Methods Used by Elementary Teachers in Managing Misbehavior in the Classroom Essay

Introduction In today’s society, teachers at all grade levels face a growing number of students whose behavior challenges the success of daily classroom instruction. Managing misbehavior in the classroom remains one of the persistent difficulties of teaching. Whether it is in the elementary or secondary and tertiary education, the management of the pupil’s conduct remains to be a vital part of the daily equation of effective teaching. A large part of everything students do in school is geared toward forming good habits and discipline falls right in line with this. Discipline is concerned with the development of internal behavior that enables the students to manage themselves. Every school is required by our government to maintain discipline and to issue disciplinary rules for strict compliance. They are designed to develop among students the highest standard of decency, morality and good behavior. If there’s no discipline early, there’ll likely be no discipline as an a dult, which affects job performance, family relations, among other aspects of a student’s life. The aim of discipline is to set limits restricting certain behaviors or attitudes that are seen as harmful or going against school policies, educational norms, school traditions, among others. Concrete, reasonable and fair discipline is the foundation of an effective and efficient institution. Fortunately, teachers usually are able to rely on these disciplinary rules and standard strategies for addressing classroom misbehavior, either independently or with the support of colleagues, and they are able to find a successful solution to the problem however these tactics may still fail to produce the desired outcome because of the varying degrees of differences in the attitude of teachers and students and other societal factors. While there have been gains in terms of school’s responses and significant programs and policies have already been made to lessen the occurrence of misbehaving, and improve the behavior of the students, such efforts have not been enough to cater to this rap idly growing number of cases. On the other hand, while these set of strategies are in place, enforcement remains weak. Challenges still remain in terms of translating these rules into concrete and doable actions that will address the underlying cause that bring about misbehavior in schools. It is therefore imperative to develop a stronger and comprehensive platform on treating this phenomenon that includes a wide  array of possible intervening factors, existing opportunities and limitations. Teachers must be able to work within school guidelines, connect with the students and communicate these difficulties with parents for effective teaching best takes place in a classroom with few disruptions for misbehavior. Moreover, the government, the school, the parents, and the children themselves should share responsibilities. This paper is therefore addressed to concerned professionals, agencies, and the public school administrators and teachers who are presently working hard in alignment towards eliminating the negative effects of misbehavior from public schools such as Catbalogan I Central Elementary Sch ool to other public and private institutions in the whole country. Statement of the Problem Nowadays, Filipino teachers face the spread of behavioral problems that threaten the educational system in most schools. These problems have direct influence on the learning process and the overall teaching/learning experience. Thus, more and more models of strategies are utilized by schools to combat the increasing problems. To deliberately rank the most effective means to overcome misbehavior on a more basic and intrinsic spectrum as vital and basic as public elementary schools, the study will explain and analyze the different strategies that have facilitated Catbalogan 1 Elementary School teachers in dealing with the misbehavior of Grade 5 and 6 students and how effective have they been in managing misbehavior in the classroom during the school year 2013-2014. Research Questions: 1. What are the general theories explaining the occurrence of misbehavior among children in general? * Why do students misbehave? * What are the indicators of misbehavior? * When and how could we assess if the student is already misbehaving? * Compare respondent’s approach to classroom management with Dreikurs’s approach and determine which of Dreikurs’s approaches were incorporated into the respondents’ approach. How do they incorporate them? * 2. What basic proper standards of behavior does the teacher implement in addition to the existing school behavior policies and programs in dealing with students misbehavior? 3. Which of these disciplinary methods, techniques and strategies is the most effective in the reduction and prevention of misbehavior of students in class? Thesis Statement The research intends to study the administration of discipline towards misbehavior cases in Grade 5 and 6 classes of Catbalogan 1 Central Elementary School. The study affirms that the management of existing policies and strategies used by the teachers in dealing with the problem of misbehavior still face greater challenge that it remains inadequate in the implementation because these rules and their consequences are not equally and consistently enforced. A comprehensive school behavior policy program is indispensable in meeting the needs of each school in curbing down misbehavior towards effective teaching and also in providing a positive learning experience for children. Hypotheses 1. The strategies that will be utilized greatly depend on the ability of the teachers to provide a comprehensive set of the proper standards of behavior or a behavior policy in the class. 2. Societal factors have a significant effect in properly addressing the issues of misbehavior in the classroom. 