SWEE CHIEW GOH AND BARRY J. FRASER TEACHER INTERPERSONAL BEHAVIOUR, CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT AND STUDENT OUTCOMES IN PRIMARY MATHEMATICS IN SINGAPORE Received 27 August; accepted (in revised form) 16 January 1998 ABSTRACT. This study examined two aspects of classroom learning environment (in- terpersonal teacher behaviour and classroom climate) and their associations with affective and cognitive outcomes among primary mathematics students in Singapore. Also gender differences in students’ achievement, attitudes and perceptions of classroom environment were explored. A random sample of 1512 boys and girls from government primary schools was used. For the analysis of environment-outcome associations, simple, multiple and canonical correlation analyses and multilevel (hierarchical linear model) analyses were conducted using two units of analysis, namely, the individual student and the class mean. For the analysis of gender differences, multivariate analyses of variance for repeated mea- sures were performed for the two outcome measures and the classroom environment scales. The study led to the validation of two widely-applicable and convenient learning environ- ment questionnaires for future use by researchers and teachers at the primary school level. Overall the different methods of analysis yielded consistent associations between class- room environment and student outcomes. Gender differences were detected in mathematics achievement, in favour of boys, but girls generally viewed their classroom environments more favourably than boys did. KEY WORDS: classroom environment, mathematics education, primary education, stu- dent outcomes, teacher behaviour 1. I NTRODUCTION The concept of learning environment has taken root since the 1930s, es- pecially with the emergence of Murray’s needs-press model (1938) and Lewin’s social-psychological work (1936) which recognised that behav- iour is a function of the person and the environment. In 1960, a framework for the analysis of the classroom group as a unique social system was de- veloped by Getzels and Thelen (1960). Stern (1970) formulated a theory of person-environment congruence in which complementary combinations of personal needs and environmental press enhance student outcomes. Later, Doyle (1979) proposed that the classroom be viewed from an ecologi- cal viewpoint, hence placing strong emphasis on the inter-relationships and communications among all members in the classroom community. Learning Environments Research 1: 199–229, 1998. © 1998 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands.