Elizabeth Baxter

17220141
1910 words

Assessing why students misbehave in school

Understanding student behaviour is an integral factor of good quality teaching

and classroom management. The way in which a teacher handles student behaviour
should directly link to the underlying reasons of why the student is misbehaving. A
study by (Minter, 2011) outlines how disruptive behaviour creates teacher-student
conflicts where more time is spent trying to control the class than instruction and
learning. Many individuals share different perceptions as to why students misbehave
which could be a result of personal experience, practical experience and/or
theoretical studies. This report will focus on gathering the attitudes and beliefs of six
people from different age groups, genders, occupations, social and cultural
backgrounds. It will compare and contrast the main themes from these responses
against current literature as well as delve into which behaviour management
strategies are best to address these topics.


Current Literature

Barbetta, Norona & Bicard (2005) conducted a research article titled ‘Classroom
Management Behaviour: A Dozen Common Mistakes and What to Do Instead”. This
article outlines ways in which you can define and understand student misbehaviour
as well as investigates deeper into correct management strategies and attitudes to
have when students do misbehave. This research article has outlined twelve
common mistakes made in dealing with student behaviour within the classroom
which are summarised in the table below:

DON’T DO’S

Mistake #1 Define behaviour by how it Define Misbehavior By Its

looks Function

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 Mistake #2 Ask, “Why did you do that?”
Mistake #3 When an Approach Isn’t
Working, Try Harder
Mistake #4 Violating the Principles of
Good Classroom Rules
Mistake #5 Treating All Misbehaviors as
“Won’t Dos”
Assess the Behavior Directly to
Determine its Function
Try Another Way
Follow the Guidelines for
Classroom Rules
Treat Some Behaviors as Can’ t
Dos

Mistake #6 Lack of Planning for Transition Appropriately Plan for

Time Transition Time
Mistake #7 Ignoring All or Nothing at All only ignore the behaviors
motivated for our attention
Mistake #8 Overuse and Misuse of Time Follow the Principles of
Out Effective Time Out
Mistake #9 Inconsistent Expectations and Have Clear Expectations That
Consequences Are Enforced and Reinforced
Consistently

Mistake #10 Viewing Ourselves as the Only Include Students, Parents, and
Classroom Manager Others in Management Efforts
Mistake #11 Missing the Link Between Use Academic Instruction as a
Instruction Behavior Management Tool
and Behavior
Mistake #12 Taking Student Behavior Too Take Student Misbehavior
Personally Professionally, Not Personally

From this article, we can conclude two main reasons for student misbehaviour as; (a)
for students to get something such as attention or gain possession of something or
(b) students are trying to to avoid something like schoolwork, teacher requests etc.



Examining on an international scale is research conducted by Crawshaw (2015) in
his article ‘Secondary school teachers’ perceptions of student misbehaviour: A
review of international research, 1983 to 2013’. This literature comprises studies
from various countries including Australia, Greece, Malta, Jordan, United States of
America and United Kingdom. It outlines that teachers commonly categorise
misbehaviours as either ‘serious’ or ‘high frequency’. Serious student misbehaviour
included stealing or vandalism whereas high frequency misbehaviours comprised of
students talking out of turn or similar. In regards to why students misbehave at
school, the only theory that was suggested in this paper was that students who
misbehaved were a result of the transition from primary to secondary school. It was

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suggested that going from one teacher with consistent management strategies to
high school with multiple teachers and varied strategies were the cause.

Demanet, J., & Van Houtte, M. (2012) released two papers in 2012, both proposing
theories about the questions why students misbehave in school. The first was that
student’s feelings of bonging with the teacher, peers and school, or the lack of, were
related to school misconduct. The second article hypothesised towards the teacher’s
attitudes and effort having an affect on students behaviour. Results support this, that
in schools where the teachers expectations were low and lacking support, students
self reported higher levels of misconduct at school.



Interview Process

In preparation for the interviews, an information sheet and consent form was
distributed to each interviewee containing details about the interview topic,
confidentiality, data collection and their rights to withdraw. If the interviewees agree
to comply, they are required to sign off so that the interview can commence.
Interviews were conducted in a one on one setting, structured more like an open
conversation rather than question and answer. Occasional notes were taken where
needed to assist generate the report but no recording devices were used. In line with
confidentiality, interviewees names are kept anonymous and referred to as
interviewee A, B, C, D, E or F. Interviewees were chosen as they fit the report
criteria, below is a brief description about each interviewee:

Interviewee A is a 55 year old mother of three, part time cafe worker

Interviewee B is a 25 year old female chiropractor

Interviewee C is a 33 year old male pre-service teacher

Interviewee D is a 36 year old female teacher of 6 years

Interviewee E is a 42 year old male teacher of 15 years

Interviewee F is a 20 year old male fully qualified electrician

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Interview Findings 

From responses gathered from the interviews, a number of common themes
emerged. These included teachers’ perceptions of students, problems at home,
learning difficulties, peer influences, mental disorders such as attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Teachers perceptions of students as a common theme leading to student

misbehaviour includes factors such as the teacher not caring about students, the
teacher not liking students or the teacher underestimated student capabilities.
Interviewee B commented that “when a teacher made me feel like I couldn't do the
work, then I wouldn't even bother trying”. This ties in to Demanet, J., & Van Houtte,
M. (2012) findings where lack of support and the setting of low standards for
students negatively affected student behaviour. Interviewee F expressed that “I had
a teacher at school who I really didn’t get along with. No matter what they or I did or
said, we would just clash.” This interviewee also mentioned that this also linked to
peer influences and trying to get attention, which was one of the main points in
Barbetta, Norona & Bicard study.

