Cycles of behaviour
Good behaviour and order in classrooms and schools are the products of a great many factors and influences. When they break down though, there tends to be an almost instinctive, but oversimplified, response to 'sort out the troublemakers'. This can even occur at a national level. For instance, in March 1988 a Committee of Enquiry, chaired by Lord Elton, was set up in the United Kingdom following a media outcry over reports of teachers being physically attacked by pupils and about 'indiscipline in schools'. Wisely, however, the Elton Committee took a balanced and wide-ranging view of the issues involved and this is reflected in their report.
- DES/WO (1989) Discipline in Schools: Report of the Committee of Enquiry Chaired by Lord Elton, London: HMSO.
For work which has derived directly from the Elton Report, see:
- Wheldall, K. (1991) Discipline in Schools: Psychological Perspectives on the Elton Report, London: Routledge.
A school’s behaviour policy provides the ‘official guidelines’ which exemplify recommended approaches to situations relating to behaviour and control, e.g. movement of pupils around the school, what constitutes appropriate behaviour in a range of settings etc. In reality however, the uncertainty of classroom life and the uniqueness of teachers and children, means that the negotiation of classroom and school rules in essentially personal and individual. For helpful and practical approaches to improving whole school and classroom behaviour based on a comprehensive range of research and years of experience of working in schools, see:
- Riley, K. A. and Rustique-Forrester, E. (2003) Working with Disaffected Students: Why Students Lose Interest and What We Can Do About It, London: Sage.
This accessible book is, as the title suggests, about pupil disaffection. It tackles some of the issues which confront policy makers and practitioners in many countries and contexts. It stresses the importance of early interagency co-operation and of good quality ongoing training for teachers and other adults working with children.
A constructive programme of activities for whole-school development is provided by:
- Maines, B. (1991) Challenging Behaviour in the Primary School: A School Development Programme, Bristol: Redland Centre for Professional Development, University of the West of England.
This freely available article is about an approach to classroom management based upon person centred psychology. The metaphor of turning pupils from ‘tourists’ to ‘citizens’ is used to sum up the changes in pupils’ attitudes and approaches to their schools and behaviour that can be aimed for. The notion of pupils being tourists in their schools describes a need for change to support classroom management:
- Freiberg J. (2012) From Tourists to Citizens. Better Evidence Based Education Journal. (5) 1 11-12
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