Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
Student behaviour is and has been a problem in schools for many years. The reasons behind
misbehaviour may vary from case to case but could include situational reasons or deeper underlying
reasons, as concluded by my research. This report will explore the question: “Why do young people
misbehave?”. A literature review is conducted and compared to the findings concluded from
interviews with 6 individuals of varying backgrounds. The report will conclude with the provision of
implications for praxis including my own personal awareness and teaching practice.
Literature review
research has addressed these contributors and determined their impact on students’ misbehaviour.
As Caspi, Lynam, Moffitt & Silva (1993) state, “The life course is punctuated by numerous biological
and social events that require individuals to organize their behavior [sic] around newly denned tasks.
Puberty is among the most profound of these biosocial transitions” (p.19). This determines puberty
as a significant contributor to changes in the behaviour of young people. This change in behaviour
may extend from home to school grounds as young people adapt to the biological and social changes
Expectations regarding behaviour and achievement from parents and other parties
publication by Pediatrics [sic] Week (2015) concluded that parent behavioural expectations and
friend support were associated with less school misbehaviour. Young people become aware of the
repercussions of misbehaviour when expectations are explicitly laid out and therefore refrain from
to Rubie-Davies, Peterson, Irving, Widdowson & Dixon (2010), the practice of streaming created a
barrier to the fulfillment of high expectations for school achievement. Students placed in lower
streams (low-ability), which is viewed as not always being accurate, receive work or tasks which are
barely challenging, impacting negatively on the self-efficacy and behaviour of young people.
Cognitive load is also a consideration to be made when asking why young people misbehave.
As defined by Tanaka, Ishii & Watanabe (2014), ‘mental fatigue’ is a “state caused by prolonged
performance.” Where load is not taken into consideration, the amount or complexity of work which
is being provided may over- or underwhelm students leading to boredom or disinterest. Once young
people reach this point, they may become disruptive of their peers and teacher in attempt of finding
a sort of entertain for themselves, as opposed to actually completing the set work.
Research
Interviews were utilised as the primary method of research for this report. Individuals from
a wide range of knowledge and experience backgrounds were interviewed in an attempt to uncover
the thoughts and beliefs of different parties in regard to the underlying reasons behind young
and consent forms were provided to and signed by participants. Participants were welcomed to
express any questions or concerns which were cleared, and were informed of the potential to
Findings
The conducted interviews provided interesting insight into the thoughts and experiences of
individuals of different backgrounds. Common themes were concluded from the interviews which
included ‘attention seeking’, ‘disinterest’, maintenance of social status or ‘popularity’, and external
factors including ‘family’ and/or ‘home environment’, and ‘parental involvement or interest’.
‘Attention seeking’ and ‘popularity’ were two notions commonly used together and were
popular amongst those who have been exposed to schooling in the past 10 years. Persons A, B and D
felt strongest about these themes as according to their own experiences, students mostly misbehave
for these reasons. Person D captured these themes in one succinct statement: “The cool guy on the
playground can’t suddenly become a nerd or teacher’s pet in class”. Students who misbehave often
have a reputation to uphold. Persons A and B second this through their observations of students
who misbehave, often having many friends and displaying constant patterns of misbehaviour – ie.
disrupting others with smart or funny remarks, or displaying lack of interest of tasks at hand (also
‘Disinterest’ was a theme common amongst all interviewees. “(Person E) hates doing the
dishes. If I or my wife ask him to do them, he’ll fight us before, during and after doing them. Same
thing with school – if he doesn’t like the work, he’ll wonder away from it” – Person F. This introduces
the challenge of keeping young people interested in the work or task at hand. In order to remain
entertained, young people may disrupt their peers or behave in a disruptive manner. Person D is
able to relate to this as she was a high achiever - “I never misbehaved per se, but the work was just
so boring sometimes. My friend and I would finish it in a fraction of the time and then we’d talk.
Some teachers didn’t like that. Consider our abilities and allocate work accordingly then, maybe?”
Person B, being a head teacher, had the most experience of the interviewees regarding the
reasons as to why students misbehave. One pairing of the themes she felt strongest about, was
‘family environment’ and ‘parental involvement or interest’. “One student would constantly
misbehave so he was referred to me. During our conversation, he eventually became emotional and
said something along the lines of “I’ve played footy every single weekend for 2 years and my dad has
never been to any of my games.”” – Person B. Person A is a young teacher who students confide in.
