بررسی اثر ساختار کلاس درس بر روی پرخاشگری کلامی و فیزیکی در میان همسالان: مطالعه طولی کوتاه مدت

Teachers promote student learning and well-being in school by establishing a supportive classroom structure. The term classroom structure refers to how teachers design tasks, maintain authority, and evaluate student achievement. Although empirical studies have shown the relation of classroom structure to student motivation, achievement, and well-being, no prior investigations have examined the influence of classroom structure on aggression among peers. The present study examined whether a supportive classroom structure has an impact on verbal and physical aggression. At two points in time, data were collected from 1680 students in Grades 5 to 7 using self-report questionnaires. The results of structural equation modeling revealed that a supportive classroom structure at Time 1 was associated with less perpetrated verbal aggression at Time 2, 9 months later. This finding has practical relevance for teacher training as well as for aggression prevention and intervention among children.

As teachers play a key role in promoting academic learning in students, teacher effectiveness (Cartel et al., 2006, Clotfelter et al., 2006 and Wayne and Youngs, 2003) and quality of teaching (Emmer and Stough, 2001 and Van de Grift, 2007) are often discussed as relevant factors with respect to the academic functioning of students. A prominent concept in the context of teaching quality is Ames's (1992) classroom structure. A large body of literature has documented the impact of classroom structure on student well-being, motivation, and achievement (e.g., for an overview see Urdan & Turner, 2005). Thus, it appears classroom structure influences students in a holistic way. However, we do not know if classroom structure also has an effect on social relationships and especially on aggression among students. Some underlying mechanisms as well as empirical evidence of related teaching-quality-constructs argue for this effect (Brock et al., 2008, Hughes et al., 1999, Luckner and Pianta, 2011 and Rimm-Kaufmann and Chiu, 2007). Hence, it was the intention of the present longitudinal study to gain knowledge on whether the classroom structure provided by teachers influences verbal and physical aggression among peers.

In summary, research has shown that teachers who provide a supportive classroom structure enhance motivation, achievement, and well-being among their students. The present study added to the current literature by showing that a supportive classroom structure is associated with reduced perpetrated verbal aggression among peers. Hence, classroom structure was shown to be relevant not only for teacher training but also for another topic pertinent to school psychology: aggression prevention and intervention with respect to students.