Classroom management is an essential component of effective teaching. Despite its importance, little is known about how EFL pre-service teachers acquire and develop pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) about classroom management. This study explored the PCK about classroom management of twenty-two EFL student teachers enrolled in Dhahran Al-Janoub (K.S.A.) College of Education for girls. It also traced the development of this knowledge over a time span of a year of teacher education program using quantitative and qualitative techniques. A multi-method approach was used to allow triangulation of data and accessing the multifaceted nature of PCK. Results of the study indicated that PCK is a continuous process has a developmental nature. Results also indicated an increase in the size and complexity of the concept maps across the time span of a year of teacher education program indicating an increase and development in the participants' PCK about classroom management. There was also a shift of the themes under concern. Participants started with a simple conceptualization of classroom management as control or discipline maintenance, moved to its conceptualization as classroom organization, use of nomination techniques, reward and punishment, preventing and reacting to problem behavior and ended with a more profound conceptualization of planning for learning, caring for students and teacher/ student relationship and teacher/ student responsibility for learning. They used Finally, the learners emphasized the role of direct teaching practice experiences and de-emphasized college classes.
Published in The Egyptian Association for Reading and Literacy, June 2007, 67, 1-27.