Control and care: The complementary roles in classroom management

Abstract

This study examined how classroom management practices—teachers’ control and care—were differentially associated with students’ engagement, misbehavior, and satisfaction with school, using a large representative sample of 3196 Grade 9 students from 117 classes. Results of hierarchical linear modeling showed differential relations: After controlling for students’ gender and socioeconomic status, both control and care were positively related to student engagement. Moreover, control was a significant negative predictor of classroom misbehavior and care was a significant positive predictor of satisfaction with school. Our findings underscore the importance of blending teacher control and care to achieve multiple goals of classroom management.