Disruptive behaviour in school
For a trainee teacher, this is one topic that tends to worry them far more than any other. What if they start shouting, or won't listen to me? What if there is one student who keeps ruining the lessons? This section will look at some of the factors which might cause a child to begin disrupting a lesson. Also it will ask "what can the teacher do about it if they do?"
Bullet point 1 - Types, explanations and effects of disruptive behaviours
• types, explanations and effects of disruptive behaviours
Types: conduct (e.g. distracting, attention-seeking, calling out, out-of-seat); immaturity and verbal and physical aggression (bullying), attention deficit hyperactive disorder. Explanations and effects for one or more of above types. Poor teaching style
Types: conduct (e.g. distracting, attention-seeking, calling out, out-of-seat); immaturity and verbal and physical aggression (bullying), attention deficit hyperactive disorder. Explanations and effects for one or more of above types. Poor teaching style
Fontana (1995) defines disruptive behaviour as "behaviour that proves unacceptable to the teacher". This illustrates the fact that behaviours that are considered disruptive may vary hugely from culture to culture, over time, or even from classroom to classroom within the same school. Your active psychologist's mind will naturally have already realised that such a subjective definition will raise real problems surrounding the quantifiability and validity of any attempt to identify disruptive behaviour.
Types of disruptive behaviour
ConductConduct disruptive behaviours are ones that involve students acting against the usual norms or rules of society (or the classroom). Examples might include:
Later on we will focus on one specific conduct disorder: attention-seeking behaviour. |
BullyingBullying is a specific type of conduct disorder. It is defined as:
Bullying may be verbal or physical. Increasingly, bullying involve technology, such as cyberbullying. Bullies are more likely to have been bullied or mistreated themselves, and often have trouble forming normal mature relationships with people. |
ImmaturityImmaturity refers to a child having not reached the correct level of maturation to be able to display the behaviours required by the class. For example, the child could lack the attention span to concentrate on the teacher for long periods, or the capability to understand instructions given.
Alternatively, the student may be academically capable, but more easily bored with the class, or less able to control themselves if they become frustrated. All of these could lead to disruptive behaviour. |
Assignment 1Read the section above once more, then answer the below questions from memory and under timed conditions. You should not spend more than 8 minutes on the response, but with both answers together you should have written nearly half a page.
1 (a) Explain, in your own words, what is meant by ‘disruptive behaviour’. [2] (b) Describe two types of disruptive behaviour. [4] |
ADHDADHD is a disorder that can often result in disruptive behaviour (this is not unusual - autism and dyslexia can lead to disruption too). See the ADHD section on the SEN page for more info.
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General causes of disruptive behaviour
Although different types of disruptive behaviours may have some of their own specific causes, there are also some general conditions that make disruptive behaviour more likely to occur. These can include poor parenting and poor teaching.
Effects of disruptive behaviour
It is easy to imagine the effects of disruptive behaviour on the lesson itself, but there are also wider effects; on other students and the disruptive child themselves.
Garner and Hill (1995) list some of the possible effects as:
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Assignment 2Write this from memory:
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Bullet point 2 - Causes and effects of one disruptive behaviour
• causes and effects of one disruptive behaviour
Any disruptive behaviour (e.g. one from above) but not attention deficit hyperactive disorder
Any disruptive behaviour (e.g. one from above) but not attention deficit hyperactive disorder
Possible causes and effects of one disruptive behaviour: attention-seekingThe effects of attention-seeking behaviour are the same as for most other disruptive behaviours, which are given in green above. Two examples of explanations for this type of behaviour are given below.
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A behaviourist explanationA behaviourist might explain attention seeking behaviour in the classroom through operant conditioning. Attention from parents is a reinforcement, often used as a reward for good behaviour. However, if parents are not providing enough attention to a child (see the 'poor parenting' section above), then they may begin to seek attention in other areas, such as the classroom.
In a normal classroom, teachers will often give more attention to misbehaviour than to appropriate behaviour, so disruptive behaviour is a better strategy for attracting attention than doing good work. Attention-seeking behaviour will often attract negative responses from the teacher, but the reinforcement provided by being the centre of attention will be more powerful than any punishment given by the teacher, so the attention-seeking behaviour is reinforced. The reinforcement works in a cycle... |
A biological explanationOne genetic theory of attention seeking and disruptive behaviour is that specific genes may be responsible for shaping the behaviour.
