Pedagogy for Positive Learning Environments

Assessment 1- Report

Why do students misbehave?

Introduction
This literature review and qualitative research experiment aim to explain why
students misbehave in the classroom. Student misbehaviour refers to conduct
that disturbs or interferes with learning (de Nobile, Lyons & Arthur-Kelly,
2017). Student misbehaviour can be frequent or infrequent and mild or severe
(Sun & Shek, 2012). Examples of mild misbehaviour, in a classroom setting,
include disruptive talking, clowning and avoidance of schoolwork (Sun &
Shek, 2012; de Nobile et al., 2017). More severe forms of misbehaviour
include verbal insults, bullying, violent behaviour and property damage (Sun &
Shek, 2012; de Nobile et al., 2017). Research findings, experimental results,
analyses of this evidence and implications for praxis are explored below.

Section One- Literature synthesis

Many studies have sought to investigate the persistent issue of misbehaviour
in schools, however, not many focus on the cause of the problem (Giancola,
2000). The majority of research into misbehaviour focuses on categories of
misbehaviour, identifying students most likely to misbehave and interventions
to remedy the problem (Glass, 2012; Power, 2012; Romi, Lewis & Salkovsky,
2014). The lack of literature on the cause of misbehaviour may be attributed
to the complex nature of the issue and the interrelationships between
influencing factors (de Nobile et al., 2017).

From the research conducted, commonalities in what causes misbehaviour

emerged. The most frequently reported causes for misbehaviour are negative
home life, lack of parental involvement and attention seeking (Crowder, 2008;
Cothran, Kulinna & Garrahy, 2009). Others included poor self-concept,
negative peer pressure, boredom, physiological factors (tired or hungry),
bullying and drugs (Giancola, 2000; Cothran & Kulinna, 2007; Nicholas,
2017).
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Student misbehaviour was often linked to their home life situation (Crowder,
2008; Cothran et al., 2009; Smith & Dearborn, 2013). Teachers reported
students that often misbehave are likely to come from single-parent
households where they are left to raise themselves (Cothran et al., 2009). The
ineffective communication between parents and teachers, in what should be
joint disciplinary action, was also highlighted (Cothran et al., 2009). Another
study, that investigated primary-aged students, recognised the influence of
home life experiences on misbehaviour at school, such as negative days at
home or parental indifference about education (Crowder, 2008). Crowder
(2008) also suggests that the impact home environment has on school
behaviour increases with age. Another study states that parental indifference,
serious family problems and lack of family values contribute to student
misbehaviour (Koutrouba, 2013). There was a consensus reached in the
literature that home life plays a significant role in student misbehaviour.

Parental involvement in education was found to have a strong influence on

student misbehaviour. Positive parental involvement encompasses activities
such as assisting with homework, communication about educational
opportunities and cognitive stimulation at home (Fang, Sun & Yuen, 2017).
Giancola (2000) reported that senior students were 1.4 times more likely to
misbehave if their parents were not actively involved in their education and
students who had highly involved parents were less likely to misbehave. In
addition, parental warmth was related to increased adaptive skills and self-
esteem, which are both protective factors for student misbehaviour (Ruiz-
Ortiz, Braza, Carreras & Muñoz, 2017). A variety of literary papers concluded
that positive parental involvement could significantly decrease student
misbehaviour.
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Assessment 1- Report

Seeking attention was another major cause of student misbehaviour evident

in the literature. The Ministry of Education, Guyana (2013) highlighted seeking
attention as the main cause for student misbehaviour. A study conducted to
compare the opinions of well-behaved students to students who usually
misbehave reported that well-behaved students attributed misbehaviour to
seeking attention (Cothran & Kulinna, 2007). Another article states that
students misbehave in order to receive the attention they crave from the
teacher (Hoff, 2015).

The various causes for student misbehaviour presented in the literature prove
that student misbehaviour is attributed to many factors and these factors are
interrelated. This coincides with the Ecological Systems Theory that student
misbehaviour is a result of complex interactions between students, school,
families and communities (de Nobile et al., 2017).

Section 2- Main interview findings

Participants
The participants were selected due to their diversity. The participants were
diverse in regards to their gender, age, cultural background and educational
experience. Through selecting this varied sample group, the experiment aims
to accurately represent the diverse population of Australia.

