Introduction
Behaviour issues currently pose a big issue in education – with low level class room disruption (such as “talking and chatting” between students and taking too long to settle into the lesson) alone accounting for on average 1 hour of learning lost each day and 38 learning days lost per year (Ofsted 2014). This negatively impacts the learning and progress of pupils (Ofsted, 2014).
Promoting good progress and pupil learning is a key aspect of TS2 (Teaching Standard 2).
Additionally, behaviour issues in the class room can pose as a safe guarding issues – endangering the students and the teacher (Edlounge, 2015). Part of TS7 (Teaching Standard 7) is to create a safe learning environment. (Department of Education, 2011)
Therefore, managing behaviour issues effectively inside secondary classrooms (TS7) ensures both the: long-term learning and progress (TS2) and well-being of our pupils (Safeguarding, Part 2 of Teaching Standard) (Ofsted 2014; Behaviour and Discipline in schools 2016; Parsonson 2012; Practical Approaches to Behaviour Management in the Classroom 2012; Education Support 2010) – and therefore, plays an important role in teaching.
In order to achieve this, I will look at critically and analyse: what behaviour issues are; their causes; the impact of different factors and strategies on student behaviour (school policy, consistency of how the school policy is applied, school culture, class room specific behaviour management strategies, and local community); and the long-term and short-term behaviour management strategies and techniques I can implement in my class room – to avoid, manage and deal with behaviour issues efficaciously.
Facts will be backed up with relevant theories, teaching standards, and my own relevant classroom experience and observations from volunteering, working, and school based placement as a teacher assistant (one year and a half), supply teacher (6 months), and trainee teacher at school X and school Y (4 months) over the past 2 years 4 months respectively.
Defining Behaviour Issues
Behaviour issues are usually manifested as low level and high-level disruptive behaviour in the classroom that can impede the learning, progress and potentially the safety and wellbeing of students in the classroom (Ofsted 2014; Sue Cowley 2003; Education Support 2010; Parsonson 2012) – including the student causing the disruptive behaviour.
Low level and high-level disruptive behaviour include:
| Low Level Disruptive Behaviour | High Level Disruptive Behaviour |
| Playing with rulers or pens while the teacher is talking | Students challenging the teacher’s authority
|
| Talking unnecessarily or chatting | Students refusing to obey classroom rules
|
| Calling out without permission | Swearing and frequent verbal abuse
|
| Being slow to start work or follow instructions
|
Aggressive behaviour |
| Showing a lack of respect for each other and staff. | |
| Not bringing the right equipment | |
| Using mobile devices inappropriately |
(Ofsted 2014; Education Support 2010)
However, low- and high-level disruptive behaviours are not the only type of behaviour issue, but they are the most noticeable (Education.Vic.Gov.Au, 2019). There are four main types of behaviour issues:
| Types of Behaviour Issue |
| Disruptive behaviour (low level and high-level disruption) |
| Withdrawn behaviours such as shyness, rocking, staring, anxiety, school phobia, truancy, social isolation or hand flapping (Education.Vic.Gov.Au, 2019) |
| Violent and unsafe behaviours (Education.Vic.Gov.Au, 2019)
|
| Inappropriate social behaviours (Education.Vic.Gov.Au, 2019) |
All the different behaviour issues have different and common causes and require certain strategies in order to be dealt with effectively. Certain behaviour issues like disruptive behaviour can be dealt with by the teacher inside the classroom.
Causes of Misbehaviour
According to Highfield, Behaviour problems are often not a cause, but a secondary effect (Highspeed Training, 2018). Here is a table with the causes of behaviour issues and their definitions:
| Causes of Misbehaviour | Definition & Examples |
| Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) | This includes: bullying, domestic violence, parental abandonment through separation or divorce, having a parent with mental health condition, being victim of abuse (physical, emotional or sexual), member of household being in prison, growing up in a household in where the parents or careers are have alcoholism and drug use problems (Health Scotland, 2019).
As a result, children will adopt challenging behaviour as an outlet, simply because they cannot cope with these issues at home (Highspeed Training, 2018)
|
| Home environment | A poor home environment with frequent arguing for may feel lead children to think that aggressive behaviours such as shouting, and hostility is the norm. (Highspeed Training, 2018) This links to ACE. Poor home environment also includes child neglect and ignoring the child and their needs. |
| Basic and emotional needs not fulfilled in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs (A Theory of Human Motivation, 1943) |
This includes lack of basic physiological and safety needs such as sleep; hunger; sickness; and no home in Maslow’s hierarchy.
Additionally, factors such as parental neglect (links to home environment) and lack of friendship – where emotional needs are not being met (the love and belonging section of Maslow’s hierarchy).
Maslow’s theory of motivation states that individuals cannot reach the self-actualization stage (personal growth and reaching one’s full potential) if the basic physiological and emotional needs are not met.
In other words, if basic or emotional needs are not fulfilled, students cannot focus on learning. Learning is part of the self-actualization stage (Simply Psychology, 2020) |
| Change | Students experiencing changes in time periods can lead to change in behaviour– as the student cannot cope with the change and this manifests as behaviour issues. (Highspeed Training, 2018)
Examples include: moving into different areas or schools, the death of a relative, parental divorce, etc…(Highspeed Training, 2018) |
| Lack of routine | Lack of routine, often from their home environment, can create challenging behaviour.
