems and issues
concerning classroom management arise when student teachers become regular practicing classroom teachers. It seems that schools tend to try to respond to this situation.
Hence, we contacted two schools that offer special in-service programs for novice
teachers on classroom management as part of their adjustment to the school system.

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One of the schools is a K12 and the other is an elementary school. We chose these
schools upon previous experience of working with them and the fact that they developed
special programs reflecting different approaches regarding classroom management.
Finally, we interviewed five new practicing primary teachers, who studied a course
of classroom management in one of the teacher education programs discussed in this
paper, and asked them about their perception of the course and its value to their current
teaching. These teachers had recently finished their pre-service and they were the only
new teachers who worked at the elementary school in Ramat Hasharon. The teachers
were interviewed personally at their convenience. We asked them the following seven
questions:
(1) What did you study about classroom management? What were the main topics
that the course covered?
(2) In the course of your studies, when did you take this course?
(3) Was it a mandatory course?
(4) How was the course conducted?
(5) What were the courses requirements? Can you give me an example of an
assignment you had to do for this course?
(6) Do you think that what you have learned in the course helps you today in your
teaching? Why?
(7) Would you change the course in any way? If yes, what and why?
We posed each question separately, and recorded their responses. Each interview
lasted about 15 to 20 minutes.

Findings
Teacher education programs in Israel
Teacher education programs in universities and colleges in Israel aim to prepare their
students, the future teachers, with a solid professional foundation for the complexity
of present-day teaching. These programs offer their students an array of research and
theoretical knowledge combined with practical experience and tools. Theoretical
knowledge is taught in courses, like philosophy and sociology of education, emotional
aspects of learning, pedagogy, curriculum studies and measurement and evaluation.
Methods of teaching, and practical knowledge about teaching, are acquired through
students observations of lessons in the subject matter chosen, involvement in school
life and analysis of diverse learning situations. Actual teaching opportunities constitute
a central part in these programs.

Classroom management in university programs

The Hebrew University has a two-year program during which it requires students to
complete 48 academic credits (approximately 14 courses). Two of these courses are
related to classroom navigation and management: Class behaviour management
skills and Advanced class behaviour management skills. These courses are not
mandatory, but optional and each one of them offers two credits upon completion.
Their emphasis is on equipping the novice teachers with an array of tools which, on
one hand, will help them to analyze different classroom situations and, on the other

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Table 1. Classroom management courses in teacher education programs offered in Israeli

universities.

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Institution

Program
duration
(Years) Name of the course

Hebrew
University
(Jerusalem)

Tel Aviv
University*
Bar Ilan
University

12

University of
Haifa

Ben Gurion
University

(1) Class behaviour

management skills
(2) Advanced class
behavior
management skills
*

Year
of
study
2nd

Mandatory/
optional
Optional

1st or Optional
Classroom
2nd
management and
discipline
problems
3rd Optional
Class management:
coping with
discipline and
motivation
problems
Practical workshop 2nd Mandatory
the homeroom
teacher as the
classroom

No. of
credits

Length of
course

One semester

Yearly

One semester

One semester

Note: *No details could be found.

hand, will give them guiding principles for action. The courses focus on providing the
novice teacher with tools to create a positive classroom climate. Guiding principles for
improving teacherstudent relations are presented. Different types of students with
behaviour and motivation problems are introduced and strategies to cope with them
are described.
The program in Tel Aviv University lasts two years, during which the students are
obligated to complete 28 academic credits. This program offers a variety of courses
on the educational system in Israel, assessments of students, curriculum planning,
incorporating computers into the teaching, but it doesnt include a specific course on
classroom navigation and management.
The program at Bar Ilan University is a two-year program. Besides mandatory
courses such as Introduction to educational psychology and Theories of teaching,
each subject matter domain has its own set of courses. One of the elective courses
offered in many of these domains is Class management and discipline problems.
According to its syllabus, this course is based on three assumptions:
(a) An optimal, positive, fair and supportive climate influences both the emotional
behaviour of the student and their academic achievements.
(b) The teacher is responsible for shaping the climate of the classroom. The
teachers actions and reactions affect each of the students in the classroom and
the group as a whole.

