A Study on the Relationship between EFL Teachers’ Classroom Management Styles and their beliefs about the Integration of Technology

The main objective of this study is the investigation of the relationship between classroom management styles and EFL teachers’ attitudes toward the integration of technology into learners’ curriculum. The participants of the study comprised of 172 EFL teachers (female=114, male=58) teaching at different language institutes in Shiraz. Three styles of classroom management (interventionist, non-interventionist, and interactionist) were explored based on the theoretical framework of Wolfgang and Glickman (1982) and the variable of educational technology was investigated in terms of six subscales (Risk-taking Behaviors and comfort with the technology, Perceived benefits in using technology in the classroom, Beliefs and Behaviors about Classroom Technology, Technology Support and Access, Administrative and Instructional Uses and Students General and Specific Needs) . The data of the study was collected in two stages. At first, the participants were asked to answer the classroom management inventory of Attitude and Beliefs on Classroom Control (ABCC) developed in 1998 and Teacher Technology Integration Survey (TTIS) which was developed in 2008. In the second stage, six available EFL teachers based on purposive sampling participated in semi-structured interviews discussing the barriers to the integration of technology. The findings showed that the interventionist style is the dominant management style among teachers and classroom management was also shown to be significantly correlated with five out of six elements of educational technology. Multiple regression analysis also revealed that three out of six elements of educational technology significantly predicted the type of management style, the EFL teachers favored. predicted the type of management style, the EFL teachers favored.