The Implications of Teachers' Social Interest on Classroom Behavior

Tests the hypothesis that teachers who model social interest (SI) to their students will encourage like behaviors & attitudes, which will make the students more cooperative, less self-occupied, & more concerned with the common good of the group. Scale data from 62 elementary teachers who evaluated themselves & 1,366 students in the Southeast indicate (1) a significant negative association between teachers' SI, impatience/aggression, & disruptive classroom behavior; (2) a significant positive association between SI & student cooperative behavior; & (3) no significant association between teachers' SI & competitiveness/leadership. In light of the indication that socially interested teachers do have a more cooperative, less aggressive & disruptive classroom, & further, that SI is not innate, but learned, it is suggested that training teachers in this classroom management technique would benefit all involved in the educational process. 1 Table, 20 References. S. Jameson