Modern techniques with DNA have allowed specific genes to be isolated for certain behaviours and conditions. However, with psychological disorders these aren't usually so clear cut. That said, there is some evidence linking attention-seeking in school with other self-control and addictive problems. For example, certain genes which may predispose the individual to antisocial and attention seeking behaviour, may also contribute to an increase in vulnerability to addiction. Often these traits are linked to the personality characteristic of impulsivity, which has been found to have strong genetic links. Attention seeking behaviour has been linked with alcoholism (Jang et al 2008) and with gambling (Comings et al 1996). These links support an underlying biological factor in the behaviour. |
You are the teacher - evaluating causes of disruptive behaviour
By this stage, you should be getting pretty good at evaluating and even better at thinking like a psychologist - drawing links between different areas of the specification.
For example, looking at the two columns above, you should already have all of the usual criticisms of behaviourism in your mind from previous parts of the Education section. Genetic explanations you will have done in the Abnormality section. Can you remember the positives and negatives of them? The same ones will apply here too! Make a list of positive and negative evaluation points for both of the causes given above and bring them to the next lesson for discussion |
Bullet point 3 - Corrective and preventive strategies
• corrective and preventive strategies
Preventive: effective preventive discipline (Cotton, 1990); effective classroom management behaviour (Kounin, 1990).
Corrective: behaviour modification techniques (Presland, 1990); cognitive behaviour modification e.g. self instructional training (Meichenbaum, 1971)
Preventive: effective preventive discipline (Cotton, 1990); effective classroom management behaviour (Kounin, 1990).
Corrective: behaviour modification techniques (Presland, 1990); cognitive behaviour modification e.g. self instructional training (Meichenbaum, 1971)
When dealing with disruptive behaviour, there are two main types of approach.
There are a few different types of each of these that you should know, but before you move on to them, see if you can think of some examples of each of these strategies yourself, based on your knowledge of schools.
- Corrective strategies are employed after the behaviour has occured, with the aim of preventing it happening again.
- Preventive strategies are used to try to stop disruptive behaviour occurring in the first place.
There are a few different types of each of these that you should know, but before you move on to them, see if you can think of some examples of each of these strategies yourself, based on your knowledge of schools.
Preventive strategiesWhat things could you do to try to ensure that disruptive behaviour doesn't occur in a school?
There are probably two classes of preventive strategies; classroom level ones and whole school level ones. Watch the video on the right of a teacher starting a new school year with a difficult class. What strategies is he using to try to ensure that disruptive behaviour is prevented? You may see some overlap with other units we have done as well. List as many points as you can. What you will hopefully see is that in class preventive strategies are the same things that Kounin (1990) identified, listed above. Are those five strategies on display here? |
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Whole school preventive strategies
Cotton (1990) conducted a meta-analysis (looked at the results of numerous individual studies together), and found that most schools with successful preventive strategies shared the following features:
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Assignment 3 - section C sample question on preventive strategies
3. A new headmaster at a school tells his members of staff that be believes in improving behaviour through prevention, not correction
(a) Describe preventive strategies in controlling disruptive behaviour. [6]
(b) Design a program to successfully implement these strategies into the school [8]
(a) Describe preventive strategies in controlling disruptive behaviour. [6]
(b) Design a program to successfully implement these strategies into the school [8]
Two examples of corrective strategies
Behaviour Modification (Presland, 1990)Behaviour modification was mentioned all the way back in the 'Approaches' section. It is a behaviourist application to learning (so that means that you can use it for an essay on the behaviourist approach as well as one on disruptive behaviour. The aim is to replace disruptive behaviour with more appropriate behaviour, by following a series of steps:
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Self-Instructional Training (SIT) (Meichenbaum, 1971)As you would expect for a cognitive strategy, SIT is less worried with the exact consequences of the behaviour than about how the student thinks about the behaviour. It is the thought about the outcome, rather than the outcome itself, that is the most important thing. SIT was created to aid learning with hyperactive and impulsive behaviours, and consists of five steps:
Meichenbaum (1971) used this sequence with a line-drawing task which became increasingly more demanding and complex. Students became less impulsive and made fewer errors after SIT.
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Assignment 4 - putting theory into practice
Use your imagination for a second. You are a teacher (yes I know... you'll have to imagine that all those other career plans didn't work out. Don't worry, it's only make believe) and you have a child in your class who is an attention-seeking. What do you do to control and improve his/her behaviour?
Design a behaviour modification and an SIT program to combat attention-seeking behaviour
This will be a good chance to apply the theory above to a real life scenario. Write both programs out and bring them to class ready for demonstration and discussion!
Design a behaviour modification and an SIT program to combat attention-seeking behaviour
This will be a good chance to apply the theory above to a real life scenario. Write both programs out and bring them to class ready for demonstration and discussion!
