Competitive Educational Research Journal (CERJ)

ISSN (Print): 2709-9784, ISSN (Online): 2709-9792

Volume 3 Issue 1
https://cerjournal.com
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Challenges and Issues Faced by Elementary Teachers During Classroom
Management: Comparison between Public and Private Schools
* Fakhra Tabasum
Leadership & Management Superior University Lahore

Tariq Mahmood Khan

University of the Punjab, Lahore

Muhammad Naveed Jabbar

Leadership & Management Superior University

*Email of the corresponding author: tabasumfakhra029@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

The main objective of this study was to investigate the issues and challenges faced by
elementary school teachers during classroom management. The population is comprised of
teachers from public institutions at the elementary level in District Kasur. At the same time,
236 teachers (public=122, private=114) were selected as a sample through a simple random
sampling technique. The research data was collected using a questionnaire comprised of a 5-
point Likert scale format through the survey method. The Statistical Package for Social
Science (SPSS) was administered to analyze the research data according to the hypothesis
proposed in this study. The study's findings revealed that there was a significant difference
between the opinion of public and private teachers. Moreover, there was also a considerable
difference founding the teaching experience of the respondents. This study provides the
primary literature and findings of the challenges and issues faced by elementary teachers
during classroom management.

Keywords: Challenges and Issues; Classroom Management; Elementary Teacher.

INTRODUCTION

The schools play a vital role in the development of the community, especially for the children
to complete these objectives; the teachers perform various daily routine activities for this
concern. As a result, elementary school students grow their mental and physical abilities;
moreover, they get life skills with academic competencies. To make the teaching-learning
process successful, the teachers focus on classroom management with the help of curricular
activities. For this purpose, it is necessary to provide the basic facilities to the teachers to
perform the curriculum activities appropriately (Ahmad et al., 2013; Copper & Hedges, 2014).
During the teaching process, the teachers focus not only on the curricula contents but also on
the students' learning abilities. It requires a commitment to the profession and implements the
organization's instructions, rules, and regulations by setting standards. The different stages of
education require other knowledge according to the student's cognitive abilities. In addition,
the students within the class have different backgrounds according to the cultural and socio-

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economic home environment (Javed et al., 2015; Saeed & Akhtar, 2021). Administration and
management did not provide primary school teachers with a respectful environment, good
salary packages, and other facilities, which created challenges.
Moreover, the challenges teachers face from primary school children are as follows. For
instance, many children from impoverished backgrounds begin at a distinct disadvantage, and
it is tough to catch them up (Nuttall & Ortalipp, 2012). This is possibly one of the most
significant challenges elementary school teachers face as beginning teachers. In addition, every
child has different behavior moods it is difficult for teachers to understand every child's
behavior taught them so that every student understands them (Durand, 2010; Nasrullah et al.,
2021).

Literature Review

As the current study focused on the challenges faced by elementary teachers yet, it is necessary
to have some idea of the country. Pakistan has four provinces. There are approximately seventy
languages spoken in various areas. According to the Government of Pakistan (2022), the
country's literacy rate is about 59.13%, and the enrollment of elementary school students is
10.7 million boys and 8.6 million girls. In contrast, the dropout ratio is 3.6 million boys and
2.8 million girls at the age of 5 to 9 years. Apart from this, the government focused on the
professional qualification of the teaching faculty.
To develop the teachers' professional abilities, pilot schools were established. The staff
development program was an initiative to provide the professional skills to build the teaching-
learning process. On the other hand, the private sector also contributes to minimizing the
workload of government schools (Ahsan, 2003; Amir et al., 2020). Primarily, elementary
education in the private sector is based on the colony system, which was based on the western
culture and did not meet the country's ideology.
Moreover, many curriculums are taught at the elementary level in Pakistan (Arshad & Zamir,
2018). There is also a difference in infrastructure between government and private schools. The
common challenges elementary school teachers face over the globe have been identified in
many types of research out of Pakistan. Early Childhood Education is emerging in Pakistan,
and along with this, teachers in the profession also come to many challenges in their daily life.
Some challenges are now discussed that had been explored in previous research (Farooq, 2013;
Malik, 2012; Tahira et al., 2020). However, many education policies have been developed with
time and primarily focused on enhancing enrollment and overcoming the dropout ratio. For
this concern, many projects were established, for example, education for all and providing free
uniforms and books to the students. Unfortunately, these indicators have not yet been
considered (Shah et al., 2019).
The elementary school level is the most crucial stage among all the stages of education.
Apparently, in the world, the stakeholders and educationists mainly emphasize the professional
teaching faculty and autonomous working environment to develop the teaching-learning
process. However, it is challenging to nourish the students with academic skills in this stage,
where the whole community is involved in completing this process (Suleman et al., 2012;
Shaukat & Chowdhury, 2020). In Pakistan, several education policies were made that mainly
emphasized the development of students. However, with the rapid increase in the population
of the country, there are several challenges and issues which teachers face during classroom
management, such as; lack of facilities, difficulties in administration, classroom management,
workload and parent involvement (Ali, 2018; Qureshi & Kalsoom, 2022).
Due to poverty and unemployment in developing countries, it is difficult for parents to meet
their educational expenditures. The textbooks provide teaching practice for the teachers and
learning activities for the students to build the teaching-learning process. The teachers get the

