Class management through non-verbal communication: Possible courses of action for teachers in primary school classes

This paper examines teachers' non-verbal communication and its significance for successful classroom management. Non-verbal signals are used, amongst other things, in everyday school life to support or replace verbal language, to convey emotions and to reveal attitudes. Extensive literature review and discussions with experts in the field of non-verbal communication led to the development of non-verbal strategies and approaches that contribute to successful classroom management. These were applied during a two-week teaching placement in a primary school class, where they were observed and individually assessed by the class teacher and two fellow students. The evaluation of the observations showed that non-verbal strategies enable successful classroom management when they are used consistently and the teacher is aware of their own behaviour.