Feel like you've seen all this before? GOOD! You have!
It should be clear that large amounts of this section use the same theories and principles as some other units we've covered. For example:
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End of section essay writing exercise - section B
Here, have a go at both parts of a section B question on motivation and education.
2 a) Describe what psychologists have discovered about disruptive behaviour and education. [8]
2 b) Evaluate what psychologists have discovered about disruptive behaviour and education and include a discussion of reductionism. [12]
First read this document, which covers the skills that we want you to learn when approaching these questions. In summary, you need to try to mention a range of information in question a), so try to mention things from all three bullet points in the specification
For the question b), try to evaluate using issues and debates (same ones as from AS level). On this page, issues such as reductionism, determinism, ethics, data collection methods, scientific-ness, objectivity and other have been mentioned. Use these in your evaluations! Remember to use a PEE format if you find it helpful.
One final point. Make sure you answer the specific question asked! The 2 b) question will always have a little extra requirement in it, where it will ask you to focus your discussion on one specific area or issue. Here is it 'reductionism', which just means that you have to compare and contrast the view of at least two different theoretical approaches. At least a paragraph should consequently be devoted to this.
Generic mark schemes are given below. Read them carefully before you start writing and make sure your essays fulfill all the requirements. Please submit your essays through the form on the home page.
2 a) Describe what psychologists have discovered about disruptive behaviour and education. [8]
2 b) Evaluate what psychologists have discovered about disruptive behaviour and education and include a discussion of reductionism. [12]
First read this document, which covers the skills that we want you to learn when approaching these questions. In summary, you need to try to mention a range of information in question a), so try to mention things from all three bullet points in the specification
For the question b), try to evaluate using issues and debates (same ones as from AS level). On this page, issues such as reductionism, determinism, ethics, data collection methods, scientific-ness, objectivity and other have been mentioned. Use these in your evaluations! Remember to use a PEE format if you find it helpful.
One final point. Make sure you answer the specific question asked! The 2 b) question will always have a little extra requirement in it, where it will ask you to focus your discussion on one specific area or issue. Here is it 'reductionism', which just means that you have to compare and contrast the view of at least two different theoretical approaches. At least a paragraph should consequently be devoted to this.
Generic mark schemes are given below. Read them carefully before you start writing and make sure your essays fulfill all the requirements. Please submit your essays through the form on the home page.
Section C question
As you should know by now, Section C requires you to answer 1 question from a choice of 2. The questions will ask you to apply what you know to a new scenario or area. It has two parts; one 6 mark recall question and one 8 mark application question.
For example:
4 A child in your class is an attention-seeker. Every time you turn away she is out of her seat and every time you talk to the class she interrupts. It is becoming a problem as it is disruptive to the class.
(a) Suggest a behaviour modification technique that would help to control this attention-seeking behaviour. [8]
(b) Explain the psychology on which your suggestion is based. [6]
The first question allows you to be creative. There is no single right answer. All you have to do is give practical and specific ideas for how you might implement the theory you have picked into the scenario they give you. About a page should be a good length.
Here you have to suggest how behaviour modification could be used to combat attention seeking. If you understand the theories above, you will hopefully have a good idea of how this might be done. It takes some getting used to writing this way, but it is an area that, with a little bit of practice, you will be able to do very well on.
The second question is a straightforward recall question. This is the longest question you will get which could focus on just a single theory. You need to write about half a page, so a simple revision check is to make sure that you can write half a page of description about every idea/theory/study that is specifically mentioned in the specification.
Have a go at the questions above. Please submit your essays through the form on the home page.
For example:
4 A child in your class is an attention-seeker. Every time you turn away she is out of her seat and every time you talk to the class she interrupts. It is becoming a problem as it is disruptive to the class.
(a) Suggest a behaviour modification technique that would help to control this attention-seeking behaviour. [8]
(b) Explain the psychology on which your suggestion is based. [6]
The first question allows you to be creative. There is no single right answer. All you have to do is give practical and specific ideas for how you might implement the theory you have picked into the scenario they give you. About a page should be a good length.
Here you have to suggest how behaviour modification could be used to combat attention seeking. If you understand the theories above, you will hopefully have a good idea of how this might be done. It takes some getting used to writing this way, but it is an area that, with a little bit of practice, you will be able to do very well on.
The second question is a straightforward recall question. This is the longest question you will get which could focus on just a single theory. You need to write about half a page, so a simple revision check is to make sure that you can write half a page of description about every idea/theory/study that is specifically mentioned in the specification.
Have a go at the questions above. Please submit your essays through the form on the home page.
Revision |
Extension |