ABSTRACT
As many of the chapters in this handbook reveal, researchers and other educators interested in classroom management have long recognized that variations in students, teachers, and contexts play key roles in determining the daily functioning of classrooms. Over time classroom management researchers have found that student characteristics such as home life, cultural heritage, learning abilities and disabilities, individual temperament, language resources, and social and interpersonal skills exert a significant influence on the classroom. In addition researchers have examined the impact of teacher characteristics and strategies such as methods of instruction, curricular selection, organizational approaches, and the ability of the teacher to adapt to the needs of learners. Along similar lines, classroom management researchers have shown that the structure of classrooms, including numbers of students, resources available, the range of student ability, the dynamics of the group, and the size of the room, also contributes to successful educational experiences.
