Teachers and children’s experiences of behaviour management.

Introduction:

As per the current article by Weal in the e-newspaper the Gurdian(2022), 2 in 5 teachersare changing their occupation within their first five years of teaching; one of the various reasons is lack of support in managing challenging behaviourbehaviour in the classroom. This lack of support has raised concerns about the teachers’ well-being and children’s quality of education. Managing disruptive or challenging behaviourbehaviour has always caused anxiety and pressure amongst the teachers regardless of whether they are newly qualified or experienced teachers. In a recent situation COVID-19, have impacted children’s social, emotional and mental health significantly around the globe. In their report, Morris and Fisher (2022) have highlighted in their report that the pandemic has led to an unprecedented level of demand for mental health care in children and young people: in 2021, at least 1 in 6 children in England had probable mental health disorder. This essay explores the teacher’s and children’sexperiences of enacting behaviour management policies and procedures in a mainstream primary classroom, followed by examining the available support from local authorities and government to support children and Teachers in providing enabling and diverse environment.

To beginstart with, it is essential to comprehend the meaning of the keywords that used in this essay:

• Challenging Behaviourbehaviour: The term challenging behaviour is used to describe a range of behaviours thatwhich can put the person displaying the behaviourbehaviour or those around them at risk. This can be a risk of physical harm or risk of exclusion from various aspects of life such as schools, work, and relationshipsrelationship. The behaviourIt is the behaviour that challenges parentsparent, carers, and teachers because it is of such intensity and is usually not seen as socially acceptable. (Emerson, 2011).

Behaviour management: behaviour management is a method of behavioural modification thatwhich focuses on maintaining order. The process focuses on shaping and maintaining positive behaviourbehaviour while discouraging the negative behaviours. Teachers follow this process to maintain enabling environment of learning in a diverse and inclusive classroom by setting up the rules,and straightforwardclearroutinesroutine and displaying rewards for positive behaviourbehaviour and consequences for negative Behaviour behaviour(Chater, 2007).

•  

Teachers’ perception of the behaviourBehaviourof managementthe management:

Managing children’s behaviourbehaviour in the classroom requires skills of understanding child’s individual needsneed, respecting childrenchild for who they are and having knowledge of theoretical perspectives to plan strategies to have a diverse and inclusive classroom. Since 1998, managingbehaviourbehaviourhas beenisvitalkey learning for a teacher training programme; , however tillhowever, tilltodaytoday, many newly qualified teachersteacher’sfeelfeels that they are not well trained and fully equipped to manage challenging or disruptive behaviourbehaviour in the classroom along with many other responsibilities (Atici,2007). Disruptive behaviourbehaviour such as sufficiently off the task and distracting teachers/ peers during learning time is a growing concern in the UK classroom. Recent research conducted by Longobardi (2021), reported that education policy in the UK is dominated to have ‘performativity’; the, the focus is more on the academic outcome. In, in this culture,the student-teacherstudent-teachers relationship has been impacted due to disruptive behaviourbehaviour in the classroom, which leadsled teachers to label childrenchild and hashave unequal approach toward that child. For instance, children who demonstrateare demonstratingthe prosocial behaviourbehaviour tend to have a positive approach tofor involvement in learning and other classroom activity from the teacher. Children and children who haveis having disruptive behaviourbehaviour might will havebe havinga pre-judge strategyapproach from the teacher and have limited access toofparticipationinvolvement in educationlearning and other classroom activity.

Children’s experience of behaviour management.

To discuss the children’s behaviour management experienceexperience of behaviour management, it is crucial to acceptexcept that especially in primary school, every behaviour communicatesis communication of children’s well-being and individual needs, especially in primary schoolneed. As professional educatorseducator, it is our ethical duty to identify and cater for that need. Challenging or disruptive children’s behaviourbehaviour of children is linked to the social environment, notto the medical necessityneed of the child. This behaviour indicates the anger, sadness, inability to communicate clearly and maybemay be lack of attention and attachment in their life. After the primary career, teachers are the first available safe base for children, in where they seek acknowledgement and support to develop holistically. Despite the educational settings increasingly expected to allow the opportunity for children’s views to be heard toin order to shape and influence educational provision, there is still appears to be lacking. During the current research, when children’s voice has been heard about catering to children’s mental health and well-being needs, children have been told that there is a high level of pressure isin expected behaviour but a deficientvery low level of support available to give an understanding of how to demonstrate the good behaviour. The presence of antagonisticnegative relationship with teachersteacher led children to have fewerless friends in the playground and be victimsa victim of easily targeted for punishment and exclusion from the playground.