Four of our interviewees brought up problems at home as a main cause of student

misbehaviour in school. Interviewee B stated that “students may take their
frustrations from home out at school”. While interviewee D commented that “students
may not have respect or understanding of school rules due to family problems”,
which was a personal problem for this interview at school. Both interviewees C and E
both went into depth about problems at home. They addressed issues such as
students being exposed to trauma at home, either verbal abuse and/or domestic
violence. Interviewee E commented that “emotional and home instability are
definitely linked. This could be a result of family splitting, family death or loss, single
or absent parenting or domestic violence”. When exposed to this as a norm, students
may struggle regulating their emotions and act out. They may not be able to process
emotions properly, causing them to snap, rebel or show aggression. Trouble in the
home environment causes a lack of structure for the student and coming into a
school environment with strict rules an regulations may also cause this rebellion.
Interviewee E supports this idea by commenting that “students may struggle

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adjusting to structure at school as at home they can do whatever they want”. A study
by Sheldon & Epstein (2002) suggested that particular parenting styles, parental
monitoring, levels of conflict within the home and disciplinary approaches are all
factors which could link to student behaviour.

Peer influences relates to seeking attention from other students to possibly gain
approval or impress them. Three of our interviewees mentioned this as a common
theme, with interviewee F recollecting this on a personal level at school where they
used to ’egg on’ friends to do something for a laugh, or the other way round.
Interviewee B shared that this attention seeking could be as a result of bullying and
trying to show off to look funny. Interviewee A also responded with “trying to be cool
or in the popular group.”

Four of our interviewees mentioned attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

(ADHD) as a possible reason for students cognitive functioning and development.
ADHD is a brain disorder interfering with a student’s behaviour or learning
development The (National Institute of Mental Health, 2016). Interviewee D
suggested that “in some cases, students may be misbehaving as a result of not
being diagnosed and/or receiving the correct treatment for any type of psychological
disorder”.

It is insightful to compare and contrast the opinions of six different people in regards
to their perceptions of student misbehaviour in school. Exploring current literature
allows for a deeper evaluation on this topic and allows us to highlight how these link
to interview responses.



From interview responses and current literature, it can be concluded that being
proactive and preventing behaviours before they happen is the most successful
method of behaviour management as well as focussing on teaching appropriate
behaviours rather than eliminating negative ones. As well as this, management
systems should be flexible and adaptable enough to meet the changing needs of the
classroom. Collaboration of students, teachers and parents is needed to effectively
address student behaviour management.

Students act out for many reasons and as a future teacher it is vital to have

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awareness and a deep understanding of possible factors influencing this
misbehaviour. Having this deeper awareness and understanding allows teachers to
gain experience and address a wider range of student needs. As supported by
research, it would be wrong to assume that all students are attention seeking so it
is the role of a teacher to delve deeper and ensure there is no underlying problems
hat need addresing. Creating a safe and supportive learning environment makes a
great difference to the education and schooling experience of a student, especially
if they are feeling isolated and/or alone at school and home. It is integral as future
teachers to evaluate all factors when addressing students behaviours and not just
take each action with a grain of salt.

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References

Barbetta, P., Norona, K., & Bicard, D. (2005). Classroom Behavior Management: A
Dozen Common Mistakes and What to Do Instead. Preventing School Failure:
Alternative Education For Children And Youth, 49(3), 11-19. http://dx.doi.org/
10.3200/psfl.49.3.11-19

Crawshaw, M. (2015). Secondary school teachers’ perceptions of student

misbehaviour: A review of international research, 1983 to 2013. Australian Journal Of
Education, 59(3), 293-311. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0004944115607539

Demanet, J., & Van Houtte, M. (2012). School Belonging and School Misconduct:
The Differing Role of Teacher and Peer Attachment. Journal Of Youth And
Adolescence, 41(4), 499-514. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10964-011-9674-2

Demanet, J., & Van Houtte, M. (2012). Teachers' attitudes and students' opposition.
School misconduct as a reaction to teachers' diminished effort and affect. Teaching
And Teacher Education, 28(6), 860-869. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2012.03.008

Minter, M. (2011). Learner-Centered (LCI) Vs. Teacher-Centered (TCI) Instruction: A

Classroom Management Perspective. American Journal Of Business Education
(AJBE), 4(5), 55. http://dx.doi.org/10.19030/ajbe.v4i5.4225

NIMH » Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. (2016). The National Institute of

Mental Health. Retrieved 1 April 2017, from https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/
topics/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-adhd/index.shtml

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