Students' whispering in class: A field study

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relation between am ount of whispering in class and the class's norm for whispering. Participan ts were 1,490 students from 33 classes in 3 senior high schools, 1 junior h igh school, and 1 business school. The students completed a questionnaire t hat asked about whispering-the classroom norm, their own position, and thei r perception of their teacher's expectations-in terms of a revised return p otential model. Of the 33 classes, 7 were characterized as noisy classrooms , and 8 as quiet ones, according to the judgment of the teachers in charge. The results indicated that : (a) norms for whispering in noisy classrooms were more generous than those in quiet classrooms; (b) norms for whispering were more generous than individuals' own positions, regardless of the amou nt of noise in the classroom; and (c) students' perceptions of their teache r's expectations regarding whispering in noisy classrooms and quiet ones we re not significantly different.