Teacher's attachment and mentalization as the predictors of classroom management styles

Abstract

The aim of this study is to examine whether a tendency towards a certain style of classroom management can be predicted based on teacher's attachment and mentalization, as well as whether training in the field of classroom management modifies the relationship between the predictor and criterion variables. The research included 100 1st-4th grade primary school teachers, 86 female and 14 male, aged from 28 to 64, and with 1 to 39 years of teaching experience. The data were collected using the following instruments: The Inventory for teachers' self-assessment in classroom management styles, ITSCMS; the Experience in close relationships questionnaire, the modified and adapted Serbian version, SM-ECR-R and the The Mentalization Scale (MentS). The results show that anxiety and mentalization of self-contribute to the tendency towards the non-interventionist and interventionist styles of classroom management, while the mentalization of others and number of trainings in the field of classroom management contribute to the tendency towards the interactionist style of classroom management. The moderating effect of the number of trainings on the relationship between the mentalization of others and the interactionist style of class management was also found.

Keywords

• attachment
• mentalization
• classroom management style
• teacher