COURSE GUIDE  ix

COURSE GUIDE DESCRIPTION

You must read this Course Guide carefully from the beginning to the end. It tells
you briefly what the course is about and how you can work your way through the
course material. It also suggests the amount of time you are likely to spend in order
to complete the course successfully. Please keep on referring to Course Guide as
you go through the course material as it will help you to clarify important study
components or points that you might miss or overlook.

INTRODUCTION
HBEC2903 Behaviour Management for Young Children is one of the courses
offered at Open University Malaysia (OUM). This course is worth 3 credit hours
and should be covered over 8 to 15 weeks.

COURSE AUDIENCE
This course is offered to all learners taking the Bachelor of Early Childhood
Education programme. This module introduces learners to the knowledge of
behaviour management for young children. Learners are exposed to important
aspects such as knowledge and skills to be able to manage children behaviour and
for learning to occur, which needed in the field of early childhood education.

As an open and distance learner, you should be acquainted with learning

independently and being able to optimise the learning modes and environment
available to you. Before you begin this course, please confirm the course material,
the course requirements and how the course is conducted.

STUDY SCHEDULE
It is a standard OUM practice that learners accumulate 40 study hours for every
credit hour. As such, for a three-credit hour course, you are expected to spend
120 study hours. Table 1 gives an estimation of how the 120 study hours could be
accumulated.

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Table 1: Estimation of Time Accumulation of Study Hours

Study
Study Activities
Hours
Briefly go through the course content and participate in initial discussions 5
Study the module 60
Attend 4 tutorial sessions 8
Online participation 12
Revision 15
Assignment(s) and Examination(s) 20
TOTAL STUDY HOURS ACCUMULATED 120

COURSE OUTCOMES
By the end of this course, you should be able to:

1. Discuss the different issues of children behaviour and the strategies used to
manage them;
2. Apply knowledge of childÊs development and theories as a principle to guide
childrenÊs behaviour;
3. Demonstrate positive guidance and disciplinary techniques and strategies;
4. Analyse the different discipline models used on managing childrenÊs
behaviour; and
5. Develop a guidance plan based on the decision-making models of managing
childrenÊs behaviour.

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COURSE SYNOPSIS
This course is divided into nine topics. The synopsis for each topic is listed as
follows:

Topic 1 elaborates the theories that govern child development. You will learn how
each of the theory guides you to understand childrenÊs behaviours. It also explains
the theories that focus on how children construct knowledge and how children
develop emotionally, physically as well as in learning.

Topic 2 discusses the importance for teachers to recognise perceptual and memory
development in young children. You will learn the difference between
preoperational and concrete operational thinkers where these are relevant
elements to young childrenÊs cognitive development. You will also discuss how
self-control evolves in children.

Topic 3 explains the principles of positive communication and how you, as

teachers, could recognise the basics of human needs that underlie in every request
for help requested by children. This topic elaborates how you can communicate
better with children to shape their feelings and communication skills.

Topic 4 covers the goals and means for teachers and parents to collaborate and
participate in experiencing school in the modern era. It also covers the practices
that the teachers and parents can exercise together collaboratively in school. You
will also learn the importance of discipline policy in schools for young children.

Topic 5 describes the process of observation and assessment in guiding children.

You will have a clearer picture of the reasons for child observation and the
appropriate methods to observe childrenÊs behaviours. Before any attempt in
guiding any children, their behaviour should be observed as to have a better idea
on how you can plan your guiding strategies.

Topic 6 elaborates the definition of guidance and counselling as well as suggesting

guidance strategies that teachers can apply in managing childrenÊs behaviour. You
will also examine your beliefs on discipline in order to become better guardians.

Topic 7 examines the daily routines and schedules of children in school and how
parentsÊ actions influence these routines. It also explains the rules and
consequences to children when they do not follow rules. The topic also elaborates
on how behaviours can lead to certain outcomes which are sometimes not
pleasant.

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Topic 8 introduces the decision-making model on managing childrenÊs

behaviours. It explains the steps to practice the model that can be applied and
practiced by teachers. It also elaborates on how the model can be applied to
manage childrenÊs challenging behaviour.

Topic 9 covers the definition, categories and types of children play that change as
they grow up. This topic also explores the values of play such as children learn to
become more competent and they will be able to develop socially. Apart from that,
the topic explains the several methods how a teacher can promote sharing to
children and the levels of friendships based on age.

TEXT ARRANGEMENT GUIDE

Before you go through this module, it is important that you note the text
arrangement. Understanding the text arrangement will help you to organise your
study of this course more objectively and effectively. Generally, the text
arrangement for each topic is as follows:

Learning Outcomes: This section refers to what you should achieve after you have
completely covered a topic. As you go through each topic, you should frequently
refer to these learning outcomes. By doing this, you can continuously gauge your
understanding of the topic.

Self-Check: This component of the module is inserted at strategic locations

throughout the module. It may be inserted after one sub-section or a few sub-
sections. It usually comes in the form of a question. When you come across this
component, try to reflect on what you have already learnt thus far. By attempting
to answer the question, you should be able to gauge how well you have
understood the sub-section(s). Most of the time, the answers to the questions can
be found directly from the module itself.

