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Observing behaviour management techniques in education
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- Anglia Ruskin University (ARU)
Observing behaviour management techniques in education
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Behavioural management techniques1; Introduction
My intended focus is to look at the different types of behavioural
management techniques teacher’s use to reward good behaviour or
sanction bad behaviour. For my research I decided to compare a
mainstream primary school and special education school, using years 5
and 6 in both. As a non-participant observer I used a structured
observation combining a category system (Simpson and Tuson 2003) with
an event sampling schedule (See appendix). I was interested in
researching this topic as I volunteered in a special education school for a
year and found the behaviour management techniques to be very
different compared to when I did work experience in a mainstream
primary school, and I wanted to do my own research into the subject.
2; Discussion of focus area
The topic of how to manage student behaviour in educational settings has
been around as long as the schools themselves and is still one of the main
concerns of educators around the country. It is believed that more should
be done to create effective learning environments by using better
classroom behavioural management approaches (Westling, 2010)
however before being able to manage students behaviour in the
classroom a teacher must first understand the distinction between
‘managing’, ‘punishing’ and ‘controlling’ a pupil.
In chapter 1 of managing behaviour in the primary school, Docking (2007)
sets out a number of pre-determined ideas about behaviour management
and explains how educational terminology is changing to redefine basic
assumptions. For example the word ‘controlling’ bad behaviour was
commonly used but gave out harsh connotations of the teacher trying to
control the pupil. This is now referred to as ‘managing behaviour’ which
not only explains what the teacher is trying to achieve but gives the pupil
a chance to collaborate with the teacher in managing their own behaviour,
rather than just being punished. In this chapter Docking also identifies 5
sets of contrasting ideas that characterise the differences between
effective behaviour management and just disciplining the child.
The Department for Education (2013) states “The head teacher must set
out measures in the behaviour policy which aim to promote good
behaviour, self-discipline and respect; prevent bullying; ensure that pupils
complete assigned work; and which regulate the conduct of pupils.” Every
school must adhere to this as behaviour management is very important to
the education practice; it reinforces basic rules and limits that are
necessary, especially in the early childhood classroom. Children feel more
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, secure if they know what kind of behaviour is appropriate and acceptable
and what kind of behaviour is unacceptable (S. K. Adams & J. Baronberg,
2005). If there aren’t any rules or set out guidance for what to do when
rules are broken, a child will not learn that they must act appropriately in
different settings and may have trouble in later life in terms of being in a
stable job or adhering to the law.
It is widely believed that one of the most effective methods of managing
behaviour is through the application of positive reinforcement, enforced in
many schools throughout the country adapting early behaviourist studies
such as Skinner (1948), Thorndike (1905) and Pavlov (1897) to meet
educational needs (McLeod 2007). A basic principle of behaviourism used
in classroom settings the use of conditioning; when teaching a new
behaviour, it is best to reinforce every time the behaviour occurs. New
behaviours require immediate and continuous reinforcement to be learned
and maintained.
An early study into teacher’s reactions to different types of behaviour
(Wheldall, Houghton & Merret, 1987) found that in many schools, when
dealing with work, teacher’s use of positive reinforcements outweighed
the negative; for example good work was rewarded far more than poor
work being sanctioned. However when dealing with pupil conduct, bad
behaviour was punished far more than good behaviour rewarded. They
concluded that less able students who did not achieve as highly as others
gained little from their schooling experience and the only way to improve
this would be to introduce extrinsic reward systems. A study into the same
area over a decade later (Kinder et al 1999) found that many of the old
issues still remain; however there was clearly more emphasis on rewards
schemes than had been found in the previous study. A Key finding was
that 1/5 teachers did not feel there was enough emphasis on positive
reinforcement for good behaviour in their school, and that the
effectiveness of praise often had less currency with the older pupils (Hitz
& Driscoll 1988).
In regards to my observation, my topic requires me to focus on the
amount of rewards and sanctions each teacher uses in an everyday
classroom situation. I am interested to see whether there are any
differences in the behaviour management techniques used in both
settings as I believe due to the nature of the SE setting rewards are more
likely to be used whereas within the mainstream setting the effectiveness
of the praise may not be as helpful to the education practise, therefore
resulting in more sanctions.
3; Observational methods
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