Situation-specific skills in classroom management of pre-service teachers. Linking with professional knowledge, self-efficacy, and student-rated classroom management quality

Research suggests that teacher competence, such as professional knowledge, affective-motivational characteristics, and situation-specific skills, are prerequisites for effective teaching. However, few studies have examined the entire theoretically derived relationships in the context of classroom management. This study investigated the relationship between professional knowledge, self-efficacy, situation-specific skills, and instructional quality in the context of classroom management. We surveyed 1,321 students from 82 pre-service teachers in their long-term internship. Contrary to expectations, results from multilevel regression analyses indicated that only classroom management knowledge predicted student rated rule clarity. Situation-specific skills measured with rating items showed unexpected negative associations with student ratings of monitoring and managing momentum. No further significant relationships were found. The findings underline the challenge of translating competence into effective classroom practice and call for further research on contextual influences. (DIPF/Orig.)