Activity: Like Self-Check, the Activity component is also placed at various locations
or junctures throughout the module. This component may require you to solve
questions, explore short case studies, or conduct an observation or research. It may
even require you to evaluate a given scenario. When you come across an Activity,
you should try to reflect on what you have gathered from the module and apply it
to real situations. You should, at the same time, engage yourself in higher order
thinking where you might be required to analyse, synthesise and evaluate instead
of only having to recall and define.

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Summary: You will find this component at the end of each topic. This component
helps you to recap the whole topic. By going through the summary, you should be
able to gauge your knowledge retention level. Should you find points in the
summary that you do not fully understand, it would be a good idea for you to
revisit the details in the module.

Key Terms: This component can be found at the end of each topic. You should go
through this component to remind yourself of important terms or jargon used
throughout the module. Should you find terms here that you are not able to
explain, you should look for the terms in the module.

References: The References section is where a list of relevant and useful textbooks,
journals, articles, electronic contents or sources can be found. The list can appear
in a few locations such as in the Course Guide (at the References section), at the
end of every topic or at the back of the module. You are encouraged to read or
refer to the suggested sources to obtain the additional information needed and to
enhance your overall understanding of the course.

PRIOR KNOWLEDGE
This is an introductory course. There is no prior knowledge needed.

ASSESSMENT METHOD
Please refer to myINSPIRE.

REFERENCES
Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Beaver, M., Booty, M., Brewster, J., Neaum, S., Sheppard, H., & Tallack, J. (2005).
ChildrenÊs care, learning and development. United Kingdom: Nelson
Thomes Ltd.

Christian, L. G. (2006). Applying family systems theory to early childhood

practice. Beyond the Journal: Young Children on the Web.

Council of Chief State School Officers (2008). Accountability systems. Retrieved

from www.ccsso.org/projects/accountability_systems/.

Driscoll, A., & Nagel, N. G. (2008). Early childhood education: Birth - 8: The world
of children, families and educators. Boston: Pearson Education Inc.
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Edwards, C. H., & Watts, V. (2004). Classroom discipline and management: An

Australasian perspective. Milton, QLD: John Wiley & Sons.

Essa, E. L. (2011). Introduction to early childhood education. Belmont, CA:

Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Gartrell, D. (2003). A guidance approach for the encouraging classroom (4th ed.).
Clifton Park, NY: Thomson Delmar.

Gonzalez-Mena, J. (2008). Foundation of early childhood education: Teaching

children in a diverse society (4th ed.) Boston: McGraw-Hill.

Grace K., & Stiles, D. (2015). Why, is parent involvement important for ECE?
Gender Equity in Early Childhood Education. Retrieved from
http://scalar.usc.edu/works/gender-equity-in-early-childhood-education/why-is-
parent-involvement-important-for-ecce.

Henniger, M. L. (2012). Teaching young children: An introduction (5th ed.).

Boston: Pearson.

Marion, C. M. (2014). Guidance of young children (9th ed.). Boston: Pearson.

Marzano, R. J., Marzano, J. S., & Pickering, D. J. (2008). Classroom management

that works: Research.

Maxwell, G. (2001). Teacher observation in student assessment. Discussion papers

on assessment and reporting. No. 2, Brisbane: Queensland School
Curriculum Council.

Miller, D. F. (2010). Positive child guidance (6th ed.). United Kingdom: Thomson
Delmar Learning.

Morrison, G. S. (2012). Early childhood education today (12th ed). Pearson

Education, Inc.

Porter, L. (2006). Student behaviour: Theory and practice for teachers (3rd ed.). St
Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin.

Rogers, B. (2006). Classroom behaviour: A practical guide to effective teaching,

behaviour management and colleague support (2nd ed.). London: Paul
Chapman Publishing.

Rogers, B. (2007). Behaviour management: A whole-school approach (2nd ed.).

London: Paul Chapman Publishing.

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Santrock, J. W. (2011). Child development. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Smith, A. B. (2006). The state of research on the effects of physical punishment.

Social Policy Journal of New Zealand, 27, 114-127.

Volpe, R., DiPerna, J., Hintze, J., & Shapiro, E. (2005). Observing student in
classroom settings: A review of seven coding schemes. School of Psychology
Review, 24, 454-474.

Williams-Browne, K., & Gordon, A. M. (2014). Beginnings & beyond (9th ed.).
Delmar Thomson Learning.

TAN SRI DR ABDULLAH SANUSI (TSDAS)

DIGITAL LIBRARY
The TSDAS Digital Library has a wide range of print and online resources for the
use of its learners. This comprehensive digital library, which is accessible through
the OUM portal, provides access to more than 30 online databases comprising e-
journals, e-theses, e-books and more. Examples of databases available are
EBSCOhost, ProQuest, SpringerLink, Books247, InfoSci Books, Emerald
Management Plus and Ebrary Electronic Books. As an OUM learner, you are
encouraged to make full use of the resources available through this library.

Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)