Do teachers’ years of experience make a difference in the quality of teaching?

Résumé

Managing the classroom has been considered one of the necessary skills for effective teaching. As there is little agreement on how to measure or what constitutes effectiveness. This paper aims to investigate the attitudes of novice and experienced EFL teachers towards different classroom management styles. It explores the relationship between experience and effectiveness, and how this relationship can be used in part to support an educational policy decision. The research sample consists of 12 male and female teachers from 4 secondary public schools in Libya. The different schools in this study were chosen randomly using stratified random sampling. A combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods was utilised to collect data. Results show no evidence of lower teaching quality for beginning teachers (0–10years’ experience), However, Findings also revealed that the classroom management practices teachers adopt have been shown to relate to their years of teaching experience. The expert teachers were significantly more effective at predicting classroom management events than novice teachers. It also suggests that the quality of teaching could be higher overall, and that targeted support and evidence-informed professional learning would benefit all teachers