Preservice teachers' perspectives and use of behavior management strategies

Much of the current literature focuses on how preservice teachers are prepared to support entire classrooms (i.e., classroom management) instead of individual students (i.e., behavior management). Because of this gap in the literature, little is known about how preservice elementary education teachers are prepared to support students who are perceived to engage in challenging behavior in their classrooms. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to explore preservice elementary education teachers' knowledge, experiences, and needs for using behavior management strategies with individual students. Findings indicated preservice teachers had limited knowledge about behavior management strategies and sought further opportunities to support students who they perceived to engage in challenging behavior. Practitioner Points Preservice teachers associate student behavior with disability and/or home experiences. Participants believed that students who engaged in challenging behavior also had disabilities, experienced trauma at home, or were from a “rough” home. Classroom management strategies are taught in a variety of ways: university coursework, cooperating teachers, university supervisors, and so on. However, preservice teachers did not report learning behavior management strategies during their teacher preparation programs or student teaching placements. When preservice teachers work with individual students with behavioral support needs, they use universal strategies instead of individualized interventions.