In many cases, children have an address that the children from good children have bullied themthey have been bullied by the children from good children; however, however, they were facing punishment due to judgmental and stereotyped beliefsbelieves by the teacherTeacher or TA(teaching assistant). ToTo be able to able to learn, children need to develop the feelings of being heard, being valuedimportant, self-worth and self-belonging.belonging. Teachers’ negative approachesNegative approach by teacherpossibly have led children to rebel and misbehavehave rebelling and misbehaviour in the classroom. It has been proven in research by Ostermanosterman (2000) that children who have a sense of belonging at their schools, tend to have better academic bad social outcomesoutcome. For children with complexdifficult social, emotional and mental health, itishealth is challengingdifficult to demonstrate the socially appropriateappropriated behaviour that   possiblybehaviour may be possibly due to their ongoingon-going problems from home, such as abusive parents, grieving,and lack of emotional attachment; they require constant support from the knowledgeable adult to shape their social skills.  A pupil’sPupils voice refers to people’sthe views, perceptionsperception, and perspectives of people (Cefai and coper, 2010).

Educational theories behind the behaviour management:

UnderstandingA process of understanding the child’s behaviour in the classroom requiresrequireathe positive relationship between teachers and children and between a child and peers. Children’s, for children’s teachers are the safe base in where they intend to feel secure andas well to have answers for their spoken and spoken problems. Generally, the child-teacher relationship is often theorisedoften theorisesregardingin term of their closeness and conflict. Teacher, teacher and child closeness isif defined as the degree of positive interaction, open communication and warm feelings between children and teacher. Teacher-childTeacher -child conflict is defined as the degree of negative interaction and negative affect between them. Thisthis relationship contributeshas crucial contribution to a child’s academic and social development. Childrenchildren with positive relationshipsrelationship demonstrate the better cognitive skills such as problem-solvingproblem solving and adaptive new learning. However,, howeverathe poor relationship with children can explaindemonstratethe challenging or disruptive behaviour. Thethe quality of the relationship between child and teacher relies on the amount of emotional support, instructional support, and scaffolding that that childchildreceivesreceive from the teacher. The characteristics of teachersteacher in building a positive relationship areis teachers’ years of practice, their communication skillsskills, and emotional stats (Choi,2015).  According to Bowlby’s attachment theorytheory of attachment, emotional security within an adult-child relationship is associated with children’s peer relationshipsrelationship. Therefore, a child withwho has a secure attachment with an adult,tendstend to demonstrate social components with peers by showing empathy and adjustment in play or learning environment. Child-teacherchild-teacher relationship is multidimensionalmultidimension (Howes et al., 1994). 

Teacher’s role in managing behaviour in the classroom.

To be able to manage the behaviour, Iit is essential to understand the root of behaviour to manage behaviour. There arearefive5 basic modelsmodelforin understanding a child’s behaviour; biological, behavioural, cognitive, systematicsystematic, and psychodynamic.;Hhowever, each child is unique, so when planning strategies forto managing behaviour, each child requiresrequireda personalised approach. The most common  common issue in failing to manage the behaviour is a poor organisation of planning and teaching (Parsonson, 2012). Bronke(2021) suggested the 3C’sfor the well-organisedwell manged classroom; the First, first one is Connection, the second one is ConsistencyConsistency, and the third one is Compassion. Connection involves athe positive relationship not only with a child but also with surroundingssurrounding, including parents, headteachershead teachers, Teaching assistaTAnT, other teachers, and local supportcouncillor. Like, like Bronfenbrenner’s ecological circle express, a child is at the centre,  and immediate and extended environment work in a team to cater child’s needs. Consistency is vitalkey when managingmanging behaviour. In, in many cases,Consistencyconsistenceis linkedis link to consequences, but teachers also need to be consistentconsistinginofrecognisingrecognise and encouraging every little positive behaviour. WhenCompassion, when children are at their worse level of social and emotional understanding,understandas teaching and coaching the child can bring the best out the worst; be positive when a coaching child, work positively towards role modelling children to understand the impact of their actions.

RulesAs a common strategy in UK classroom, rules, sanctions, and reward systems aresystem isusedcommon strategies in the UK classroom. The needneed  forof formal regulationsrules in school ensuresensure safety, co-operative behaviour, the safekeepingsafe keeping of the school values, minimum and clear rules are the best. It, it avoids the confuessionconfusion amongamongst the children to understand. ManageTo manage positive whole-schoolwhole school approach is a very effective tool, that brings equality isin expected and enacted behaviour amongst the children and staff regardless of their gender, economiceconomical and cultural differences. The Elton report on discipline in school mentioned the positive attitude towards rules. Senior management team members from the school such as headteacher or deputy headteacher should be leading example of behaviour rules. Elton’sElton report in 1989 was the start point of havinghavea behaviour policy in the school setting to check the long-term effect. (Merrett and Jones,2006). Senior management team members from the school, such as the headteacher or deputy headteacher, should be leading examples of behaviour rules.

Current thinking in behaviour management in school favours the use of a hierarchical frameworkframe workframework of clearly defineddefine targets, rewardsrewards, and sanctionssanction for specific expected behaviour from everyone. In Elton’sElton report in 1989, vitalimportanceof group management skills are considered to be effective staretegiestrategies. Thesesstrategies, these skills enable teachers to establish a good and positive relationship with pupils; consequently,as coinsequnceconsequence of not havingeg classroom management skills may perceive the clasrromclassroom as potentially hostile, and create a negative atmosphere at the schoolin classroom by frequently critisciingcriticisingcriticising and seldom praising their pupils. Children in the schoolin classroomshowshows positive trust in their teachersteacher, regardless of whatever is going on in their life.(Nash et al., 2016).

In the majority ofcases,

bBehaviour problems are not linked to inherent deficit to the student, but it is a social construct. Planning behaviour mangemnetmanagementmanagementstartegiesstrategiesstrategies for disabledfor disable and special need children, relatedlink to the social model of disabilities, as per this model focus on changing the surrounding rather than a child, and using positive enforcement to encourage good behaviour.

In many cases, when children are demonstrating aggressive and violantviolentviolent behaviour, the focus is on labelling a child rather than identifying the social and emotional needsneed of the child. The percentage of children are being segregatedsegregate or excluded from primarymainsettingssetting due toteachers’teacher’s lack of ability to identify the social and emotional individual needs neesneeds is very high. A positivePossitivePositive approach from teachers toward the challenging behaviour of  by Sen and disableddisable children providesprovide confidence,and is inclusive and engaged in the learning classroom. The teacher’sTeacher’sobeserationobservationobservation and the statement areisbasedbaseonof children’s getting labelslabel that they willare going to live with. Teachers must understand, sthat it is very important that teacher developthe understanding of children’s backgroundsbackground anda child as an individual. This, this could help teachers to plan the strategies to cater to children’s individual needsneed. Using negative termsnegative term such as bully, challenging, and defiant could discourage a child fromtotryingtryin attempting to demonstrate good behaviour. (Orsati and Theoharis, 2012).

Reflectionreflection on ideal pupils, a concept introduced by Becker (1952),proposesproposing that teachers’techers perception and treatment of studentsstudentareis supposedly based upon a pre-existing view of how studentsstudent should respond to their teaching.

Teachers

How teachers can manage behaviour in the primary classroom to promote diverse and inclusive behaviour.

There is nonot a any specific way of managing behaviour, as each child is individual, and their needs are uniqueindividual as well. Article 12 and 23 of the Uunited Nnations (UN) convection (1989) of the right of children assert that children have the right to express their views on matters affecting them and should be involvedbe involve in decision making; every child, including those who havehasa disability and specialspecialneed of education, has right to participate in the daily school routine. The schoolSchoolhas tohas duty to provide reasonable adjustmentsadjustment to overcomecome across the barriers from the social model of disability.

A pupil’s voice refers to people’s views, perceptions, and perspectives (Cefai and coper, 2010). This means that when teachers are decidingmaking decision ofon the expected learning environment, children’s voicesvoice should be involved in this decision of rulemaking procedure (Davis,2004). Being clear about rules and involving children in making rules for the classroom, will allow children to develop the feelings lling’s of being valued and being heard; on on the other side, theon the other side teacher will receive opportunities to build a positive relationship.

Problem behaviour has been associated with poor impulse control, motivationmotivation, and concertation; the inability to cooperate and anticipate consequences. The definitionDefinition of a good child or the typical child’s developmentdevelopment of normal child is shaped by social and institutional discourses that profoundly affect the child will become (Hargreaves,2017).

