What Classroom Environments Tell About the Pedagogical Aspects of Subject Matter

Abstract

This study presents a cross-cultural comparison of United States, English and Welsh students' perceptions of secondary classroom environments in six academic disciplines -English, mathematics, science, history, geography, and French. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between classroom environment and subject matter (i.e. academic disciplines). This can be phrased as a question, 'Do academic disciplines have universal structural characteristics that influence classroom environment and the pedagogical interaction between students and teachers?' To gain insight into the relationship between an academic discipline and teacher/student interaction, classroom environments in six subject areas were investigated, using the Classroom Environment Scale (CES). CES protocols were completed by and collected from the following students in the US (n = 412); England (n = 152) and Wales (n = 232), ranging in age from 13 to 19 years. In addition to the CES, data collection included classroom observations, semi-structured interviews, and an examination of the cultural and political context of the schools. Variable differences in classroom environments were found to exist on the basis of academic discipline, nationality, age and gender across all CES subscales. Subject matter patterns suggest that the nature of the academic discipline may indeed influence teacher and student interactions and that these patterns are consistent across national boundaries.

School Subject Paradigms and Teaching Practice in the Screen Culture: Art, Music and the Mother Tongue (Swedish) under Pressure

“…One explanation of this situation may be that the incorporation of digital media differs between different school subjects (Hennessy et al, 2005). School subjects have their characteristic structures, which are of great importance for how digital media can be integrated (McEachron et al, 2003).…”