The Relation between Pre-school Teachers' Classroom Experiences and their Perceived Control over'Child Behaviour

Teachers' perceived control over child behaviour was studied in a sample of 40 pre-school teachers working in 22 school preparatory classrooms with 6-year olds. The role of teachers' classroom experiences of child behaviour problems of both the externalising and the internalising type, and of the structural variables classroom size, child to adult ratio, and proportion of boys to girls in the classroom for such control was studied. A high proportion of children with externalising problems and a high proportion of boys in the classroom were the most salient aspects for teachers' perceived control. The importance of teachers' perceived control for teachers' ratings of externalising problems is also discussed.