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instructions from the reading material in the textbooks. Moreover, the only books are not only
necessary to complete the teaching-learning process but also need other facilities such as;
charts, AV aids, whiteboards, chalk etc. (Mughal et al., 2020). The early stage of the students
is most important to develop their thinking abilities towards the learning uplift. The
introductory stage curriculum revealed students' instructive skills and growth of their academic
skills. Therefore, it is not only the responsibility of teachers to teach with full zeal and zest for
the completion of organizational objectives, but also administration and higher authorities
focus on the facilities which render to the teaching faculty for performing the learning activities
appropriately (Ryan, 2008; Saleem et al., 2020).
For the development of educational institutions, the administration plays a significant role in
enhancing learning activities. The higher authorities help and guide the teachers in performing
the various activities in the school. The administration makes a plan and different kinds of
strategies that are helpful for the teaching faculty. The administration is responsible for
eradicating the obstacles which teachers face during classroom activities.
The teachers are considered the field manager and observe the different things, so handling the
appropriate suggestions of the teachers plays a vital role in the development of the institutions
(Munir & Amin, 2018). Classroom management is one of the critical factors for completing
the teaching-learning process. There are many challenges to maintaining control of the
classroom at the elementary level. There are two kinds of schools in the countries, public and
private. Moreover, it can be divided into urban and rural areas schools. Although there is a lack
of infrastructure in rural areas, most schools in rural areas have no appropriate classrooms
where the teaching-learning process can be completed (Iqbal et al., 2012; Saleem et al., 2020).
In a classroom, the students belong to different cultures and backgrounds according to the
socio-economic condition of the parents.
Moreover, students also have other personality traits like gender, physical condition, cognitive
abilities etc. So, the teachers must have suitable academic and professional qualifications to
complete educational objectives appropriately through classroom management (Siddiqui et al.,
2021). The elementary school system is different to handle compared to other levels of
education. It needs professional and trained teachers who have unique professional training to
handle classroom management activities with good manners (Aslam, 2013; Dayan et al., 2018).
In the new trend at the elementary level, a female teacher should be appointed, but there are
also male teachers in some areas of the country. Male teachers at the elementary level face
several challenges and issues in managing the classrooms (Iqbal et al., 2021; Lodhi et al., 2019).
Many areas of the country face classrooms that are too small in size that they cannot entertain
a reasonable number of students. A few years ago, we discussed how schools, during significant
funding cuts, had no choice but to lift all class size limits to accommodate students with the
faculty the school system could still afford to keep (Mahmood & Iqbal, 2018). The classrooms
in Pakistan are also congested and very small in size. There are many mushroom schools
throughout the country, and they are open in the living houses. Also, many government schools
in Punjab and Pakistan have no proper classrooms or even no boundary walls. So, the need of
the hour is to work on the classroom size, and it should be increased in any way. At the same
time, government regulation says that class size is no more than 40 pupils, but can be up to 200
in the same class (Shaukat & Chowdhury, 2020).
The education process is revealed among all the members of society. Therefore, the
development of the preschool system is not only the responsibility of an educationist.
Significantly, the elementary school system needs the involvement of all the organization's
professionals. Therefore, there is also a community committee in the preschool system,
teachers, principals/headteachers, educationists, and the government to succeed the education
process (Dalli & Cherrington, 2009; Durand, 2010).

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In Pakistan, headteachers have to deal with issues affecting teachers and students, the
curriculum, parents, school visitors and the central office. Other challenges include role
ambiguity, the conflicting expectations of various stakeholders, the tension between inadequate
financial resources and the lack of incentives and authority to deal with relevant issues (Ali,
2012). There are also issues linked to socio-political and sectarian conflicts and disruptions. As
a result, teachers pay more attention to maintaining order and discipline than addressing the
issues of staff development and support and students' academic achievements (Goldstein, 2007;
Nasrullah et al., 2021).

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

 What are the difficulties faced by elementary school teachers due to classroom
management?
 What is the significant difference of opinion between public and private elementary
school teachers regarding challenges and issues faced during classroom management?
 What is the significant difference between the teachers' professional experience with
challenges and issues faced during classroom management?

