Variance in teacher perceptions of school misbehavior, their estimation of misbehavior prevalence and burnout

Four questions were posed to investigate relationships among teacher perceptions of misbehavior seriousness, estimations of misbehavior prevalence and burnout. These were: (a) How can perceptions of seriousness be described? (b) How can variance in perceptions be explained? (c) How can reported incidence of misbehavior prevalence and burnout be described? and (d) How can relationships among these three variables be predicted? Instrument packets containing the School Misbehavior Rating Form (assessing misbehavior seriousness), The Estimation of Misbehavior Prevalence Form and the Maslach Burnout Inventory were distributed to 443 Illinois public school teachers in one urban, one suburban and one rural district. Two hundred and twenty-three usable packets were returned. Analyses revealed that SMRF data were normally distributed, and misbehavior seriousness rankings were similar across grade levels and districts. Two factors accounting for greater than 92% of SMRF variance emerged and were named "crisis" and "everyday" misbehavior. These factors correlated differently among low, middle and high SMRF scorers. Analysis of variance findings showed that teachers' subject area, birth order and gender balance of siblings contributed significantly to variance in "everyday" misbehavior ratings. "Crisis" rating variance was similarly explained by geographic mobility prior to high school, and by occupation and education of mother and father. Descriptive findings were computed for misbehavior prevalence and burnout. Multiple regression analyses revealed numerous significant relationships among the attendant factors of the three instruments. An example supporting frame of reference theory was that high levels of burnout in association with high SMRF scores appeared to predict the level of misbehavior incidence. In general, findings supported the posited hypothetical relationships among perceptions, prevalence and burnout. It was concluded that, because of the relative nature of misbehavior, standardized behavioristic discipline systems may be "naturally" inequitable. The use of findings from these instruments was recommended as a means of clarifying teacher values, and as a point of entry toward the consensus definition of misbehavior. Because of the ecological nature of misbehavior and burnout, future research and intervention should focus on the interactions of teacher, parent and student perceptions.U of I OnlyETDs are only available to UIUC Users without author permissio