There has been little research on the relationships between children's personal values and the behaviors that express such values in the school context. Hence, the promotion of prosocial values of children in school could be a mean to encourage a positive school climate, an effective learning environment and especially an approach to reduce negative and disruptive behaviours in class, which has always been one of the predominant challenges to effective teaching-learning processes (Turhan & Akgül, 2017). Previous research indicates the association between disruptive behavior and individual demographics such as gender and ethnicity (Kellam et al., 1998; Pas et al., 2010; Pas et al., 2011). Furthermore, it has been shown that process characteristics (e.g., the quality of relationships within a classroom) are more important than structural characteristics (e.g., percentage of girls in class) to explain behavior problems (Schönbächler et al., 2011). In the present study, we examined for the first time with children at this young age, the relations between values and their value-related behaviors, i.e., supportive, disciplined, learning-oriented and achievement-oriented, in the primary school context. The sample consisted of 952 primary school children (51.5 % boys; Mage: 7.93, SD=.35). Data used in this study were collected in 2022 in Switzerland. A multilevel analysis confirmed the hypothesis that systematic relationships between values and teacher-rated behaviors can be demonstrated with young children. However, gender was the strongest predictor of teacher-rated children’s classroom behaviors. The results highlight the significance of understanding children’s value-behavior relations, teachers’ possible gender stereotypes of children’s behaviors and its practical importance in the school context. Overall, this study strengthens the idea that focusing on value theory, understanding, development and education might be a way out to reduce disruptive behavior and to create a positive school climate to foster children’s learning.

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