The Challenges of Managing Behaviour Effectively - Essay Example

THE CHALLENGES OF MANAGING BEHAVIOUR EFFECTIVELY By Location This paper discusses the challenges of managing behaviour effectively to ensure a healthy and safe learning environment. The paper will make references to High School students in the English education system. The paper finds that some of the challenges that teachers and other education stakeholders face include peer influence, parenting style, media influence, lack of skills and training, cultural differences and inconsistent classroom rules. To have a good background on the topic of behaviour management, the paper will also discuss behaviour management mistakes and ways to manage students’ behaviour in the classroom. Introduction Managing student behaviour in a classroom is a major issue for high school teachers in the UK. Effective classroom management skills are vital issues in the teaching and learning environment. Teachers who can manage students’ behaviour help students to perform better than teachers who may not do the same (Nolan et al. 2013). All teachers have a role to play to ensure that there is a positive classroom environment for learning. Managing the behaviour of students effectively require knowing what to do at a particular time, when to and how to do it to bring desired results. Teachers must understand the mechanisms that will lead to positive impacts on the behaviour of students (Senturk 2006). Although some teachers may do this instinctively without training, others will require extensive training to master these skills. Such teachers communicate high expectations, are calm in challenging situations, and motivate even the unruly students. On the other hand, administrators need to ensure that teachers know the mechanisms of managing behaviour in schools to direct students in the right way. The following are some of the responsibilities of teachers in the management of students’ behaviour (Shin & Koh 2007): Inculcate positive behaviour and give feedback to students all the times Monitor and underpin correct student behaviour Work with other stakeholders such as social workers, other teachers, and principal in supporting a positive school environment Support behavioural support program for students who have special education needs Uphold a record of students’ positive behaviour Record students’ cases of misconduct Inform social workers and principal about the misconduct of some students Students’ behaviour may range from those that are somewhat normal to those that are problematic. Some of the negative behaviours among students may involve failing to follow school rules and talking back to teachers and fellow students. Some of the more serious negative behaviours involve aggression, physical violence and getting involved in risky actions that include the use of alcohol or banned substances. Just like positive behaviours, some negative behaviours may depend on the expectations of teachers and may vary from teacher to teacher (Tauber 2007). Behaviour management mistakes There are many mistakes that teachers make when it comes to instilling order in their classrooms. It is estimated that approximately 25% of teachers who resign name poor pupil behaviour as their primary reason for resigning (Klassen & Chiu 2011). However, there are some major principles of managing behaviour that can assist teachers manage behaviour in classrooms. The way teachers manage behaviour depends on the attitudes and beliefs they have as they started teaching. The following are some of the mistakes that teachers make: Attempting to control a class It is impossible to control the behaviour of other people except yours. Highly effective teachers have a habit of influencing and managing the behaviour of students. If teachers decide that by all means they will control a class, they will discover that interactions in class will be hostile and become demanding as the teacher would want to punish students. The other challenge may arise when teachers try to be ‘best friends’ to students, which leads to some students feeling excluded by the class (Klassen & Chiu 2011). Taking poor behaviour personally Students’ behaviour is always purposeful because it attempts to gain something (peer approval) or try not to lose something (saving face when friends are around). Teachers can avoid taking poor behaviour personally by doing the following (Marzano et al. 2010): They should model the behaviour they want rather than react to the behaviour they see in students. They should look for solutions in professional ways as part of the challenge of their work They should manage their emotions and be optimistic that there will be a way forward They should keep things in perspective by remembering the things they do well and avoid things that went bad Criticizing a student rather than the behaviour To create effective relationships, it is imperative to distinguish the behaviour of students from the student himself/herself. For instance, if a teacher asks: “Why are you so spiteful? The student may feel personally attacked. When teachers criticize the behaviour, it becomes a more effective strategy since it gives students a chance to learn and change their behaviour (Walker 2009). The right way for the teacher to say would be, ‘Calling Mary names is not a good behaviour.’ Failing to give students a second chance It is imperative to give students a second chance to start afresh when they behave in a wrong way. When a teacher fails to give students an opportunity to change, it limits their relationship with the teacher and affects their self-esteem and it is unlikely that there would be any positive change. When a student engages in something wrong, the teacher should show him/her the right way to go instead of rebuking and punishing the student without any advice (Beckles 2009). Making Threats If a teacher makes threats or personal derogatory remarks, it only causes a hostile relationship, affected self-esteem, and the behaviour may even be worse. In many circumstances, threats have a threatening and bullying tone and are said in an emotional manner (Weinstein et al. 2003). For instance, if a teacher says: ‘Martin if I hear you talk once more time, that is your playtime gone!’The sentence appears to be a threat and a challenge at the same time. But if he says ‘Martin if keep on interrupting you will be choosing to lose three minutes of your playtime, it makes the request and subsequent action just and understandable. Inconsistent approach An inconsistent approach may come in the form of warnings but not following up on the warnings and letting a student off. Students are supposed to know where they stand and that teachers are consistent and care enough to say no and mean know, and follow up when it is needed. If teachers fail to follow the warnings that they had given earlier, the students may not take them very serious as they may think that they do not stand by their words (Weinstein et al. 2003). The challenges of managing behaviour of students There are several challenges that High School teachers in the UK experience in their attempt to control the behaviour of students to ensure a good and safe learning environment. Although some of these challenges may be overcome, some of them may be difficult to overcome because of many reasons. The following are some of these challenges: Parenting style Some parents use punitive and forceful measures to impose proper behaviour in their children (Fisher 2009). Such measures create anger, bitterness, and deceit and may create a bad relationship between a child and parents. Children of authoritarian parents may appear anxious and insecure and may react in a hostile manner if frustrated. Children of such parents may find it difficult to internalize unacceptable behaviours and will model the inflexible thinking of their parents. If a teacher tries to use a friendly manner to correct a student, the student may not believe that the teacher is serious since the student has been used to punitive methods of corrections (Piko & Balázs 2012). Parents who are non-punitive and accepting of children bring up children who have no independence and egocentric because they do not know how their actions may affect other people. Teachers may find it hard to manage the behaviour of such children because they are not used to be told that doing some things are wrong while others are right (Elias & Noordin 2009). Children of these parents are impulsive and may not take responsibility easily. Both permissiveness and indifference have injurious effects on the behaviour of these children. It is imperative for parents to show their children what is right and what is wrong at any given time. Teachers will have an easier time to manage the behaviours of students if parents would play their responsibilities well and inform their children on what to engage in and what to avoid. Peer influence Peer pressure is one of the main challenges that face management of students’ behaviour. Negative peer influence affects the behaviour and attitude of students making it hard to manage their behaviour. Students may feel that it is a sign of independence to defy and ignore the opinion and values of teachers and parents/guardians. Students may become hostile thus affecting their relationship with teachers and other people that are in close contact with them. Negative peer influence encourages some students to ignore school as they believe that it will not help them. The affected student will avoid classes or misbehave when in class. One of the most direct effects of negative peer pressure is separation from teachers and other students because such pressures are antagonistic to the values that teachers and family promotes (Mercken et al. 2012). The challenge that faces teachers concerns how to make students avoid bad companies that will corrupt their morals. Many students have faith in their peers than they have in their teachers thus making it a big challenge to manage their behaviours. A teacher can not choose friends for students hence very hard to convince them to avoid certain company when they feel that they are okay when in those companies. Students who are not influenced by their peers can easily change their ways and accept to follow what teachers are showing them (Bond 2008). Media influence The influence of media on students has been growing stronger each day. This has caused the producers and advertisers to design new ways of catching the attention of people through various media such as TVs, newspapers, movies, and commercials (Duhaney 2005). The speed that news uses to travel around the globe has now increased due to advancement in technology. It has become very challenging for teachers to manage the behaviour of students because as teachers do their part, the media has been causing damage on the other side. When students watch action films, they tend to imitate the movie hero by getting involved in violent acts. These children may think that these acts are acceptable because the hero of the movie was successful in the end. Some cartoon programs show violence and deceitful acts. Children may copy these characters by believing that getting involved in violence and deceiving others is a way of confronting their problems (Sullivan et al. 2014). The media influence affects how children will perceive what is acceptable and what is not acceptable, for example, smoking. When role models are shown smoking, it appears to children as acceptable behaviour. Some of the people have even imitated rape after seeing rape being done on some victims in movies. School going children may not distinguish between fantasy and reality, and what has been acted and what is real. Students in most cases get caught up in the world of what they have been watching and these scenes may get stuck in their minds. When these scenes get embedded in the mind of students, it becomes very challenging to change their behaviours. Efforts made by teachers to change the behaviours of such students may go to waste since no one of them would want to hear a contrary opinion (Duhaney 2005). Lack of skills and training to manage behaviour Managing the behaviour of students require skills. Although these skills are inborn, there are some teachers who may not possess such skills and need to be shown how to deal with students when they deviate from acceptable standards. Some teachers may become frustrated when they realize that their efforts to manage the behaviour of students appear fruitless (Dreikurs et al. 2004). However, it may need some patience on the part of the teachers if they need to see results manifest in the behaviour of students. The management of schools needs to ensure that teachers are given training on how to handle children who may misbehave. Continuous training and guiding teachers on how to treat misbehaving students will play a critical role in helping them instill discipline in students. Teachers on training need better training in how they can manage the behaviour of students and ensure that there is order in classrooms. Some trainee teachers may fear that they may not have the ability to manage students’ behaviour and that is the reason many teachers leave the profession (Charlton & David 2013). Although the UK boast of some training providers, in most cases trainees are not taught the skills they require in maintaining discipline in classrooms. There is a need to spread best practice since without good behaviour; students may not learn in any way. There are many cases that in the UK where trainee teachers receive just one lecture on managing the behaviour of students. This should not be the case since the behaviour of students management should be treated with the seriousness it deserves. There is a need for additional practical training for trainees to arm them with skills such as knowing how to change their tone of voice when dealing with students. Teachers need also to be taught how to use posture to have an authoritative presence in classrooms. Cultural Differences/Diversity Culture refers to the way people live in the community or home surroundings. It is imperative for teachers to know the culture and communities of students (Pianta et al. 2012). Behavioural problems emanate when a teacher fails to understand that students’ behaviour reflect their culture. Teachers need to anticipate some of the cultural differences that are likely to occur when they are in the classroom. The culture of students shapes their desires and identity, causes them make decisions that may not be normal as the teacher may imagine. A teacher may find it challenging to change the behaviour of a student if he/she has already been conditioned to do something. In such a circumstance, the teacher will be compelled first to understand the background of the student to manage his/her behaviour (Pianta et al. 2012). Teachers must develop strategies that will provide all students with an equal opportunity of learning. Some of these strategies will involve establishing expectations of how students should behave, develop caring classrooms, and use proper interventions. A student from another country who studies in a UK high school may compel a teacher to use a different approach when managing his/her behaviour. It is imperative to approach the student from the level of his/her background rather than using force to want a student to change. How to manage students’ behaviour in the classroom The use of closed requests When a teacher prefaces requests with Thank you, it has a distinct effect on how students will receive the request. For example, "Thank you for handing in your work in time" may elicit joy on the side of a student. The trust that this statement implies, together with the clarity of the expectation, results in an instant action without objection from a student. The statement is almost a closed request that leaves no place to argue with (Rubie‐Davies et al. 2012). The same technique can be used to request students to make deadlines or go to meetings that they could ignore. The following sentence may be appropriate "When you want to hand in your homework next Tuesday, come to my office" than "I want your homework in on Tuesday." In this circumstance, a teacher would be encouraging a positive response and the student may not respond in a negative way (Rubie‐Davies et al. 2012). Countdown One of the best techniques to get the attention of the entire class is the use of a countdown from 5 to give students time to conclude what they are doing before they listen to the next instruction. A teacher needs to explain to his/her students that he/she is using a countdown to give them fair warning to listen; that is more polite than calling for instant silence. A teacher needs to decorate their countdown with clear instructions so that students can know what is expected of them and be ready to modify it with other groups (Wang et al. 2012). A section of students may join the teacher in the countdown while others may not be able to persevere. A teacher will also need to use praise and rewards to emphasize the importance of countdown. It can be a very efficient tool for during the time that one needs the attention of every person. A teacher may already have a method for getting the attention of students, for example lifting hands up. The countdown method can be very effective since it is time-related and may not rely on students seeing the teacher. Getting out and about One of the greatest ways of managing behaviour around the school compound is the presence of teachers. Activities such as having coffee on the playground and taking lunch with students will go a long way to helping them behave in a responsible manner. When a teacher is ever present in the corridor outside the classroom, students will see the consistency of the teacher in seeing that students behave in the right way (Roache 2011). The students will get used to the intervention of the teacher in social areas and the teachers presence will have a great impact on the behaviour of students. The relationships that a teacher forges will be reinforced because opportunities for less formal conversation will be presenting themselves each day. Roles for male and female students When students are at the secondary level of education, mutual trust is promoted through the sharing and delegating of roles in class. An organized teacher will motivate students to clean the classroom, prepare areas for various activities, and ensure that they finish promptly (Rubie‐Davies et al. 2012). These students will learn how to share responsibility and also accept responsibility for themselves. The tasks and responsibilities that teachers make students share may appear ordinary and inconsequential but they help students to be responsible people. When teachers show students how to be responsible people, there will be no room for misbehaving on the part of