Out of the six participants, four were female and two were male. The
participants’ age varied from 18 to 55 years old. Half of the sample group
reported English/Australian heritage while other participants were of Chinese,
Lebanese and Indian decent. Occupations included a teacher, two pre-service
teachers, a high school student, a payroll manager and a retail worker. Lastly,
educational experience was considered and ranged from completion of Year
11 to completion of a PhD. Interviewee characteristics are reflected in Table
1.
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Table 1. Interviewee characteristics

Participant A B C D E F
Age 46 30 55 18 26 42
(years)
Gender F M F F M F
Number of 0 0 3 0 0 2
children
Occupation Pre- Pre- Payroll High Retail Teacher
service service Manager school
teacher teacher student
Education PhD Bachelor’s HSC Year 11 HSC Bachelor’s
level Degree Degree
Nationality English/ Chinese English/ English/ Lebanese Indian
Australian Australian Australian

Interview process
The participants were obtained through word of mouth and via e-mail.
Consent forms were administered and signed to uphold ethical protocol. The
experimental process consisted of an open-ended, conversation-based,
qualitative interview with the interviewer posing the question “Why do students
misbehave at school?” The interviewee was then encouraged to give their
own explanation of why they think student misbehaviour occurs. Answers
were noted by the interviewer and later transcribed onto an electronic
document. The average interview lasted 12 minutes, which included time to
record demographic information and time to further discuss points of interest
with prompts from the interviewer, such as “Please explain” or “Could you
please elaborate?”

Findings
The interviewees reported various reasons for student misbehaviour. The
most frequently reported were students disengaging, poor student-teacher
relationships and attention seeking. Other factors that lead to student
misbehaviour were identified, including negative home life, poor parental
involvement, boredom, hormonal imbalances, behavioural/developmental
disorders (ADHD), bullying and entertainment.
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The participants identified student disengagement as a major factor in

influencing misbehaviour. This theme encompassed disengaging from the
content, teacher, classroom and peers. Disengagement from the content was
the most prevalent cause of student misbehaviour identified by participants.
Participants A, B and F agreed that disengaging from content can result in
student misbehaviour. Participant B suggested content disengagement could
lead to feelings of “boredom” and “frustration”. Participant A suggested that
students misbehave because “they feel like they don’t belong in the classroom
or in their cohort”, which shows disengagement from the classroom and
peers. Disengagement from the teacher was cited as another cause of
student misbehaviour by Participant A, which links to poor student-teacher
relationships as another factor influencing misbehaviour.

Poor student-teacher relationships were presented as a cause for student

misbehaviour. Participant F stated that she has witnessed poor student-
teacher relationships affect behaviour in her classroom. She stated, “At the
start of my career I was hesitant to divulge too much about myself but through
experience I have noticed that building a report with my students allows me to
get through to them more effectively”. Participants D and E reported students
not liking the teacher or feeling like the teacher was boring as a way of
portraying poor student-teacher relationships. Participant A reported that poor
student-teacher relationships could lead to student misbehaviour if the
students feel like the teacher “doesn’t believe in them” or “doesn’t notice
them”. Student’s perception of the teacher not noticing them leads into
attention-seeking motives for student misbehaviour.
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Attention seeking was identified as another major cause for student

misbehaviour. Participant C attributed the reason for partaking in attention
seeking behaviour to not receiving enough attention at home. Participant A
suggested students misbehave to elicit attention from the teacher where they
feel it is lacking. Participants A and D stated that students misbehave to
attract attention from peers and students of the opposite sex. Participant D, a
secondary student, reported, “Guys are loud in class to get the girls’
attention”.

The commonly reported causes for misbehaviour reflect the complex

interrelationship between contributing factors. All three major causes of
student misbehaviour are closely linked, mainly through the complicated
interactions between students, teachers and parents. The Ecological Systems
Theory also highlights these complex interactions and suggests that teachers
consider these when dealing with misbehaviour (de Nobile et al., 2017). This
makes it difficult to pinpoint individual reasons for student misbehaviour.

Section 3- Compare and contrast interview findings with literature

The main similarity between the literature and this qualitative experiment was
attention seeking being identified as a major cause of student misbehaviour.
Both the literature and Participants 1 and 6, suggest that students misbehave
in an attempt to obtain attention from the teacher (Hoff, 2015). In addition,
Participants A, C and D highlighted that seeking attention that is lacking at
home or from peers can also contribute to student misbehaviour. Contextual
factors such as age, gender and occupation allow Participant D, a high school
student, to more accurately identify misbehaviour caused by craving peer
attention.
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The other main causes for student misbehaviour identified in the literature
were also reflected in the experiment but to a lesser extent, including parental
involvement and home life (Cothran et al., 2009; Fang et al., 2017).
Participants A, C and F agreed that negative home life situations influence
student misbehaviour. Participants A and F suggested poor parental
involvement may cause student misbehaviour.