3. Teachers’ lack of awareness of the rules which requires their functions to discipline, safeguard and promote the welfare of the children has a negative effect on the behavior of the students. Student’s behavior on the other hand is directly affected by the teachers’ attitude towards them. Theoretical framework Effective teachers know that in order to truly help a student to change an inappropriate behavior, they have to get to the root causes and consider the core of the problem. When there is misbehavior, we have to stress out several external consequences of several interdependent conditions. Therefore, in order for us to identify, plan, and implement and compare the most effective strategies of intervention, it is necessary to define it in  the context of its different causes and structural features. The researcher through the examination of theories available in the literature will use the Social Discipline Model by the social psychologist, Rudolf Dreikurs. Dr. Rudolf Dreikurs, renowned educator, developed these four behavioral goals in the 1930s. He was a student and colleague of Alfred Adler, who believed that â€Å"all behavior has a purpose.† Dreikurs has written many articles and books on student behavior and much of his work can be purchased on the internet. His theories on behavior have had an enormous impact on the raising of children and classroom management models. His model is based on the four basic premises of Adler’s social theory which are: 1. Humans are social beings and their basic motivation is to belong 2. All behavior has a purpose 3. Humans are decision-making organisms 4. Humans only perceive reality and this perception may be mistaken or biased Dreikurs’ educational philosophy is â€Å"based on the philosophy of democracy, with its implied principle of human equality, and on the socio-teleological approach of the psychology of Alfred Adler. In this frame of reference, man is recognized as a social being, his actions as purposive and directed toward a goal, his personality as a unique and indivisible entity†. (Dreikurs,1968). A socio-teleological approach implies the existence of God, a higher purpose, and a natural order of things. Dreikurs believed it was possible to understand children’s misbehaviors by recognizing the four main purposes or goals of the child. The four goals of misbehavior are attention getting, the contest for power, seeking revenge, and displaying inadequacy. Dreikurs promoted the use of encouragement and logical (and natural) consequences rather than reward and punishment. Essentially, every action of the child is grounded in the idea that he is seeking his place in the group. A well-adjusted child will conform to the requirements of the group by making valuable contributions. A child who misbehaves, on the other hand, will defy the needs of the group situation in order to maintain social status. Whichever of the aforementioned goals he chooses to employ, the child believes that this is the only way he can function within the group dynamic successfully. Dreikurs states that â€Å"his goal may occasionally vary with the circumstances: he may act to attract attention at one moment, and assert his power or seek revenge at another† (Dreikurs, 1968, p.27). Regardless if the child is well-adjusted or is misbehaving, his main purpose will be social acceptance. The following are techniques that can be used to address the four goals of misbehavior Attention Getting Some students strive to be the center of attention. They do almost anything to be noticed from being argumentative to being funny. There is a lack of concern about following accepted procedure to gain recognition. Teachers and classmates find behavior by this student annoying and at times rude and unacceptable. The attention seekers may be disciplined for: disrespect, teasing, disturbing the class, being uncooperative, swearing, talking, being out of his seat, and making fun of others. Dreikurs said most students start misbehaving by seeking attention, and when this fails, they move on to more problematic goal-seeking behaviors, such as power. This is why it is important to find a thoughtful intervention in the first phase of misbehavior: attention seeking. (http://www.metu.edu.tr) Dreikurs believed that over 90% of all misbehavior is for attention. Technique towards attention Getting Behavior: 1. Minimize the Attention – Ignore the behavior, stand close by, write a note 2. Legitimize the Behavior – Create a lesson out of the behavior, have the class join in the behaviors 3. Do the Unexpected – Turn out the lights, play a musical instrument, talk to the wall 4. Distract the Student – Ask a question or a favor, change the activity 5. Recognize Appropriate Behavior – Thanks students, give a written note of congratulations 6. Move the Student – Ask the student to sit at another seat, send the student to a â€Å"thinking chair† Seeking Power and Control Wanting to be in charge or in control provides the motivation for some student misbehavior. Students with this agenda simply want their way. They don’t hesitate to take a stand on matters important to them and are often disruptive and confrontational in reaching their goal. The teacher may feel provoked, threatened or challenged by this student. The following reasons may be the basis for a referral to the office for a student who struggles for power: disobeying, disrespect, not cooperating, talking back and  disturbing the class. Often power-seeking students don’t act out until they’re assured of an audience. And from the teacher’s perspective, this is probably the worst possible time. 1. Make a Graceful Exit – Acknowledge student’s power, remove audience, table matter for later discussion, 2. Use a Time-Out 3. Apply the Consequence Seeking Revenge Lashing out or getting even is how some students compensate for real or imagined hurt feelings. The target of the revenge may be the teacher, other students, or both. Revenge may come in the form of a physical and/or psychological attack. Bullies often use revenge as their excuse for shoving or pushing, teasing, causing embarrassment and excluding others. Displaying Inadequacy Wanting to avoid repeated failure, some students appear to be discouraged and helpless. They falsely believe that they can’t live up to expectations, either their own or those of others. To compensate for this belief, they don’t attempt anything that might result in failure. They hope that others will forget about them and not hold them responsible for anything. These students may be disciplined for: not paying attention, not being prepared, being dishonest and wasting time. This phenomenon, decribed as â€Å"learned helplessness† by psychologists, is characteristic of students who fail needlessly because they do not invest their best efforts. 