International Journal of Education and Social Science (IJESS)

This action research study evaluated the positive effects of strategies to change disruptive behavior in a junior high school learning environment. Data were gathered for the purpose of enlightening junior high school teachers to the fact that there are effective alternatives to their traditional way of handling classroom management. From this research, junior high school teachers acquired information that would help them implement new and more effective classroom management strategies that would decrease their number of student office referrals. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected for this action research study. Quantitative and qualitative data had to be collected in order to answer four research questions, test two hypotheses, and reach conclusions. Data were collected from teachers who taught seventh and eighth grade junior high students. Quantitative data were collected from student office referrals. Surveys were used for the collection of qualitative data. Data were collected over a four-week period before the intervention and over an eight-week period during the intervention. A comparison was made between the data collected before the intervention and the data collected during the intervention. Teachers used their customary strategies to manage their classrooms before the intervention. Research-based classroom management strategies and a researcher-designed classroom management behavior log were used during the intervention period. The analysis of the data showed that the intervention had a positive impact. A t-test analysis of the collected data revealed that the mean of the total referrals during the intervention was statistically significant at the p<0.05 significance level as compared to the total of student office referrals collected before the intervention.