Supporting Positive Behaviour in Early Childhood Settings and Primary Schools

Relationships, Reciprocity and Reflection

Leah O'Toole, Nóirín Hayes

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9781351581325
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

Sharing insights of various theoretical perspectives to help understand the complex root causes of children's behaviour, Supporting Positive Behaviour in Early Childhood Settings and Primary Schools highlights key responses that can encourage positive mental health, resilience and behaviour.

Drawing on a range of theoretical frameworks, this book:

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• Translates theoretical insights into adaptable and practical responses

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• Considers children's strengths and needs with regards to resilience and mental health

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• Includes case studies, tasks and questions for reflection

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• Identifies innovative practical strategies for supporting positive behaviour in educational settings

Combining theoretical perspectives on supporting positive behaviour, Supporting Positive Behaviour in Early Childhood Settings and Primary Schools is user-friendly and conceptually unified. It gives early childhood and primary students and teachers a clear understanding of what to do to facilitate positive behaviour and why to do it, encouraging true professionalism in education, and ensuring children learn and develop to their highest potential.

CHAPTER 1

Deconstructing authority, control and discipline

INTRODUCTION

Supporting positive behaviour by children is experienced as a challenging aspect of the work of many educators,¹ particularly in the early stages of their careers. It is tempting to look for quick solutions to behaviour ‘management’ in educational settings, and there are many ‘how-to’ guides available, offering strategies that purport to be useful in any circumstance. It is easy to see how an educator struggling with issues of behaviour would cling to such ideas in the hope of finding a way to create enough order for children to be able to learn. It must also be acknowledged that working with children who exhibit challenging behaviour can be very stressful, so any approach that offers hope of reducing that stress is attractive.

However, understanding children’s behaviour is a complex task. Like all human beings, children have many reasons for behaving as they do, some based on internal factors such as individual dispositions, unmet needs like hunger, or fear and anxiety, and some based on external factors such as inappropriate disciplinary expectations, educational structures and sociocultural mismatches between home and educational settings (Bronfenbrenner and Morris, 2006). Educators are often disappointed when a strategy that offered a ‘sure-fire’ solution with one child or group of children fails to work with another child or group of children. Unfortunately there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution to support positive behaviour because every child, group of children, educator and educational setting brings different strengths, challenges and viewpoints to the dynamic interaction that happens between them each day.

Many books on children’s behaviour focus on ‘management’, offering practical strategies without a theoretical lens through which to critique them. Such approaches to understanding behaviour may lead to an emphasis on controlling children, rather than meeting their social and emotional needs to support them to behave positively in educational settings. True professionalism requires an understanding of both what to do and why it should be done (Olson and Bruner, 1996). Therefore this book aims to give insights on why children behave as they do, and as a result of that understanding, how to formulate appropriate responses on a moment-to-moment, child-to-child basis. Recent work in psychology, sociology and education has shown that such understanding of children’s behaviour is best supported through a multi-theoretical, cross-disciplinary approach (Hayes, O’Toole and Halpenny, 2017). No one theory, discipline or strategy provides all the answers.

The aim of this book, therefore, is to share the insights of a variety of theoretical perspectives with educators to support them in their understanding of the complex root causes of children’s behaviour. However, the book is not solely theoretical, but rather espouses the idea that the whole point of teaching educators about theory is for them to use it as a lens through which to improve their practice. Through this understanding, the book aims to facilitate development of appropriate responses that may encourage children’s positive behaviour in educational settings. It uses a variety of approaches, including case studies, tasks and stimulus questions for reflection to facilitate in readers the development of innovative and effective practical strategies for supporting positive behaviour in educational settings for children from birth until the end of their primary school years.

WHAT IS ‘CHALLENGING’ BEHAVIOUR?

A variety of terms are often used regarding children’s behaviour and we choose in this book to focus on supporting positive behaviour rather than ‘managing challenging behaviour’ because the language we use can frame our view of what it is we are trying to achieve. When we focus on ‘management’, we may view children almost as circus animals to be trained or controlled, whereas when we think about support, we understand that children, like adults, are human beings who may need a little assistance every so often to be their best selves (O’Brien, 2018). Nevertheless, it is useful to begin with a reflection on the kinds of behaviours that challenge you personally in the educational setting in which you work. Providing a definition of ‘challenging’ behaviour is difficult, because perceptions of the appropriateness of behaviour can change based on the context in which it takes place. Consider the experience of the little girl in the following vignette:

Farida has been attending her local preschool for eight months now. It took her a little while to settle in and learn how her teacher Jane would like her to behave, but she now feels very comfortable here. Today the children are doing some painting. Farida decides her painting would be improved by adding the sun to the sky, so she gets up from the painting table, goes to the cupboard where the paint is kept, chooses some yellow paint and brings it back to the table. ‘Well done, Farida, for being so independent’, Jane tells her.