1. Modify Instructional Methods 2. Use Concrete Learning Materials and Computer-Enhanced Instruction 3. Teach One Step at a Time (or break instruction into smaller parts) 4. Provide Tutoring 5. Teach Positive Self-Talk and Speech 6. Teach that Mistakes are Okay 7. Build Student’s Confidence 8. Focus on Past Successes 9. Make Learning Tangible 10. Recognize Achievement No matter what the reason is for a student’s misbehavior, we are forced to respond. Some responses produce better results than others. Below is a list of both positive and negative responses by educators. Responses that usually get negative results include: 1. Reacting emotionally by being angry or making hollow threats 2. Handing out a punishment that is out of proportion to the offense 3. Reacting to misbehavior publicly 4. Reacting to a small incidence that often resolves itself 5. Making an accusation without the facts to back it up Responses that tend to get positive results include: 1. Describing the unacceptable behavior to the student 2. Pointing out how his behavior negatively impacts him and others 3. Talking with the students about what could have been a better behavior choice and why 4. Asking the student to write a goal that will help him improve his actions 5. Showing confidence in the student that his behavior goals are achievable 6. Positively reinforcing behavior that relates to student goals Dreikurs believes the best way to correct misbehavior is with logical consequences. For example, if a student doesn’t finish his homework, he stays after school to complete it. This helps the student make an association between the misbehavior and the consequences. The environmental-sociological-cultural are those theories that see the primary contributing factors to misbehavior from the immediate environment, society, or culture. Balanon also classified this model as the â€Å"environment factor† which includes physical, social, cultural and economic factors. This includes 1) environmental stress model, 2) social learning model 3) social-psychological and 4) psychosocial systems. (Rodriguez, 2006) The family systems approach by Peter Reder, Duncan Sylvia, and Gray Moira, which put significance in the relationship between family and others as relevant to the problem and analysis. It provided a framework that focuses in interpersonal, group, and institutional functioning. It is said that the concept of circularity in the systemic model emphasizes mutual influence between two or more people and the role and meaning that each person has for others must be modified and their relationship renegotiated. Family systems focus on patterns of interaction within families with particular emphasis on  communication and a psychological role adopted by family members and the view of casualty is circular involving family members. According to Rozsbaszky in Understanding the â€Å"Misbehavior† of Children Through the Theory and Research on Ego Development,(1980) , the theory of â€Å"ego development† by Jane Loevinger is a major theory of personality. According to the theory, it is a major determinant of personality characteristics in each individual whether child or adult is his or her level of ego development. Some personality characteristics are believed to be manifestations of an individual’s ego level. Personality characteristics may actually be markers or milestone traits for a particular ego level. As the child matures, he or she passes through the invariant sequence of stages of ego development, each greater cognitive and interpersonal complexity than the precedi ng stages. FIGURE 1 : Conceptual Framework of the Study Conceptual Framework Explained The figure shows a base frame which contains the respondents and the research environment which this study will be conducted. The respondents of this study are the Grade V and VI teachers of CAtbalogan I Elementary School. At the top of the base frame is a bigger frame which contains the variates as well as the process by which this study will be conducted. The study will determine the relationship shown by the double headed arrow connecting the two frames, between the Teacher’s Profile, Student’s Profile, Class Profile as to size and performance, Government Intervention, Support Groups, Family Values, Behavior of teachers towards students, behavior of students towards teachers other societal, psychological, economic, environment factors shown by the box at the right of the bigger frame, and the strategies and techniques of Grade V and VI teachers in dealing with misbehavior among students with existing school behavioral policy and legislation and programs on misbehavio r shown by the box at the left inside the bigger frame. The result of this study and the corresponding recommendations made, seen as the third frame, will serve as basis for the desired result shown in the uppermost broken lined sphere which is Positive Classromm Environment and successful and effective teaching and improved well-being of students. The desired effect depends on the independent variables which are strategies and  techniques used by Teacher-respondents, existing school behavioral policies and implementing laws regarding misbehavior. Effective implementation of these strategies and policies in schools with the cooperation and intervention of societal factors such as the family as the primary unit of society, next is the educational system, the