For example, late bedtimes and not enough sleep, insufficient support, and no behavioural boundaries at home. (Highspeed Training, 2018) |
| Learned behaviour | The behaviour is a learnt behaviour pattern where the student learnt from previous experiences and as a result believes that acting out in certain ways will help them get what they want (Highspeed Training, 2018) |
| Attention seeking behaviour | Students may seek validation from getting attention, often caused by neglect in home environment (Highspeed Training, 2018). |
| Peer Pressure | This links to emotional needs in Maslow’s hierarchy – as students will give in to peer pressure to feel like they belong. |
| Behaviour and Learning Difficulties | This includes: ADHD, autism, and other learning difficulties that can make it more difficult for students to handle and express their feelings effectively. (Highspeed Training, 2018) |
| Boredom | Students can misbehave if they feel bored with the work or in the classroom. Moreover, an unrecognised talent may also result in the behaviour, as students struggle to stay on track with something they already know how to do. (Highspeed Training, 2018) |
| Lack of Challenge or Too Much Challenge | If work is too easy, students disengage and become bored with the work. Additionally, if work is too challenging, students may give up, disengage from the work and start to misbehave. |
| Lack of Classroom Rules and Behaviour Expectations | If students don’t know what is expected of them, they will try to push the boundaries with their behaviour and see what the teacher will tolerate (Source, Year). This often happens when students get a new teacher. |
| Lack of Consequences | As with expectations, if there are no consequences if the behaviour expectations are met (such as sanctions) – students will continue to do the negative behaviour. The consequences should bare part of the school’s behaviour policy. |
Some of the above causes are outside of a teacher’s control in the class room (such as ACE, home environment, change, basic physical and emotional needs not being fulfilled).
Additionally, ACE and home environment issues not only have an effect on the student’s behaviour, but can put the student’s safety and wellbeing at risk, and requires the teacher to make the school’s safe guarding lead aware of the issue immediately (Keeping Children Safe in Education, 2019). Interventions will be made outside the class room from the school’s safe guarding lead and possibly other services such as social care if necessary (Keeping Children Safe in Education, 2019).
In safeguarding, a child centred approach must be taken to ensure the well-being and safety of the student (Working Together to Safeguard Children, 2018)
However, factors such as boredom, lack of challenge or too much challenge are within a teacher’s direct control in the classroom.
The teacher can engage distracted pupils and set different work that is more appropriate to the student’s current working level. Additionally, the teacher plans the work and chooses the level of difficulty for the work – so they have control of this factor both inside and outside the classroom, and can plan work to account for different levels of difficulty and ability in the classroom. This is part of TS4 (Teaching Standard 4) – that focuses on effective lesson planning and teaching well-structured lessons.
The teacher can also adapt the work for future lesson’s so it is more tailored towards the class’s current ability based on learning and understanding in previous lessons. This is part of TS5 (Teaching Standard 5) – which focuses on adapting teaching to respond to the strengths and needs of all pupils.
Other factors like learning difficulties and needs can also be addressed, with the help of a LSA (Learning Support Assistant) inside the classroom, and additional intervention outside the classroom from Learning Support.
The teacher can also adapt the work and resources so it is more accessible for students with learning difficulties such as dyslexia.
The teacher can access the SEN information report of all students, and can see what their SEN needs are (SEND Code of Practice 2015; British Dyslexia Association 2020)
In my placement school X, students with dyslexia had to have work printed with larger text and on yellow paper – so I created resources like this for my SEND students.
Additionally, students with learning needs and disabilities can be positioned at the front of the classroom so it is easier for them to see the board, hear the teacher, focus and get help from the teacher.
I found in my placement school X positioning students with learning difficulties at the front of the class in my seating plan allowed me to help them and offer them more support.
Additionally, the LSA in both my placement schools gave me feedback on the learning and understanding of the students with learning difficulties – which allowed me to better plan my resources and lessons to cater their needs (part of TS5)
However, the only way for the teacher to know what the possible cause of a student’s misbehaviour is by either talking to the student, using SIMS (School Information Management System) to check their SEND profile and behaviour profile, and talking with the student’s other teachers and parents.
Strategies To Avoid Behaviour Issues
I will focus on factors and strategies that are school wide (such as school policy and culture, how the teacher can use them effectively to manage behaviour), as well as factors within a teacher’s control in the classroom.
1.School Rules and behaviour policy
The school behaviour policy plays a big positive impact on student behaviour school wide and student progress (Bennet, 2017). An effective behaviour policy can improve both behaviour and student attainment (Bennet, 2017).
The Policy, when followed and applied consistently by all teachers throughout a school, while all students are reminded and made aware of it – is effective at managing behaviour. (Ofsted 2014, Bennet 2017, Skipp and Hopwood 2017).
In fact, inconsistency between teachers applying the school behaviour policy (some teachers are using it, while others are not) – is an issue in many schools that can worsen student behaviour (Ofsted, 2014). The hard work done by one teacher enforcing the school behaviour policy and using effective behaviour management can easily be under mined by all the other teachers who do not follow and enforce the school’s behaviour policy (Ofsted 2014).
However, this issue is outside a teacher’s control, and is an issue that can be resolved by senior leadership in the school, who can ensure all teachers are consistent with implementing the school’s behaviour policy. (Ofsted, 2014)
The surveyed teachers in the 2014 Ofsted study said that they felt the senior leaders needed to ensure all teachers were consistent with implementing the school’s behaviour policy. (Ofsted, 2014)
Furthermore, the behaviour policy can prevent confrontation and conflict between students and teachers. (Bennet 2017; Behaviour and discipline in schools 2016; Parsonson 2012)
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