Hassan Nanai Pedagogy for Positive Learning Environments 17531580

Assignment 1

Contents

Assignment 1.........................................................................................................................................1

Section 1............................................................................................................................................1

Section 2............................................................................................................................................2

Section 3............................................................................................................................................4

Section 4............................................................................................................................................5

Bibliography...........................................................................................................................................7

Section 1

The purpose of this report was to analyse findings from the interviewers, and using research

and literature in the field of adolescent development, provide an in-depth report on the causes of

student behaviour and the impact this will have on the teaching practice. Understanding student

behaviour, and the how the management of behaviour by the educators impacts the classroom are

two common themes that must be explored to further elaborate the problems facing educators. It

also gives us the insight into how we are to apply the teaching practice in a professional manner, and

analysing and evaluating the views of the interviewees provides insight into the perceptions that

people have on student misbehaviour.

Cothran, Kulinna and Garrahy (2009) article titled ‘Attributions for and Consequences of

Student Behaviour’ delved into the personal perceptions that teachers and students had with

regards to student misbehaviour in classrooms. It had found four main themes that were common

between teachers and students into the reason students misbehave; ‘nobody knows’; ‘it starts at

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home’; ‘look at me’, and ‘when it’s boring’ [CITATION Cot09 \p 160-161 \l 1033 ]. While they

mutually agreed on the consequences that misbehaviour has on time, content delivered and overall

attitude of a classroom, both parties had problems with the ownership of the misbehaviour. The

research suggests that students attributed misbehaviour towards something that was not in their

control, such as content. However, teachers attributed misbehaviour on the student’s upbringing

and family life and not their own teaching practice.

While there is a focus on both student’s and teacher’s perception of classroom behaviour in

this report, a review of the teacher’s emotional exhaustion plays also a crucial role in understanding

the teachers perceived notion for student misbehaviour. Tsouloupas, Carson, Mathews, Grawitch, &

Barber (2010) article had explored reasons why teachers felt this effect of ‘burnout’ which left

teachers unsatisfied, and less likely to commit to work. The study confirmed that teachers who

“constantly doubt their skills in establishing a controlled classroom environment can suffer

emotionally”[CITATION Tso10 \p 185 \l 1033 ]. This plays a interesting role in this report as it gives

insight into the outcomes that the misbehaviour can have on the teachers psyche, as well as provide

insight into how a students’ behaviour itself is affected by the teacher’s morale throughout the

classroom, and the teachers ability to teach the content effectively.

Another research article that goes into the reasons why there is misbehaviour in a classroom

is by Koutrouba named ‘Student Misbehaviour in Secondary Education: Greek teachers’ views and

attitudes’ (2013). It looked into the frequency and the forms of classroom misbehaviour, their beliefs

about the origins of student’s misbehaviour, and lastly the the feeling they themselves had when

faced with behavioural problems in the classroom. The research shows how the teachers attribute

the misbehaviour to the students alone, while say they were neither given specialized training on

classroom management. To explain why the teachers’ unwillingness to assume this responsibility we

must understand that in Greece the teachers’ performance is not formally assessed, in comparison

to the students [CITATION Kou13 \p 16 \l 1033 ]. So if there is no assessment of the teachers’

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management, and no specialized training, this can contribute significantly towards student

behaviour.

Section 2

For the purpose of privacy for the interviewees, each person will be identified by a letter.

Most of the interviewees (except for one who was interviewed outside) were interviewed in a closed

office setting, and were all handed an information sheet detailing the purpose of the interviews, and

how the information they provided were to be used in this report. After they had read the

information sheet, they then had the opportunity to participate in the interview by signing a consent

form to agree with the interview process, or choose not to. The question that was asked to every

interviewee was “Why do young people misbehave”?