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(c) Proficiency in this area will improve the teachers instructional abilities and
will help create a classroom climate based on respect and appreciation. This
courses goals are: to raise teachers awareness of the personal, behavioural
and other factors which influence classroom management; to provide future
teachers with tools for classroom management, which will be affective and
empathic, strengthening the student at the same time; to develop tools for
solving problems in classroom management.
The teacher education program at the University of Haifa requires the students to
obtain 60 academic credits (about nine courses a year) within three years of study. One
of the mandatory courses in the third year of study is Class navigation: Coping with
discipline and motivation problems. The course focuses on theories and pedagogical
approaches of class navigation as means to achieve behavioural, academic and social
goals, and to prevent discipline problems in the classroom. The goal of the course is
to provide future teachers with the ability to cope independently and successfully with
behavior and discipline problems in their classrooms.
Ben-Gurion University has a two-year program for teacher education during which
the students are required to attain 3840 academic credits. In the second year they
have to participate in the course the educator/homeroom teacher as the class
manager, which combines theoretical learning with practicum. In this course the
students learn about the role of the educator as a pedagogical leader, developing tools
for class management, inter-personal relations, and coping with behaviour problems.
Different models of educators and homeroom teachers are discussed and ways to
analyze classroom climate are presented.
This course, as it is stated in its syllabus in fact translates the theoretical topics
which are introduced and learned in other courses into action (courses syllabus).
According to the courses syllabus, it has several goals:
(1) To introduce future teachers to the complexity of their role of homeroom
teachers as managers of their classrooms. Relationships with the schools
administration, parents and students are emphasized.
(2) To expose the students to the organizational complexity of the school.
(3) To discuss questions which come up during the student teachers work in
schools.
(4) To prepare the future teacher to be able to plan an educational learning
environment emphasizing social and moral issues.
At the end of their studies in universities the students receive a BA in their chosen
domain and a teaching certificate.
Classroom management requirements in the colleges
In the academic colleges Levinsky, Oranim, Beit Berl and Talpiot, the teacher education program lasts four years. With the completion of all the requirements, the students
receive both a BEd degree and a teaching certificate.
Levinsky College offers its students a solid foundation of general studies in the
field of education combined with competence in pedagogical knowledge and practice.
One of the optional pedagogical courses is Classroom management. This course
concentrates on the understanding of students behaviours and the ways to channel

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Table 2. Classroom management courses in teacher education programs offered in Israeli

colleges.

Institution

Program
duration
(Years)

Levinsky
Oranim
Beit Berl
Talpiot

4
4
4
4

Name of the course

Classroom management
Classroom at school
Classroom management
Educational leadership
in the classroom

Year of
study

Mandatory/
optional

No. of
credits

Length
of
course

3rd
2nd
3rd
*

Optional
Mandatory
Mandatory
Optional

*
2
2
2

*
Yearly
Yearly
Yearly

Note: *No details could be found.

them to appropriate and desired ones. It introduces the theory of feasible behaviour
analysis which assumes that learned behaviours are related to classroom climate and
environment. Therefore, in order to change or direct behaviour it is necessary to
understand its environment. During the course the students learn ways of developing
self-control and ways of coping with behaviour problems.
The goals of the course as they are detailed in its syllabus are:
(1) To introduce novice teachers to the guiding principles of the behavioral
approach and the ways classical, social and operant behaviour is learned and
acquired.
(2) To teach the future teachers methods of behaviour management and ways to
enhance or reduce behaviour.
(3) To present the students with ways to manage a classroom.
(4) To study childrens social skills.
In Oranim College the students must obtain 60 academic credits during the course
of their studies. Amongst the different courses they have to study, they must participate in a course of classroom navigation which focuses on behavior analysis and
conflict resolution.
The course of classroom navigation and management at school deals with appropriate and non-appropriate behaviours, conflict resolution skills and techniques, social
skills, enhancing students motivation and response, positive communication skills
and teaching methods which support prevention of discipline problems.
This course aims at:
(1) Teaching the students to identify discipline problems within the classroom and
to analyze their causes.
(2) Providing the future teachers with tools for coping and preventing discipline
problems.
(3) Introducing a variety of classroom management and navigation strategies and
their usage.
In Beit Berl College the pedagogical studies include both theoretical and practical
course, and they require a completion of at least 48 academic credits. They focus on
processes of curriculum planning and its principles and on developing an appropriate