variety of social networks, serves as important factors to attain an improved system on managing misbehavior in schools. However, this would also be measured among other intervening factors such as the profile of teachers, students and the class as to size and performance, government interventions, support groups, the values of the family of students, the behavior of teachers towards the class, the behavior of student towards teachers and other societal, psychological, economic, and environment setbacks. They include the complexity of social relationships with kin, neighbo rs, and friends, who may be sources of stress as well as support, and who may fail to reduce misbehavior even when they are trying to be emotionally supportive. Consequently above relationships of the boxes inside the bigger frame, a desired outcome is total awareness of Effective Methods towards Successful Management of Students’ Misbehavior in Catbalogan 1 thus will result to positive classroom environment and improved well being of the students. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY The study is intended to study the occurrence of misbehavior among students, its causes and the many ways to lessen its occurrence through professional responses and strategies implemented. It also represents the active struggles of teachers in dealing with the problems of behavior towards their students. The researcher hopes that this study will serve school principals to identify the behavioral problems that faced teachers in the classroom, in order to find solutions to decrease the effect of these problems on the level of teacher participation and student achievement. It also serves the educational administrations specifically the Department of Education (DepEd) to make decision to face the classroom problems through teacher training programs and useful laws. They will also know whether a certain program has already attained certain objectives. To the teachers, it will serve as a useful guide in understanding the student’s attitude and the many causes of misbehavior. Consequently, they will gain insights on which of the several  strategies is the most effective in eradicating problems of behavior among students. They could also benefit from the study through expanding their ways of improving their methods by the recommendations brought about by this study. For the students, they will increase awareness of the need to follow the standards imposed by the teachers and adapt their behaviors accordingly to the standards of proper discipline. The school administrators will also benefit from the study through acquiring ideas thus being able to lobby for policy adjustments in order to improve the current behavior policy of the school. For future researchers, this will provide a thorough and comprehensive literature for them to be able to conduct similar studies and furthermore inspire the readers to do more studies of an all encompassing discipline such as teaching and the effects of a new framework in solving misbehavior and other academic problems wh ich are much challenging and worth experimenting. Scope and Limitations This study will determine the effective strategies used by Grade 5 and 6 Teachers of Catbalogan I Central Elementary Schools in dealing with the problem of misbehavior using the descriptive – cross sectional design approach. The respondents are the Grade 5 and 6 teachers in Catbalogan I Central Elementary School, Catbalogan City. Descriptive as well as inferential statistical tools will be used in this study. This research paper is consisted of 7 parts. The first part covered the overview, objectives of the study, the methodology, frameworks applicable and review of related literature. The next part assessed the complexity of misbehavior in the classroom and the root causes root causes and effects of misbehavior. The third part examined the existing conventional strategies, theories and practices management such as â€Å"Dreikurs’s approach, which are commonly used by a majority of schools in dealing with misbehavior in comparison torespondent’s approach in the classroom. The next chapter tackled on the set of policies and programs of the Catbalogan I central Elementary School and is subsequently followed by the chapter on the best strategies the respondents perceive to be the most effective. The next part  was delved on the analysis of findings by presentation of the date gathered from the questionnaires and relevant information from Catbalogan I Central Elementary School and finally followed by the summary of findings, conclusion and recommendation. DEFINITION OF TERMS For better understanding, the following terms are hereby defined conceptually and operationally. BEHAVIOR It is the way a person behaves or acts; conducts; manners. In this study behavior mostly refer to the perception, attitude and general feeling and well being of an individual DISCIPLINE It is imparting knowledge and skill, in other words to teach. Discipline is used by teachers or parents to teach their children about expectations, guidelines and principles. Children need to be given regular discipline to be taught right from wrong and to be maintained safe SCHOOL DISCIPLINE It is the system of rules, punishments, and behavioral strategies appropriate to the regulation of children or adolescents and the maintenance of order in schools. Its aim is to control the students’ actions and behavior MISBEHAVIOR Misbehavior is a deliberate action, contrary to adult rules when a child fully understands those rules, and has the capacity to obey them mentally, emotionally, and physically. (http://www.4cforkids.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/misbehavior_poster.pdf) SCHOOL BEHAVIORAL POLICY It is the general principles and standards of behavior expected of pupils at the school and how that standard will be achieved, the school rules, any disciplinary penalties for breaking the rules and rewards for good behavior. BEHAVIORAL STRATEGIES Strategies can help a teacher to manage behavior in a classroom