METHODOLOGY

Research design is a strategy and procedure that makes decisions from comprehensive
assumptions toward straightforward data collection and analysis methods. This study is
descriptive based on quantitative research. The study population was public and private
elementary school teachers from district Kasur while 236 teachers (public=122, private=114)
were selected for this sample through a simple random sampling technique. The self-
administered questionnaire was developed based on previous research and literature review.
The dimensions included in this study were lack of facilities, challenges in administration,
challenges in classroom management, workload, and parental involvement. The originality of
this thesis is that this thesis provides a comprehensive analysis of the challenges and issues
viewed through teachers' naked eyes.
The questionnaire was divided into two parts; the demographic characteristics of the
respondents and the dimensions related to the challenges and issues faced by elementary
teachers during classroom management. A tool was constructed using a five-point Likert scale
(Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Neutral, Agree, and Strongly Agree) to collect data. The primary
data was collected from the respondents through the survey method for this study. Reliability
is a process to assess the consistency of the questionnaire when applied more time (Creswell,
2014). For this study, the Cronbach'S Alpha Coefficient was used to analyze the reliability of
the questionnaire that was greater than 0.7 (Nunnally 1978).
The tool's reliability was checked by collecting the response of the 40 participants from the
target sample. The reaction of the primary data was coding and entered into sheets by using
Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) as the study objective was simply to find out
the challenges and issues faced by elementary teachers. Therefore, descriptive (Cronbach's
alpha, Mean, Standard Deviation) and inferential statistics (t-test independent and ANOVA)
were used to analyze the hypothesis proposed in this study.

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Findings
Table 1. Descriptive Analysis of statements about the factor "parental involvement" of challenges and
issues faced by teachers
Statements M SD
Lack of Facilities 2.88 1.27
Challenges in Administration 3.45 1.19
Classroom Management 3.13 1.18
Work Load 3.64 .99
Parental Involvement 3.41 1.16
Overall M= 3.30, SD= 1.15
To determine the current level of the challenges and issues faced by elementary teachers, descriptive
Analysis was administered. It found that the mean of the statements was from 2.88 to 3.64 and overall
M= 3.30, SD= 1.15. It found that the respondents were moderately satisfied with the challenges and
issues faced by elementary teachers.

Table 2. Independent Sample t-test about the challenges and issues faced by elementary teachers
(Private= 114, Public= 122)
Statements Private Public t Sig
M SD M SD
Lack of facilities 2.64 .94 3.10 .92 -2.44 .01*
Administration 2.92 .92 3.36 .76 -2.65 .00*
Classroom management 3.02 .89 3.24 .75 -1.34 .12
Work load 3.51 .86 3.76 .77 -1.54 .09
Parent involvement 3.15 .76 3.65 .74 -3.29 .00*
Total 3.04 .87 3.42 .78 -2.52 .04*
Significance difference < .05
It found a significant difference in all the dimensions of challenges and issues expect in classroom
management. The respondents from public elementary school scores were more important than private
regarding the challenges and problems faced by elementary school teachers during classroom
management.
Table 3. ANOVA among groups analysis of variance to explore the challenges and issues faced by the
teachers regarding professional experience
SS df M. Sq F Sig
Between Groups
3.409 3 1.704 2.977 .047*
Within Groups
55.547 96 .572
Total 58.960 98
Significance Level P<0.05
It shows a significant difference found (.047<0.05) among the elementary school teachers based on
their professional experience. Therefore, it concluded that teachers with different backgrounds have
different perceptions about the challenges and issues elementary teachers face due to classroom
management.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

It was concluded that the elementary school teachers were well aware of the challenges and issues
during classroom management. Moreover, a significant difference was found between public and
private elementary school teachers regarding challenges and problems. Furthermore, there was also a
significant difference found in the professional experience of the elementary school teachers.

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Elementary school education is a vital stage to develop the students' learning abilities, which can be
helpful in the future. Therefore, it is the responsibility of all the stakeholders to participate in making
the successful students members of society. Based on the research findings, elementary school teachers
faced several challenges and issues during classroom management to complete the teaching-learning
process. Although the higher authorities have taken several initiatives to develop school education,
these indicators have not yet been considered. Therefore, it was recommended that the executive
authorities focus on this serious issue and provide the basic facilities to conduct the classroom activities
appropriately.
Moreover, this study can be performed in other areas of the country and at different levels of the
education sector to ensure the quality of education. Moreover, it is recommended that the government
focus on the pre-service and in-service training of the professionals so that the teachers can
appropriately manage the challenges and issues in the classroom with their abilities. It is the
responsibility of the parents to participate in all the curriculum and extra-curriculum activities
performed by the students. The parents should make themselves role models for their children and give
their children the confidence to develop their physical and mental abilities. Moreover, the educationist,
policymakers and educationists should develop elementary education by adopting the new strategies.
Additionally, classroom size should be managed to adopt international standards.

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