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learning environment and classroom climate. Classroom management is one of the

required courses that train the future teachers to navigate and manage their classrooms. The course covers the following topics: classroom climate, supportive social
environment, different approaches to classroom management, cooperative learning,
active learning, heterogeneous classroom, discipline problems and their characteristics, dealing with behaviour problems.
The course seeks to:
(1) Provide the new teachers with the tools for creating a supportive learning and
social environment which will allow cooperative and reciprocal relationships
between students and teachers.
(2) Teach the student teachers to identify discipline problems and students with
special needs.
Talpiot College is a teachers college that prepares teachers and other educators in
the spirit of religious Zionism. Religious Zionism is an ideology based on the synthesis of a Jewish religious and national outlook and is dedicated to the preservation of
Jewish political freedom, and the enhancement of Jewish religious life in the land of
Israel. The college accepts only female candidates, and includes in its programs the
study of Jewish thought and Jewish sources related to the subject matters being taught.
Upon graduating the teacher education program, students will complete about 60
academic credits.
Talpiots teachers education program aims at giving the students educational
and teaching skills in a several subjects, with an emphasis on their major subject
matter, while at the same time at expanding and enriching the Jewish and cultural
world of the future teachers. As part of their education courses, each student must
choose and expand her pedagogic education in the third and fourth years at the
college in the following areas: gifted children, socialcommunity oriented education, administration and educational leadership, science and computer technology
with an inter-disciplinary approach. One of the elective courses offered at this level
is Educational leadership in the classroom. This course focuses on three principles: (a) developing the teachers leadership skills while highlighting her abilities of
influencing the classroom climate; (b) targeting positive leadership amongst
students and developing it; (c) studying the concept of leadership in Jewish texts
and sources.
The courses goals are:
(1) To provide the future teachers with knowledge and tools to enhance motivation
for learning among the students, and to create a positive learning environment
within the classroom, both of which will lead to individual growth and group
growth.
(2) To introduce different models of leadership for the teacher in the classroom.
Out in the field: classroom management in the two schools
These schools developed their own programs to help novice teachers to find their way
into school life and classroom teaching. As part of integration into the school system
and ethos, the new teachers participate in classroom management in-service workshops,
learning the classroom management programs.

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K12 school
In the K12 school one of the most senior schools in Israel (founded in 1913) the
new teachers participate in a series of classroom management workshops, conducted
by the pedagogical director of the school. These monthly workshops start a month
after the beginning of the school year and their focus is to allow novice teachers to
raise discipline and classroom management problems they face, and to provide them
with tools to solve them. The difficulties raised by the teachers are being discussed by
the entire group and techniques are suggested by all the participants and the pedagogical director. In each of the workshops following the first one, the teachers report and
give feedback on the usage of these techniques and the tools they have acquired in
these sessions.
In addition to workshops, each of the novice teachers has an advisor a veteran
teacher from the staff, to help them with immediate problems of navigation in the
school and in the classroom. The advisor and the new teacher meet on a regular basis,
usually once every two weeks.
Elementary school
In the elementary school, there is a two-fold program of classroom management
one the prize program which aims to encourage students positive behaviours, and
the other the safety program which concentrates on the prevention of students
misbehaviours, mainly physical and verbal abuse.
The prize program is based on a three colored points system: green, red and
black. During the course of the lesson each student may receive points: green, for
good conduct and behaviour as a positive reinforcement, black for misbehaviour and
red for verbal abuse of other children and will stay for two weeks. Every week the
child who gets the highest amount of green points receives an appreciation certificate.
At the end of every month, three students from each classroom are being chosen by
their homeroom teacher as the excellent students of the month based on their
behaviour and academic performance.
The safety program which focuses on the prevention of misbehaviours works
along with the prize program. Students who receive black point for physical violence
are sent during recess to a time-out room, where they have to fill out a report on their
misbehaviour and their parents are notified. Students who tend to visit this room often
are subject for suspension from school.
New teachers who come to work in this school participate during the orientation
week before the beginning of the school year, in a day-long workshop on these
programs. In addition every new teacher has a veteran teacher as mentor whom they
can approach with problems regarding discipline and classroom management. In the
discussion the nature of the different programs, universities, colleges or school-based
is examined and discussed.
Novice teachers perception on classroom management courses in their
pre-service programs
Five novice teachers, with up to two years of teaching experience, at an community
elementary school in Ramat Hasharon, were interviewed about their experience of
participating in a classroom management course during their studies in one of the preservice programs discussed in this paper.

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All five teachers think that the classroom management courses offered currently in
teacher education programs in universities and colleges are too theoretical and do not
equip future teachers with the necessary tools to cope with the actual realities in the
classroom. Rachel (graduate of Tel Aviv University), a first year teacher in the school
stated: It was a waste of time, I didnt learn anything during the course which helps
me today as a fifth grade homeroom teacher. Anna (graduate of Levinsky College),
a math and a third grade home room teacher, with two years of experience said:

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The syllabus of the course was very promising but in fact we didnt receive anything. I
expected to come out from the course with some tools that would help me, especially in
the first years of my teaching, but now I realize that it didnt happen. I learned everything
while working.