Boredom, bullying and entertainment were causes of student misbehaviour

explicitly stated by participants in the experiment that were also alluded to as
minor causes of student misbehaviour in the literature (Cothran & Kulinna,
2007; Smith & Dearborn, 2013). Participant C explicitly stated that bullying
causes some students to misbehave and Participant D reflected on students
misbehaving for their own entertainment.

The major difference between the literature findings and the results of the
experiment is where the onus of student misbehaviour is placed. The
literature recognised home life and parental involvement as significantly
influential in student misbehaviour, recognising environmental factors as the
main cause. Yet, the participants highlighted disengaging and attention
seeking as major causes of student misbehaviour, mainly placing the onus on
the student.

The literature suggested evidence of hunger being a cause of student

misbehaviour (Nicholas, 2017). The participants did not identify this cause at
all. This may be affected by socioeconomic status as the participants are
mostly from middle class backgrounds and attended reasonably affluent
secondary schools.
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Causes for student misbehaviour identified in the experiment that were not
present in the literature included hormonal imbalances and behavioural/
developmental disorders. Participant B suggested that hormonal changes
during adolescents could explain why students misbehave. Participants C
noted, as her last resort to explain student misbehaviour, behavioural or
developmental disorders. Despite the differences between the literature
review and the experimental results, it is evident that causation of student
misbehaviour is complex and factors are interrelated. It is also evident that
participant’s perceptions of who is responsible for student misbehaviour do
not coincide with the literature.

Section 4- Implications for praxis

Prevention is key in intervening with student misbehaviour (NSW
Government, 2014; Sullivan, Johnson, Owens & Conway, 2014). Student
misbehaviour should be predicted and addressed before it happens or, at
least, before the situation escalates. Consistency while addressing student
misbehaviour is another key element in the effectiveness of strategies
(Department of Education and Training, 2011). Interventions and
consequences must be consistent in order to ensure the students know where
they stand and so that rules are fair for everybody (de Nobile et al., 2017).

A major implication of the findings is the significance of a positive student-

teacher relationship. Building a healthy report with the students so they feel
safe and supported when they enter your classroom can prevent three out of
the five common themes found above (Crowder, 2008). Focusing on
developing a positive student-teacher relationship will directly eliminate
student misbehaviour caused from poor student-teacher relationships.
Positive student-teacher relationships foster communication, which can be
used to prevent disengagement in the classroom and attention seeking
reasons for misbehaviour (Koutrouba, 2013).
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Simple applications of the Assertive Discipline program, such as incorporating

a positive consequence/reward system to recognise good behaviour, could
help me foster strong student-teacher relationships, fulfill students’ craving for
attention and encourage effective engagement. The Assertive Discipline
program emphasises the teacher’s influence over student behaviour in order
for significant learning progression (de Nobile et al., 2017). Demonstrating
that I care for the student is another example of how I will attempt to prevent
student misbehaviour caused by poor student-teacher relationships. I will
endeavor to ensure all my students feel equally noticed and supported
through positive words of encouragement such as “I know you can do it” or “I
believe in your abilities”.

Another implication for praxis based on the evidence found is developing

social and emotional intelligence among my students. This prevents negative
student-teacher relationships, minimises negative peer social interactions and
increases parental involvement (Beirman et al., 2008). Social and emotional
readiness programs such as the Heart Start REDI program allow teachers to
incorporate social-emotional skill development into the curriculum (Beirman et
al., 2008). This program also addresses the poor parental involvement as a
cause of student misbehaviour through take-home materials for parents,
including emotional coaching documents and learning activities for the home
(Beirman et al., 2008). This intervention provides evidence of positive
outcomes, such as enhanced social & emotional understanding, decreased
classroom aggression and increased engagement in learning (Child Trends,
2014). This implication coincides with the Positive Behavioural Support (PBS)
system of using less harsh behavioural management strategies to develop
social skills (de Nobile et al., 2017).

Word count: 2,179 words

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