An Examination of the Construct Validity of the Inventory of Classroom Management Style

Confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine the construct validity of a new instrument measuring perceptions toward classroom management: the Inventory of Classroom Management Style (ICMS). Classroom management was defined as a multifaceted process that includes three broad dimensions: (1) what teachers believe about students as persons; (2) what teachers do to enable students to learn; and (3) what teachers do in terms of discipline. The ICMS was designed to measure these dimensions with 48 Likert items. Beliefs were classified on a continuum that reflects the degree of teacher power over students. Data were collected from 238 teachers with the ICMS and a demographic questionnaire. The confirmatory factor analysis was conducted with the principal components analysis with a varimax solution. Results indicate the existence of three subdimensions. However, the three identified subdimensions (Instructional Management, Classroom Communication and Interaction, and Student Success) did not fully confirm the three hypothesized constructs of the ICMS. In addition, results show that the language used to construct items is a factor in item-response patterns. Two appendixes present the framework of the inventory and the format of inventory items. Two tables are included. (Contains 12 references.) (Author/SLD)