The teachers claim that the courses focus mainly on the theoretical aspect of classroom navigation and management, and very little attention is devoted to practical knowledge. Instead of teaching us theories we should have learned how to do it. For example
how to conduct lessons using different teaching methods, how to organize new teaching
materials, how to deal with parents; things relevant to the field work, explained Sarah
(a graduate of Bar Ilan University), a science and a third grade homeroom teacher.
According to the interviewees most of the courses were conducted as a workshop.
In each lesson, the future teachers reflected on their teaching and shared the problems
they had faced doing so. Then the group got engaged in discussion of the situation and
raised possible ways to handle it. Most lessons dealt mainly with discipline problems
that future students faced.
Usually we discussed discipline problems. That was the main focus of the course.
But it shouldnt have been, because classroom management is much more than dealing with discipline problems, stated Kim (a graduate of Beit Berl College), a second
grade teacher. Dawn (a graduate of Tel Aviv University), an ESL teacher, added:
I dont see the point in focusing only on discipline problems, because anyway you cant
predict all of them. Instead the course should have equipped us with a tool box of
important tips novice teachers would need for the first years of their teaching.

Rachel, a fifth grade teacher, reported:

Important issues, such as how to be a homeroom teacher, conducting parent teacher
conferences, preparation of the beginning of the school year, the actual managing of the
classroom, which are vital to the work of any educator were not addressed in the course.
We mainly focused on behavior problems. I had to learn all of it by myself this year, as
a new fifth grade teacher.

Summing up of findings
An analysis of the programs presented above shows that almost all the universities and
colleges offer at least one course on classroom navigation and management. It is
mostly offered as an elective course, rather than a mandatory one. Its goals are to
provide the future teachers with the skills and tools to create a positive and supportive
climate in the classroom enabling reciprocal relations between students and teachers.
The courses include a theoretical and a practical component. In the theoretical part
the students learn different approaches of classroom navigation and management.
Pedagogical knowledge of teaching styles which may reduce behaviour problems in

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the classroom is introduced. The practical part is a combination of (a) providing future
teachers with tools and techniques which will help them mange the classroom and
cope with discipline problems; and (b) conducting workshops during which future
teachers raise and discuss difficulties they encounter during their practice. Suggestions
for handling these challenges and solving them are offered by the participants.
An analysis of the syllabi of these courses shows that they have several foci and
goals in common:
(1) The aim to provide novice teachers with knowledge for creating a positive and
supportive climate in the classroom promoting learning.
(2) The notion that creating a positive and supportive classroom climate, reduces
discipline problems, on one hand, and helps students perform better academically, on the other hand.
(3) The notion that knowledge of identifying behaviour problems and abilities to
analyze these helps teachers to mange their classroom.
The courses relate classroom navigation and management directly to discipline
and behaviour. It seems that the assumption is that a controlled and disciplined classroom is a learning classroom. In the description of courses there was no explicit reference to students diversity: ethnic, social, economical, racial, or cultural, as an
important issue in classroom management. It is worth noting that diversity in learning
styles was addressed in special courses in all programs.
The classroom management programs of the two schools we looked at, support the
perception that classroom management is related directly to behaviour and discipline
problems. Both programs focus on helping the teachers deal with problems and solving them, on one hand, and with encouraging students appropriate behaviours on the
other hand. These programs are decidedly practical. Clearly the definition of a wellmanaged classroom views the teachers role as central to maintain learning with
almost no interruptions or discipline problems. The different programs do not deal
explicitly with teachers images and their role perception.
Discussion
The analysis of teacher education programs in Israel concerning classroom management and discipline has shown that the main emphasis is on assisting teachers in their
everyday dealing with classroom disturbances. Classroom behaviour management
skills are at the core of courses on classroom management in different programs. Both
at the university/college level there is an attempt to provide future teachers with some
theoretical background on issues of classroom climate and behaviour modification.
Once student teachers start fulltime teaching in schools the focus of school based inservice programs is mainly on solving concrete problems arising in classrooms. We
structured our discussion according to our three research questions.
The structure of programs (site, timing, duration, number of courses,
mandatory/optional)
In-spite the commonly acknowledged importance of classroom management in the life
of schools as stated above in our literature review (Shin, Walker, & Stoner, 2002; Gay,
2006, Stough, 2006). Pianta (2006, p. 685) claims that:

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However defined and operationalized, classroom management is at the core of how classroom influence development, and from both the childs and the teachers perspective,
management is one of the fundamental organizers of experience of the classroom setting.

