1. Objectifs

Intentions :
« The present investigation aims to identify the predictors of teachers’ perceptions of classroom discipline problems by using both a longitudinal design and a multilevel approach. » (p. 67)

Questions/Hypothèses :
« Il was hypothesized that students’ history of behavior problems during elementary school years would explain a significant portion of between-school variance in teachers’ perceptions of classroom discipline problems. » (p. 67)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
« In the framework of a longitudinal study of 3159 children followed since entry into kindergarten (Côté et al., 2002), we examined high schools that were attended by at least 5 students from the longitudinal study, and that agreed to participate in the evaluation of their social school climate. A total of 107 secondary schools met these criteria, and a total of 1834 subjects (49% girls) from the longitudinal study were attending these institutions (minimum = 5, maximum = 134). The social climate in the 107 high schools was evaluated by 1399 teachers (minimum = 10, maximum = 25). » (p. 68)

Instruments :
« These evaluations of the children’s behavior were used in a previous study (Broidy et al., 2003) to identify developmental trajectories for physical aggression, opposition, and hyperactivity. Four types of trajectories were identified for each of the three behavior dimensions. » (p. 69).
« The quality of a school’s social climate was measured using a questionnaire developped by Willms for a national longitudinal study of a random sample of Canadian children (National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth, 1996). » (p. 70)
« Behavior problems (aggression, opposition, and hyperactivity) of each student in the longitudinal study were rated by the teachers from the end of kindergarten to the end of elementary school, using the Social Behavior Questionnaire (Broidy et al., 2003, Tremblay et al., 1991). » (p. 72)

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

« Teachers perceive classroom discipline problems as a standard dimension of high school social climate. Using longitudinal and cross-sectional data, the present research sought to identify teacher- and school-elevel predictors of teachers’ perceptions fo classroom discipline problems. The social climate of 107 public and private French speaking Canadian high school was evaluated by 1399 teachers. Selection effects were assessed by using assessments of elementary school behavior problmes for 1834 high school students. As expected, results from hierarchical linear modeling revealed that most of the variance in perception of classroom discipline problems was attribuable to differences among teachers (91%) rather than the differences among schools (9%). As hypothesized, school variation in composition of students’ with a history of behavior problems (hyperactivity, opposition, physical aggression) predicted high school teachers’ perceptions of classroom discipline problems. However, the best predictors were concurrently measured school-level variables: type of school (public-private), location of school (urban-rural), and degree of teacher emphasis on academic achievement. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are examined and recommendations are made for future research. » (p. 64)

Cet article, soumis pour publication dans American Educational Research Journal, fait partie de la thèse de doctorat de Mme Line LeBlanc, intitulée : Le climat social des écoles secondaires, les problèmes de comportement en classe et les comportements antisociaux.