The impact of humor on teachers’ classroom management practice: scoping review of qualitative and quantitative evidence

Background Humor is widely recognized as a classroom resource, yet its role in teachers’ management practices remains underexplored.Purpose This scoping review synthesizes existing research to clarify the role of humor in classroom management and proposes a four-domain framework that integrates teacher purposes, modalities of use, student outcomes, and contextual moderators.Methods Following the Joanna Briggs Institute framework and PRISMA-ScR guidelines, searches were conducted in Scopus, Web of Science, and ERIC in January 2024. Eleven empirical studies in English or Scandinavian languages were included, and thematic analysis was used to identify cross-study patterns.Results Four categories emerged: (1) Functions, showing humor is primarily used for socio-emotional regulation, with limited attention to cognitive aims; (2) Modalities, a repertoire dominated by affiliative and self-enhancing humor, with negative forms rarely examined; (3) Outcomes, strongly skewed toward positive effects such as motivation and belonging, while negative outcomes remain anecdotal; and (4) Contextual and Teacher Factors, underscoring humor’s contingent nature and barriers created by limited training and institutional support.Conclusions The framework integrates fragmented findings, highlights humor’s dual potential as a resource and a risk, and exposes biases toward positive humor. Future research could test this model through cross-cultural, longitudinal, and intervention studies, while teacher education should address humor as a professional competence rather than an incidental trait.