Are you an X or a Y?
What are your beliefs about people,
work, and responsibility?
McGregor’s Theories X and Y
X
Y
• People dislike work and
will avoid it
• Work is as natural as
play
• People must be forced to
work
• People are self-directed
and will strive to
accomplish objectives
• People want to be
directed and will avoid
responsibility
• People will learn to
accept and seek
responsibility
So, are you an X or a Y?
Learning Environments: School &
Classroom Climate
A learning environment is any
setting in which learning takes place
Learning Environments
• Similar to natural environments,
learning environments have a
certain atmosphere or a “climate”
of their own
School Climate
• “A relatively enduring quality of the school
environment that is experienced by participants,
affects their behavior, and is based on their
collective perceptions of behavior in schools.”
(Hoy & Miskel, 1991)
Classroom Climate
• The “environment” that is experienced by
students and by teachers in a class or lab setting
School/Classroom Climate
• A classroom’s
climate may be
“warm” or “cold”—
inviting or distant
School/Classroom Climate
• Essentially, the climate of
any learning environment
is determined by the
behavior of the teacher
and the corresponding
behaviors of students
School/Classroom Climate
• Qualities of a “Good”
(Warm) climate include . . .
 Openness
 Trust
 Communication
 Teachers & administrators
who are supportive of
students and of each other
So, which one of McGregor’s
theories does this resemble?
Is it Theory X or Theory Y?
School/Classroom Climate
• A warm climate
encourages . . .
• Student learning & achievement
• Reduces or eliminates many student
management problems (discipline)
(Buckman, King, & Ryan, 1995)
• Job satisfaction for teachers &
administrators
• Improved performance by teachers &
administrators
If experience is the best teacher,
mine has been the following:
• If you will try to reach students through the Affective
domain, that is, make a consistent and honest attempt to
understand and appreciate their values, attitudes, interests,
and beliefs . . .
• Eventually, most students will allow you to assist them in the
Cognitive domain, that is, help them to acquire valuable
knowledge, skills, and abilities
• Self-Fulfilling Prophecies . . .
• The Classroom as Sacred Space
• The Five “Be’s” of Student Management