students. Developing relationships with students A high school teacher needs to choose opportunities that he/she can use to build relationships with students in the right way. Teachers need to open up an informal conversation when students appear relaxed and unguarded (Wong & Wong 2009). A teacher can either try to ask for help or advice, give the student something they are interested or just say hi so as to attract the attention of students. When teachers develop a good relationship with their students, the students will be ready to open up to them and freely tell them what they feel about a certain situation. Many behaviours of students can be rectified when teachers decide to identify with students. A teacher should not be seen as an enemy of a student, but a friend who wants the student to succeed by following the right way. Avoid waiting around for students to change To pass a message to students, the message needs to be simple, plain and non-negotiable. Although a teacher may be tempted to get involved in a lengthy argument or an argument, it is important to talk to a student and move out quickly. It is critical to avoid waiting around for students to change their behaviour right away because they may require time and space to make better choices (Duhaney 2005). No student or any other person will enjoy receiving sanctions. The longer the interaction is, the more the chances of defensive reactions. Teachers just need to get in, deliver their message efficiently without the need to linger around. Monitoring students to know how they behave may not lead to the desired results. It is better to show a student how to conduct themselves and leave them follow what you have told them to do. Teachers as role models It is critical for teachers to be good role models for their students. Students tend to emulate people who are older than them, hence the need for teachers to show decorum at all times (Wong & Wong 2009). It is impossible for teachers to do one thing and expect their students to do another thing. Teachers are supposed to show students the right way to go by showing in their character. If a teacher tells students not to be late to go to school, he/she should not be the one seen going to school when they are late. Teachers can help students change the behaviour by preaching to them through their actions. The actions that teachers engage are always emulated by students because they have authority. A person in authority easily influences those that are under him/her. Make good behaviour visible When a teacher deals with students, it may be easy to forget that there are some students who have good manners and just concentrate on those that are misbehaving. These obedient students need to be praised for their dedication because they can play a critical role in improving the behaviour of other students in the classroom (Guericio 2010). It is imperative for teachers to appreciate students who model good behaviours more than those that exhibit bad behaviours. Teachers need to celebrate students who show excellence in terms of behaviour so that they can feel encouraged and be a good example for other students. Confident leadership Students need to see leadership in teachers, and if leadership lacks, then they will feel that there is an existence of the void. The tone and the body language of teachers matter because it shows who they are from the inside. Great teachers have the ability to weave their way around classrooms and diffuse any misbehaviour before they come to light (Skaalvik & Skaalvik 2007). If students see that a teacher mean what he/she says, then they will develop a sense of respect and avoid any misbehaving. Confidence serves to display to students that the teacher is in authority and will require respect. A teacher who cannot express himself in the right way will find it hard to direct students on the way they should go. When students fail to find leadership in their teachers, they will look for other places to find that leadership. Inconsistent classroom rules Different teachers come into contact with students. Every teacher may be having his/her way of managing students leading to confusions. One teacher may prefer one way of managing students while another teacher may be interested in other ways. This comes about because training that teachers receive may be different due to their different learning institutions. The country lacks a standard way of teaching trainee teachers on how to handle students. Hence, a difference will be expected when managing students (Skaalvik & Skaalvik 2007). To solve these problems, the management of schools needs to come up with ways to help in the management of behaviour of students. The management of High School needs to come up with common rules that will guide the behaviour of students in their classrooms to have order. When every teacher develops his/her way of dealing with the behaviour of students, it becomes a big challenge to manage the behaviour of students (Sugai & Homer 2006). One teacher may be correcting the behaviour of a student using a certain strategy only for another teacher to introduce another strategy at some point. This can only lead to confusion and will not help students correct their lifestyle and embrace behaviour that is acceptable by all people. Conclusion Managing behaviour of students effectively to ensure a good and safe learning environment require the collective efforts of parents, teachers and other stakeholders such as the management of schools. When managing behaviour of students, teachers face various challenges that include peer influence, parenting style, media influence, lack of skills and training, cultural differences and inconsistent classroom rules. Despite these challenges, teachers can overcome them by getting training and taking opportunity to understand students and their backgrounds. References Beckles, J 2009, Six behaviour management mistakes. Available from: https://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=6000095#response [August 11, 2015] Bond, N 2008, Questioning strategies that minimize behaviour problems. Education Digest: Essential Readings Condensed for Quick Review, 73(6), pp 41-45. Retrieved from: http://www.eddigest.com/html/contentsmain.html. 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