Gershweyn Avron Matthews *

Sovannaphumi School, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
* Email: matthewscambodia@gmail.com

This article is jointly published by the Cambodian Education Forum (CEF) and Sovannaphumi School (SPS) as part of the Research Mentorship Program organized by SPS with support from CEF.

Abstract

Classroom management lies at the heart of teaching endeavors geared toward securing positive student outcomes. In today’s classroom settings characterized by various ‘symptoms’ of modernity, such as cellphones, artificial intelligence, and social media, many traditional methods of classroom management are experiencing a period of crisis. This review article aims to articulate the nature of various traditional classroom management systems and examines factors that are causally linked to the erosion of the effectiveness of these methods in modern classroom settings. It also aims to assess the nature of newer strategies that are characterized by more responsive approaches to the holistic needs of students, seeking also to examine why these more modern strategies are faring better than many of their previous incarnations. This article argues that modern classroom management strategies are indeed powerfully effective techniques to better manage and guide students toward not only improved learning outcomes but also psychologically healthier and well-adjusted individuals. The article concludes with implications and suggestions for future research. 

Keywords: Classroom management; traditional strategies; modern strategies; student-centered approaches

Introduction

Today’s classroom settings are necessarily infused with various ‘symptoms’ of modernity, such as cellphones, artificial intelligence, and social media. Chen et al. (2022), Alalwan and Al-Debei (2022), and Klimova and Kuca (2025) found that these artifacts of modernity often have negative effects on student motivation, morale, discipline, emotional health, and moral aspects of behavior. In the face of the progress and the challenges in grappling with technological advancements and the behavioral alterations, many traditional methods of classroom management are struggling to meet the demand of steering students toward positive outcomes through the creation and maintenance of ideal learning environments (Giunchiglia et al., 2020). Bhattacharya (2017) argued that effective classroom management is an integral part of the education process. To be effective facilitators of learning, teachers must create and maintain learning environments that inspire academic productivity (both self-regulated and teacher-assisted) and foster psychological and cognitive development in pursuit of the holistic support of students, which is thought to be causally linked to an increase in positive student learning outcomes (Downer et al., 2015).

Various factors pose challenges to student learning, including the maintenance of academic productivity, the pro-psychological and cognitive growth linked to the onslaught of modernity on world views, the degradation of positive social norms as influenced by exposure to often provocative social media content, the changes in student future prospects, interest, and motivations, and the increasing use of smart technology in the classroom (Giunchiglia et al., 2020; Izadpanah, 2024; Nguyen et al., 2022; Olebara et al., 2021; Pérez-Juárez et al., 2024).

According to a study by Ngussa and Mdalingwa (2017), the use of traditional methods of classroom management, such as corporal punishment to maintain discipline, reduce distraction, and promote motivation with punitive threats, increased student anxiety and negatively impacted positive student outcomes. A study by Hartwell et al. (2023) supported the suggestion that, to address these challenges effectively, more research needs to be carried out on why traditional methods of classroom management are failing at securing holistically positive student outcomes. Also, it is suggested that more research needs to be done to test the validity and further the development of better equipped, positive student outcome tracking strategies of classroom management so as to arm teachers with implementation skills of better management strategies in pursuit of improving student outcomes (Hartwell et al., 2023). 

The aim of this article is to examine traditional methods of classroom management to bring to light their inability to successfully manage and steer students toward academic excellence, psychological well adjustedness, and morally responsible agency in the modern classroom setting. The article assumes that this failure stems from the inability or unwillingness to accept that students are not only mere vessels for the installation and impartment of knowledge about the physical world but are in themselves profoundly complex beings in a dualistic sense. They thus experience the world as a physical being whose identity, perception of right and wrong, drive, and motivations stem from a highly developed rendition of consciousness that is subject to various psychological fluctuations. The article also intends to illustrate the validity of this key point by referring to and discussing the findings of previous research in support of this notion. In addition, it aims to highlight more innovative and potentially more effective classroom management strategies—particularly those that have not yet been fully integrated into the prevailing classroom management paradigm due to limited empirical examination.

Why are traditional strategies not effective?

Unable to cater to diverse student needs

Due in part to globalization and the rapid urbanization it entails, inner-city classrooms especially are more diverse than ever. Traditional methods, characterized by adopting as fact the assumption of homogeneity of background, interest, ability levels, and learning styles of students, erroneously do not take into account the very real diversity within the modern student population (Sungai & Simonsen, 2012). Students in today’s classrooms often come from very different backgrounds, and these backgrounds play a big role in what they know, how they learn, and the value they place on education. These factors, among others, need to be taken into account in a way that leads to every single student background being validated and accommodated as part of effective classroom management (Hardiansyah et al., 2022). This is a tall order indeed for traditional classroom management strategies to resolve. Approaches such as reward-and-punishment systems and homogenous models that overlook student diversity simply do not adequately take into serious account the effects of cultural backgrounds on the diverse ways students experience and enact their roles as learners.

