2023 Volume 47 Issue 3 Pages 441-454
The purpose of this study is to examine the class management of various elementary school teachers from the point of view of the developmental stages of the children by simultaneously analyzing their teaching behaviors, the intentions behind those behaviors, and their individual thought processes. Six teachers—one each from grades 1 to 6—were observed during their Japanese language classes to record and demonstrate their utterances. Follow-up interviews with these teachers were subsequently conducted to clarify their intentions. The analysis revealed that these teachers’ class management behaviors can be categorized into two groups: teaching content instruction and instruction which doesn’t include teaching content. Their intentions were categorized into three groups: group teaching, relationships, and classroom atmosphere, as well as cross-curricular abilities and social skills. Examining this from the standpoint of the children’s developmental stages, the authors found that, regardless of grade level, teachers emphasized successful group teaching using non-academic instructions related to a classroom environment that established a certain rules and order; for instance, children raising their hands to take turns speaking to their classmates during presentations. The teachers of lower grades were found to favor establishing rules and order using their instruction relating to classroom environment while those who taught upper grades tended to favor classroom management that engenders independence and autonomy through content instruction.