To manage the behaviour in the classroom, a positive discipline approach to motivate and modify behaviour. schools provide range of advice to staff about their system of reward and penalties. Intrinsic and extrinsic aspect of reward and penalties. Studentsstudentsat the schoolin classroom are encouragedmotivated to achieve by praise and formative feedback from their teachers. Their and their behaviour iswas managed by establishingthe establish of a positive relationship between the teacher and individual students, good lesson planning and management of the class, and group and individual work. Schools provide a range of advice to staff about their system of rewards and penalties—the intrinsic and extrinsic aspects of compensation and punishments. Rewards and punishments are associated with different types of events by students and teachers: reward is perceived by both to be linked mainly totoo good work or effort signal the teacher’s recognition or approval. Teachers often do not use penaltiesPenalties are not usedoften by teachers to signal disapproval, pooror poor work, or lack of effort. (Shreeve et al., 2002).

Transition can play a very crucial role in children’s behaviour, transition such as moving into differentindifferent year groups, family changesgroup, changes in family, or maybemay be changes in communality like COVID.

Children’s early transition experienceexperience of transitionwhich has critical factors in their future success in school and life-long learning.  Brooker (2008) addressesaddress transition as a period of vulnerability for many children. This suggested that teachersteacher need to learn more about the specific factors that influence young children during the episodes of transition within their early years of education. The data collected in research has found that rules and rewardsreward had a particularly profound impact on the childrenchildren’s during this critical schooling periodperiod of their schooling. The number of factors that affect children’s transition but can be formed intoin main two groups: shifts in pedagogy approaches and relationshipsrelationship. (Charlotteand levy, 2020). Relationships are significantmajor challenges to young children’s successful transition. A goodGood relationship between a child and teacher and between child and their peers isare the base of how children’s perception of school experience is formed.

Behaviour models models ‘use of principles of reinforcement and punishment to reduce maladaptive or inappropriate behaviours and increase adaptive behaviour. A psychological theory of theory of skinner is most relevant here. As per this theory, behaviour that is followed by pleasant consequences is likely to be repeated, and behaviour followed by unpleasant effectsconsequences is less likely to be repeated (Omomia, 2014).

Available support to build and enact effective behaviour management strategies and policies in school environments.

The term behaviour, emotional and social difficulties (BESD)has been used in educational policy and practice in various forms, including social, emotional, and behavioural difficulties (SEBD) as well as emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBD). The most recent term used is social, emotional and mental health, as referred to in the current SEND code of practice (DfE, DoH, 2015), although this is not intended as a direct replacement. The concept of BESD has had to evolve overtime in accordance with changing viewsview of BESD has had to evolve over time in accordance with changing societal and political contractions of CYP who display changing behaviour; BSED to SEMH reflected the challenging view of BESD as part of a mental health continuum. (Frederickson and Cline, 2002).Teachers often perceive pupils identified with SEMH needsPupils identified with SEMH needs are often perceived by teachers as being problematic,; children where something has gone wrong. The labelling then often leads to a process of blaming where the pupils areis perceived as being at fault for non-confirming to the ‘ideal pupils’ (Laws and Davis 2000).

 It was suggested by Lundy (2007) that toin order to ensure that child participation maintainsmaintain momentum, children’s role in decision making needs to be translated into a legally binding human right; however, the UK still appear to have insufficient in implementing the requirements of the UNCRC into UK law for children with disabilities.As result, they identified that they were viewed and treated as ‘outcasts’ who could not conform to the convection expected from those BESD.  Pupils shared that the teachers “brought it on themselvesthemselves’ (referring to negative behavioural responses) due totoo not attending to their learning needs when repeatedly seeking their help. As a result, they identified that they were viewed and treated as ‘outcasts’ who could not conform to the convection expected from that BESD.

McCoy and Banks (2012) reported that pupils with SEMH needs are more likely to report a lower sense of belonging than pupils with other SEN needs. Enhancing a sense of belonging forof pupils with SEMH difficulties may be vitalkey in improving their outcomes. Closely associated with feelings of belongingness is the feeling of being listened to; the absence of this was heavily emphasised in studies reviewed by Cefai and Cooper (2010) and, as reported by Jalali and Morgan (2018), was associated with feelings of inadequacy regardless of provision.Educational practice is frequently under review leading to policy change. However,, however these changes are often based on adults’ interpretations of children’s experiences rather than seeking to includeinclude children’svoices the voices of children themselves. (Medina, 2000)