Unable to support changing goals and outlooks of students

A study by Aniag et al. (2025) showed that with the rise in the importance of the internet and social media as informing aspects on issues pertaining to the individual perspectives and future-based aspirations, identity, morality, and conceptions of good and bad, student populations had shifted their vision for themselves, what they care about, and in particular what they want to spend their adulthood on. Furthermore, Reeve (2016) stated that classroom management techniques relying heavily on the authority of the teacher as a “knower,” imparter of knowledge, and designator of points of interest in a normative sense pertaining to what is and what is not important or interesting within a field of study tend to undermine students’ innate capacity for independent thinking, thereby limiting positive student outcomes in a holistic sense. 

Unable to address increased distractions and reliance on technology

Hsu and Yen (2018) argued that, with the rise of technology, students faced more distractions, making it harder to maintain focus and discipline using traditional techniques of classroom management. Moreover, artificial intelligence (AI) in particular has made it easier for students to fall prey to a certain kind of nonchalant-ism with regard to the learning process and subsequent production of academic works birthed through their own academic endeavors, leading to a reduction in the integrity and quality of academic work and a systematic dumbing down of the modern student populations (Oritz-Bonnin & Blahopoulou, 2025). This trend, if not managed better, is sure to usher in a host of detrimental consequences, such as, but not limited to, hindering the development of cognitive and social skills in students.

Which modern strategies are more effective?

A symbiotic approach to teacher-student relationships

Current Psychology (2024) has indicated that a sort of symbiotic exchange of ideas between students and teachers alongside the affirmation and acknowledgement of the inherent worth, value, and legitimacy of both parties involved in the learning process seems to prove promising in re-fostering interest in student learning, thus decreasing the allure of the reliance on technology (especially AI) in student populations. In today’s modern classroom milieu, the painstaking construction of strong, respectful relationships with students at the hand of the instructor is crucial. Traditional classroom management strategies that rely on strict rules and often contrived notions assuming the necessarily authoritative nature of the knowledge and skills set of the teacher may not foster the positive relationships needed to secure desirable student outcomes (Wong & Wong, 2014).

Self-regulation techniques

Exposing students to strategies that help them to manage their own behavior and emotions provokes their interest, ignites and coaxes out their intelligence, and helps them develop self-discipline and responsibility. A study by Smith (2024) supported the notion that instilling in students a sense of the paramount importance of virtues, such as responsibility, wonder, discipline, and moral character development, had a profoundly positive effect on classroom morale. Furthermore, Skunk (2011) found that classroom management strategies heavily reliant on self-regulating techniques showed much higher capacity for dealing effectively with the challenges of the modern classroom milieu in comparison to more traditional strategies.

Restorative practices

Students are complex beings, just like all forms of highly sentient life. McQueen et al. (2023) found that psychologically restorative strategies could help unveil causes behind classroom conflicts between students and teachers and help diagnose and solve behavioral and learning issues and impediments. Such approaches, focused on the holistic restoration of students’ psychological body rather than punitive measures, are better suited as management methodology in today’s classroom settings (Gregory et al., 2016).

Experimental classroom management strategies

Consideration of trauma and psychological healing-centered approaches

Trauma severely affects the general outlook of individuals, and the number of students experiencing trauma (carried with them into the classroom) is increasing (Levy et al., 2020). It often paves the way for depressive disorders, low morale, and destructive and disruptive behavior in and out of the classroom, which in turn negatively affects student scholastic performance, health, and general well-being (Romano et al., 2015). According to Southall (2023), strategies that take into account trauma and its effects on classroom behavior in pursuit of remedying the stunting effects thereof help learners recover confidence in themselves and their academic abilities, transforming classrooms into safe spaces. 

These management strategies include restorative practices, social and emotional learning, positive behavioral interventions and supports with trauma-sensitive adaptations, and healing-centered engagement (Parameswaran et al., 2024).  A study by Wilson-Ching and Berger (2023) showed that a holistic approach to the management of students’ scholastic and psychological spheres of life, such as consideration of trauma and psychological healing-centered approaches, effectively supported positive student outcomes, aiding in the recovery processes of students who had and were experiencing physical and psychological trauma through strengthening their trust in caregiving and supportive figures such as teachers and classroom contemporaries. This in turn helps to reestablish school as a safe space and thus supports the re-provocation of interest in academic matters and belief in the nurturing and protective aspects of human agency (McInerney, 2024).

