Teachers’ perceptions of the impact of the Incredible Years® Teacher Classroom Management programme on their practice and on the social and emotional development of their pupils

Abstract

Background The Incredible Years® (IY) Teacher Classroom Management (TCM) programme may be an effective way to reduce teacher stress levels, improve child behaviour and promote positive socio-emotional development. However, few studies have considered what teachers think of the course and how it might work. Aims In this paper we examine teachers’ perceptions of the impact of the TCM programme and how it might work in the classroom. Sample(s) Fourty-four UK primary school teachers who attended the TCM programme as part of the STARS trial (Ford et al., 2018). Methods Focus groups and interviews were held with teachers two months after completing the TCM programme. Thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) was employed to explore the subsequent data. Results Three main themes were identified: impact on the teacher; on children; and on parent-teacher relationships. Impact on the teacher included a positive change in their ethos. Teachers reported being more able to see things from the child’s perspective, placing a greater focus on building positive relationships, thinking before responding, feeling calmer, more confident and in control and employing strategies to create positive interactions with children. Teachers felt this had had a positive impact on their pupils’ development and relationships with parents. Feedback on whether or not TCM was effective in tackling particularly challenging behaviour was more mixed. Conclusions Our findings suggest that teachers experience the TCM programme as beneficial. This is discussed alongside other qualitative and quantitative studies in this field.