However, in spite of this claim, the topic of classroom management is not mandatory in Israeli programs of teacher education. Part of the answer to this somewhat
astonishing finding, can be found in the underlying assumption that classroom
management is mainly reflected in disciplinary problems and therefore, requires practical solutions. Because of the Israeli division between theoretical and practical aspects
of teaching, management concerns tend to be moved into the practicum, where student
teachers have an opportunity to discuss problems of discipline with their cooperative
teacher and university/college mentor. It is interesting to note that the mainly optional
courses on classroom management are offered in the second or third year, when student
teachers are expected to have already some experience of classroom management.
The underlying assumption of courses that do relate to classroom management is
that controlled and disciplined classrooms are learning classrooms. This assumption
reflects a traditional outlook on schooling, which assigns teachers with authority and
responsibility for student learning and views students mainly as responding to teachers
and not as self regulating learners. This assumption brings to mind an image of an
orderly classroom. It is not clear whether active interaction amongst students is part
of such an image. This image connects to our second question.

Conceptions of classroom management (technical/ pedagogical,

individual/systemic)
We saw that classroom management is mainly treated as a technical/behavioural issue.
Several hypotheses may be suggested to explain the focus on behaviouristic solutions
to classroom management and discipline problems.
Because classroom management and classroom discipline are perceived as behaviours, the appropriate response is perceived in the same terms, without attempting to
uncover any underlying issues. Moreover, both teachers and students seem to expect
clear norms that guide the classroom culture (Henry, 1976), therefore, there is a
tendency to prescribe certain behaviors that are related to classroom management. The
Ministry of Education in Israel sets clear directives in these areas, for instance, for
cases of violent behaviour. Some of classroom management norms are therefore,
beyond teachers discretion. The first stage in teachers professional development is
one of survival (Feiman-Nemser, 1983) behavioural norms dictated externally by the
Ministry are congruent with teachers needs in that period.
The treatment of classroom management as individual or systemic, constitutes a
dilemma for teachers. For instance, a religious school, or a school that emphasizes
community, might lead to a systemic approach. On the other hand, the change in
Israeli culture, from a community-centered to an individual-oriented society,
expresses itself even in classroom management concerns. If the individual is at the
center of education then disciplinary problems tend to be viewed as originating in the
individual and the solution should be directed at that individual. In such a case viewing the classroom as a community that could and even should decide on its norms is
not something that will be part of teacher education.
In a paper by Lewis, Newcomer, Trussell, and Richter (2006) that deals with
school-wide positive behaviour support, this is defined as systemic and individualized

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strategies implemented through a continuum of supports based on data-based decision

(Lewis et al., 2006, p. 849). Such an approach, that integrates the individual with the
systemic orientation, might be best suited for present-day students needs. These needs
tend to be increasingly complex in heterogeneous societies in which students from
different cultures share the same classroom.
Preparation in classroom management as related to issues of cultural
and ethnic diversity
Whether students understand or, conversely, misunderstand, how teaching is carried
out and their expected role in learning, is crucial for their feeling of efficacy. Their identity as learners, and eventually their achievements might be influenced by these feelings.
In response to growing difficulties in conducting teaching and learning in extremely
heterogeneous classrooms due to massive immigrations from different countries, special
in-service courses were developed and implemented in Israel. These programs included
three main elements: (a) learning about students different cultures; (b) introduction of
pedagogies for instruction in the multicultural classrooms; and (c) acquainting teachers
with students cultural norms of behaviours and beliefs leading to recommendations
for teachers conduct. There is a need to introduce cultural elements into all teacher
education programs, in ways that make teachers aware of their students behaviors and
cultural background, and promote theachers ability to develop pedagogies relevant to
these students. The need also arises for helping pre-service teachers define their own
goals regarding ways that would conserve students cultural background and would
enable students to learn efficiently and successfully in a multicultural classroom.
Still, mostly culture is not mentioned as a factor to be considered while the issue
of discipline is being taught in pre-service courses in Israel. For example, pre-service
teachers examining discipline as related to contextual factors, mention only the socioeconomic status and family personal problem of students, rather than their cultural
background (Eilam & Shoham, 1998).
Conclusions
The presentation and analysis of teacher education for classroom management and the
discussion of present-day needs of teaching in heterogeneous classes, leads to the
conclusion that teacher education programs do not respond adequately to these needs.
It is important to recognize that issues of classroom management shape the lived-in
world of students (Gay, 2006). Students who come from different racial and cultural
backgrounds may feel alien and strange in unaccustomed classroom situations, leading to rejection, opposition and failure. This situation is exacerbated in a globalized
world where millions migrate to new locations. Beyond the necessity to develop new
modes of linguistic and academic support for these students, teachers have to become
sensitive to the impact of their management modes on students perception of classroom situations, and have to learn to plan and act accordingly. This is a new role for
teacher education programs.
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