Interviewee ‘A’ is a mother in her mid-thirties, and she has two children in high school and

one child in primary school, and had finished her higher school education overseas. When asked the

interview question she believed that the young would misbehave because “they don’t want to be

there”, and they would rather play than do work. Following up on this, the conversation veered into

the workload for the students, and she commented on overloading the students with information

from school work and homework causes this sort of resentment against school altogether.

Interviewee ‘B’ is a young pre-service teacher in her early twenties who had finished higher

education in 2015. When asked the question, she responded with “they don’t get things there way

they want”. She attributed this behaviour response by saying that the student could be spoiled at

home, and the demands of the student are not being met.

Interviewee ‘C’ is a young man in his mid-twenties who had finished high school in 2008. He

attributed student misbehaviour in classrooms as a way to show off, thinking that the misbehaving

act itself is ‘cool’, and that they want to be the center of attention. Following up this questioning he

provided that the reason why they don’t want to conform or follow order is so that “don’t want to

be seen as sheep”.

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Interviewee ‘D’ is a mother who also happens to be a teacher in her mid-fourties, with three

children who have completed their higher education, and she herself had finished higher education

in the eighties. She attributes student misbehaviour on trouble at home, and this is the reason that

students either act up in classrooms, or shy down because of this type of emotional abuse.

Interviewee ‘E’ is a mother in her mid-fifties who has three children who have finished

higher education, and she has not finished any formal education. She was the interviewee who was

not interviewed in an office setting, but as a formal conversation with note taking on a notepad. She

attributed student misbehaviour on parental problems, and how the parents are not focused on the

child’s studies or behaviour, and they mainly learn this type of misbehaviour from a social context.

Interviewee ‘F’ is man in his early twenties who had finished high school in 2012. He

attributes student misbehaviour towards respect to authority figures, or lack of. To support this

point, he mentions how misbehaving students would not act up during classes where they had

either feared or respected a teacher, but if they knew they can get away with it with another teacher

they would do it without the fear of repercussion.

Section 3

These interview findings, along with the research articles share many similarities and themes

that should be considered when studying student misbehaviour. The most common of these themes

that represents fifty percent of overall response of the interviewees was ‘trouble at home’. A

relevant factor to consider is that these interviewees happen to identify as women, and age across

different decades. Considering Cothran et al (2009) article on misbehaviour, a common response or

theme that occurred was the ‘it starts at home’, a belief that the students’ personal life at home had

the most effect overall on student misbehaviour. In view of this we see how the theme of ‘trouble at

home’ reoccurs throughout the survey, and we should place importance on this theme to further

understand the causes of misbehaviour in the classroom.

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Interviewee ‘A’ findings suggest that the reason she thought that the students misbehave

was from the lack of engagement, either in content or overall experience in the classroom. Research

suggests that providing relevent, engaging and stimulating curriculum, and providing quality content

and teaching will effectively maximize student engagement, and minimize behaviour issues

[CITATION Jon05 \p 360 \l 1033 ]. The interviewees’ age, as well as having children who are currently

going through school should be of consideration when considering the contextual factors in play.

The theme that was identified by the interviewee also relates to the article, as it stated that a

student misbehaves ‘when it’s boring’ [ CITATION Cot09 \l 1033 ].

Interviewee ‘C’ response that students’ misbehaviour is attributed towards being the centre

of attention, and that they want to be different is. These are the two factors that are to be

considered when dealing with children who show attention seeking behaviour. Rudolph Dreikus

‘Goal theory’ examines the nature of setting goals for students, so that they can achieve the goals

with encouragement and praise. One of these possible mistaken goals that was addressed by

Dreikus, and that this interviewee addressed was ‘Attention’ [CITATION Nob17 \p 218 \l 1033 ]. The

reading suggest that the teachers are annoyed by this, they act to this by reminding them not to act

up, and to pursuade with flattery so that the behaviour stops, however most of the time it’s

temporarily.