He said this: “I’d ask students how their parents would feel if I contacted them regarding their
(students’) behaviour. Too often they’d respond “They won’t care. They never have””. Disinterest
from parents or individuals who young people hold to a high standard, has the potential to impact
heavily on the motivation and level of interest in young people at school. Where young people feel
as though their achievements go unnoticed by family, they may not feel a necessity to succeed or
‘Home environment’ was another common theme amongst interviewees. Very many factors
fall into this theme, including relationships, culture, and socioeconomic status. However,
relationships was a popular one amongst interviewees. Person C recalls her own high school
experience. “I had a friend who probably confided in me a little too much. She would tell me about
all the times her parents would fight and the chaos that would happen in her house. She genuinely
thought it was normal so she’d come to school and not think twice about talking back to teachers or
completely disregarding the work we were given.” - Person C. Where young people do not
experience a stable home environment which encourages positive behaviour and achievement, they
The literature gathered, focused mainly on developmental and social factors which young
people experience - these included biological, cognitive, and social changes. The interview findings
however, focused more on literal factors including attention seeking, home and family
A similarity which surfaced amongst the literature review and interview findings is that of
disinterest as a result of cognitive ability. As person D stated, she and her friend were able to quickly
finish their allocated tasks and would then talk to each other to pass time. The literature by Tanaka,
Ishii & Watanabe (2014), address the vice versa of this issue where work is too challenging, causing
mental fatigue. This however, can be used to reiterate the notion that work which does not meet
the needs or the ability of students, may lead to disinterest and therefore lead students to entertain
Expectation of achievement can also be related between literature and interview findings.
Literature concludes that behavioural expectations are associated with less school misbehaviour
(Pediatrics [sic] Week, 2015). Interview findings however, list the impact of lack of expectations from
parents. Recounts from persons A and B determine that lack of involvement from parents, almost
excuse students from behaving appropriately as they do not expect any form of repercussion or
consequence for misbehaving. They may also feel as though they do not have any expectation to live
up to, and therefore hold back from attempting to succeed, falling into the trap of misbehaving.
Implications
In conducting this report, I have come to realise only a fraction of the answer to the question
“Why do young people misbehave?”. But what I have realised is no doubt beneficial. My own
personal awareness of the issue has increased significantly and will contribute majorly to my
teaching practice. Coming to the realisation that young people may misbehave for so many reasons,
has allowed me to realise the many considerations that must be made in the teaching and discipline
of young people, while remaining sensitive to any deeper-rooted issues which they may be
experiencing.
The most popular theme amongst interviewees was that of ‘disinterest’. This finding
reiterates to me the necessity to ensure that the learning needs of all students are met in attempt of
maintaining interest and motivation. The literature surrounding this matter also reminds me to
consider the cognitive abilities of the students being taught. This will include increasing the
interactivity of set tasks as opposed to presenting students with an overload of information and
expecting them to process it. I will also include students in deciding how they prefer information be
presented to them. By doing this, it is likely that students will remain interested and therefore
minimise misbehaviour in the classroom. In addition to teaching practices, I will maintain high levels
of communication with students. I will communicate to them high behavioural expectations such as
completing set tasks and not disrupting peers. Through this, students will realise that high standards
are expected from them which may promote respectful relationships between teachers and
students.
While not much can be done about those misbehaving in order to maintain ‘popularity’, the
‘attention seeking’ aspect can be addressed through teacher and student relationship and
communication. Maintaining constant and healthy relationship and communication with students,
provides students the satisfaction of recognition and respect by their classroom teacher. This will be
made possible through personal and individual interaction with students regarding their
experiences, interests, and behaviour. Recognition of positive behaviours from students who
normally misbehave, will act as a reassuring factor of the respect between teachers and students.
Carrying this through the school as a focus practice may contribute overall, towards a more
respectful attitude towards teachers, which minimises misbehaviour and therefore reduces the
people to misbehave in schools. As mentioned previously, where students feel as though their
parents do not care much for their achievements, they may refuse to attempt to succeed which may
lead to misbehaviour. Involving parents in the teaching and schooling lives of students will provide
students with the reassurance that they have the support of their teachers and school, as well as
their parents and family. This will be achieved through the invitation of parents to contribute their
own knowledge and experiences to the content being taught (eg. business owners providing insight
into operations in ‘Business Studies’). While probably unfavored by students, having parents sign
their child’s student diary will ensure that parents remain aware of their children’s progress,
achievement and behaviour in school. This will allow students the reassurance of their parents’
misbehaviour. Involving parents in the learning experience of students as a whole school initiative,
will provide the school with insight into the environment and lives which students go home to on a
daily basis. This will allow the school to adapt practices and pedagogies which work towards the
improvement of the health and wellbeing of young people and their families.
While Capsi, Lynam & Silca (1993) argue that biological changes, mainly puberty, contribute
to changes in behaviour in young people, interview findings focused on the more literal factors of
home and family environments and the maintenance of social status. This leads to the conclusion
that more current literature is necessary in order to determine the increasing reasons as to why
young people misbehave. Where research includes and involves young people, the findings
concluded through the interviews may become more widespread in literature and offer a more
Caspi, A., Lynam, D., Moffitt, T., & Silva, P. (1993). Unraveling girls' delinquency: Biological,
Child and adolescent development; data on child and adolescent development reported by
researchers at arizona state university (A model of positive family and peer relationships on
com.ezproxy.uws.edu.au/docview/1668304581?accountid=36155
Rubie-Davies, C., Peterson, E., Irving, E., Widdowson, D., & Dixon, R. (2010). Expectations of
Tanaka, M., Ishii, A., & Watanabe, Y. (2014). Neural effects of mental fatigue caused by continuous
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.brainres.2014.03.009