Mindfulness and emotion regulation

Dunning et al. (2019) found that inclusion of mindfulness exercises and regulation of emotion in classroom management strategies are yielding promising results in the pursuit of positive student outcomes as a well-suited approach to modern classroom management. A 2013 study on the effectiveness of mindfulness and emotion-regulating techniques in securing better student outcomes through improving student self-regulation, indicated by a heightening in impulse control, emotion regulation, attention span, and behavioral compliance abilities, illustrated that classroom management techniques involving meditation, yoga, and relaxation exercises could help students manage stress, improve their focus, and establish and maintain behavior and emotion-regulating habits supportive of better student outcomes (Razza et al., 2013).

Another study by Long et al. (2018) on the effectiveness of mindfulness and meditation practices within the classroom setting found that, compared to a more traditional, very popular management style called ‘the good behavior game’ and others geared toward behavior modification under the threat of punishment, all management methods examined showed very little effect on student behavior or well-being. However, mindfulness skills training was the only method included in the study that showed a mild, though measurable, therapeutic effect on behavior and student well-being. These findings support the idea that mindfulness training has measurable positive effects on student mental health and well-being compared to more traditional management methods geared at the modification of student behavior (Long et al., 2018).

Compellingly, yet another interesting study by Meyer and Eklund (2020), involving seven elementary schools that partook in a ten-week mindfulness intervention experiment as a supportive classroom management technique, indicated improvement in student and teacher satisfaction in the classroom environment due to reduced friction and confrontations amongst students and between teachers and students. The study also reported an increase in cohesion amongst students, whereas the control group showed a decrease in cohesion and an increase in friction over the course of the study.

Student-led conferences

According to Sisman and Bahadir (2021), student conference strategies involve students setting their own learning goals in a manner that encourages and values their reflection on their progress and by way of functioning as a springboard toward automation, increasing levels of accountability and motivation, as well as bolstering positive student outcomes. The teacher largely functions merely as a facilitator of this student-centered approach, offering guidance and setting required contexts for learning experiences to unfold. A study by McCoy (2016) found student interest to be greatly provoked through student-centered methods such as student-led conferences, as their natural curiosity in matters that interest them in relation to prescribed and carefully curated materials is stimulated, rewarded, and shown to be valued by their instructor and their contemporaries.

Conclusion and implications

Classroom management is a very important element in the successful education of students on a scholastic level. Many challenges are faced by traditional methods of classroom management in today’s modern classroom setting. These challenges range from the ever-diversifying student demography and thus the need to meet the changing goals and outlooks of students to addressing increased distractions and growing reliance on technology. The article argues that traditional classroom methods fail to resolve these challenges due to all assuming, erroneously, homogeneity of student learning styles and outlooks regardless of their diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. These methods are thus fast becoming redundant and outdated.

Newer methods are becoming more popular as they are better suited at establishing and maintaining ideal classroom environments geared toward better student outcomes in both an academic and psychological sense, particularly pertaining to post-millennial students. These range from symbiotic approaches and teacher-student relationships to restorative practices. These newer strategies seem to perform better in classroom management due to their sensitivity toward the lived reality and inherent worth of the personhood and capacities of students.

This article focused on experimental classroom management strategies taking into account trauma and psychological healing, mindfulness and emotion regulation, and student-led conferences. These strategies, although perhaps in preliminary stages of being accepted into the ranks of well-researched and accepted classroom management strategies, are showing promising results in the pursuit of holistic positive student outcomes (Khoeriyah, 2023; King et al., 2021; Pickrell et al., 2023).

In the ever-changing modern classroom environment, management strategies remain a matter of paramount importance, as they are inextricably linked to student outcomes. In the wake of ineffective traditional management strategies, it is crucial to continue research on classroom management strategies to uncover and support the development and integration of better strategies into today’s modern classroom environment. Without further research on the matter so as to uncover techniques of management that better suit today’s classroom settings, the education enterprise as a whole can face the compounding of the problems associated with ineffective classroom management strategies.

Overall, traditional classroom management strategies are failing to meet the challenges of the modern classroom settings. Even though newer methods that are more effective are currently being employed within various modern classroom settings, there remains ample room for the development, scientific testing, and confident incorporation of highly promising experimental approaches to classroom management into the helm of those strategies. Further inquiry into the scientifically supported legitimacy of the experimental strategies included in this article is invaluable to the field of education, as classroom management alongside pedagogy and teaching methodology are central to the success of modern education enterprises.

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Sovannaphumi School for supporting its English teachers through the Research Mentorship Program, which has helped strengthen their research knowledge and skills. Appreciation is also given to the General English Programs team at Sovannaphumi School for their valuable support and coordination. In addition, special thanks go to Dr. Kimkong Heng, Editor-in-Chief of the Cambodian Education Forum, for his constructive feedback and editorial guidance on this article.

The author

Gershweyn Avron Matthews is a South African English teacher, musician, and experimental filmmaker. He was born in Cape Town, South Africa, and earned a Bachelor of Social Science from the University of Cape Town with majors in Analytical Philosophy and Religious Studies. He now works as an English language teacher in Cambodia after having taught English and music in South Africa and Nepal.

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