The last interviewee ‘F’ suggested that the problem starts when there is no respect towards

the teacher’s authority. Constantly doubting their own skills [ CITATION Tso10 \l 1033 ], as well as

not being provided enough training and support [ CITATION Tso10 \l 1033 ], both contribute

significantly towards the misbehavioural problems that arise in a classroom.

The findings also suggest some unique differences to be explored. The women interviewees

were more likely to attribute misbehaviour towards the personal home life of the student, and out

of the teachers’ hands. While the men credited misbehaviour towards factors that the teacher has

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control over, such as classroom management. More research into the impacts of home life on the

student misbehaviour must be identified, and addressed to further elaborate this point.

Section 4

The view that occurred commonly throughout the survey was the ‘trouble at home’ theme,

which the majority of interviewees attributed towards student misbehaviour. The teacher’s personal

awareness of student’s home living should be examined, so that they can understand to the extent

of how the student’s upbringing and homelife affect their school work. Adopting a William Glasser’s

Choice Theory approach, the basic needs of the individual has not been met, such as belonging. This

refers to the emotional needs of the student, and their need to share affection, experience social

acceptance and be loved [CITATION Nob17 \p 225 \l 1033 ]. If they do get this sort of attention at

home, they are more likely to engage in inappropriate behaviour in a classroom. Understanding this,

as teachers we should pay attention, and identify the needs of students so that we can alleviate their

well-being by making sure their needs are met. Improving the personal awareness of the students in

the classroom also improves on the teacher’s practice, as they can identify the needs of the students

when they arise.

For the students who misbehave because they lack engagement, we should explore the

needs of the student with relation to ‘Choice Theory’ again. This theory suggests that the only

behaviour a person has control over is their own [CITATION Jon05 \p 365 \l 1033 ], and the basic

need that is not being met is ‘Fun’. This need for happiness and enjoyment is not being met, and so

the student will most likely find opportunities to play, laugh or be entertained to meet this need

[CITATION Nob17 \p 225 \l 1033 ]. Having said this, teachers should be aware and alert of this need

as they can utilize it to improve student engagement and learning, and knowing this contributes

directly towards managing student misbehaviour in the classroom.

Attention seeking behaviour, which was identified by one of the participants of this survey,

affects the whole classroom setting and balance of power. Using Dreikurs ‘Democratic Discipline

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Model’ to identify the goals, and setting up the student to achieve these set of goals, we can work

out which of the mistaken goals the student has [CITATION Jon05 \p 366 \l 1033 ]. Because the

student seeks attention from the teacher or their peers, they appear to meet their goals in the short

term, however they long for acceptance and a sense of belonging which they crave in the longer

term [CITATION Nob17 \p 218 \l 1033 ]. If this goal is not met, the student can seriously fall into

more problematic behavioural problems, such as seeking power, revenge, and then escape. Its up to

the teacher to identify the goals of the students, break the cycle when it first appears, disclose the

goal to the students, assert the social reality of their actions, give choices, and lastly disclose the

consequences if they are to be achieved or not.

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Bibliography

Cothran, D. J., Kulinna, P. H., & Garrahy, D. A. (2009, April 01). Attributions for and consequences of

student misbehavior. Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, 14(2), 155-167.

Jong, T. D. (2005). A Framework of Principles and Best Practice for Managing Student Behaviour in

the Australian Education Context. School Psychology International, 26(3), 353-370.

Koutrouba, K. (2013). Student misbehaviour in secondary education: Greek teachers' views and

attitudes. Educational Review, 65(1), 1-19.

Nobile, J. D., Lyons, G., & Arthur-Kelly, M. (2017). Positive Learning Environments: Creating and

Maintaining Productive Classrooms. NSW, Australia: Cengage Learning Australia.

Tsouloupas, C. N., Carson, R. L., Mathews, R., Grawitch, M. J., & Barber, L. K. (2010). Exploring the

association between teachers’ perceived student misbehaviour and emotional exhaustion:

The importance of teacher efficacy beliefs and emotion regulation. Educational Psychology,

30(2), 173-189.

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