Four months later, Farida has left preschool and started in ‘big school’. Today the class are painting and again Farida decides to get some paint to enhance her picture. She leaves her table, and goes to the art cupboard. ‘Sit down Farida’, says her teacher Ms Farrell. ‘That’s very naughty, you can’t be wandering around the classroom. I have twenty-five other children to work with. You must work independently.’

Source: Hypothetical scenario developed from the points made by Brooker (2008) regarding the use of the term ‘independence’ at preschool and primary school levels

There is much evidence that expectations of children with regards to their behaviour can change significantly between educational levels (O’Kane, 2015). The meanings imbued by educators at different educational levels or by parents may not match, even though similar language is used. For example, Brooker (2008) notes that at preschool, ‘independence’ tends to mean the child choosing his² own activities, whereas at primary level, ‘independence’ tends to mean the ability to follow instruction and stay on-task (a task chosen by adults) without intervention. In some ways these skills are actually diametrically opposed, in spite of being given the same label of ‘independence’, and if adults are unsure what behaviours they want from children, it is little wonder that children sometimes struggle to know how to behave in educational settings.

Even within one educational sector, individual educators may have differing expectations. Consider how a very traditional educator might experience the behaviour of the children (and indeed the educator) in this description of a ‘constructivist’ classroom provided by Applefield, Huber and Moallem (2000, p. 16):

Ms. Blake’s ninth grade classroom can be distinguished from other classrooms both in looks and sounds. Upon walking down the corridors we hear from the classroom at the end of the hallway an array of voices and sounds like buzzing, chattering, an occasional ‘I got it’ and sometimes expressions of frustration. Upon entering the classroom, we see clusters of students working with various objects. In fact, if it were not for the age of Ms. Blake, it would be hard to identify who the teacher is in this classroom. Ms. Blake is talking with one of the groups near the doorway and says, ‘Why did you select that arrangement and place the bulb there? Will it work if attached in another way? Talk about it in your group and I will get back to you shortly.’ She then moves to the next group, sits down with them and watches as students continue working with batteries and bulbs in the center of their cluster. They don’t seem to notice Ms. Blake and keep on talking with each other. She is smiling as she observes them.

Applefield et al. (2000) make the point that with preconceived notions of ordered, systematic and quiet classrooms, it would be easy to think that Ms Blake had lost control, and that noisy children who are not paying attention to the teacher are misbehaving. However, this, they argue, misses the point that in fact the educator has created a community of learners, engaged in deep, self-directed learning.

Each educator has his own perception of what constitutes ‘challenging behaviour’. For one person, noise may be unacceptable, whereas for another, noise is considered an integral part of the learning process. For some educators, it is vitally important that children line up properly in a school yard, for others table manners at lunchtime are crucial, and for yet others what matters is neat writing in a copy book. As human beings we all have our ‘pet hates’ that may not bother another person quite so much. As children move up through educational systems, from day care to preschool, to primary school, and also between rooms in early educational settings and classes within primary schools, it is quite a difficult task for them to figure out which are the crucial areas of behaviour for the specific adult they will be spending time with this year. Educators are of course entitled to maintain their own personal standards, so long as there is an understanding that ‘standards’ do not always match across contexts, and if some children need support in understanding what is expected of them, it does not necessarily represent misbehaviour.

REFLECTION

How would you define ‘challenging behaviour’? What are your own ‘non-negotiables’ in terms of behaviour within your educational setting? How might your expectations differ from those experienced by children before now? How might you need to support them to understand what you expect of them? Are there any of your expectations that, on reflection, are not appropriate or reasonable?

EXPERIENCES OF DISCIPLINE AND THE IDEA OF ‘REPRODUCTION’

In reflecting on the meaning of ‘challenging behaviour’, educators must also consider their own experiences of discipline in childhood, because it may be that as human beings we are programmed to reproduce what we know, even if that leads to inappropriate practice.

We all have different ideas about what kinds of behaviour might challenge us. We also all have different experiences of discipline, and different ideas of what is appropriate. In some classic sociological work on how educators are formed, Lortie (1975) identified the concept of an ‘apprenticeship of observation’, whereby the experiences of educators in colleges of education have little impact when compared with the implicit learning that occurs while sitting in classrooms as students. In other words, educators are likely to teach in the ways that they were taught, without much critical analysis of whether or not these are the best methods.

Similarly, and more specifically related to children’s behaviour, Toshalis (2010) shows how student educators reproduce the kinds of discipline they experienced themselves. He maintains that colleges of education often keep rigid control of their students, and student educators are not supported to attempt creative practices that run the risk of something going wrong. The message given to student educators, according to Toshalis, is that resistance is more costly than compliance, and it is acceptable to allow oneself to be controlled from ‘above’, so long as one maintains control over those ‘below’ – the children. Reproduction of disciplinary approaches may be appropriate when one’s own experiences of discipline have been good, but what about where unfair, discriminatory or even abusive practices have been in place? Common sense might indicate that such educators would be more likely to aspire to fairness, having experienced unfairness themselves, but there is extensive psychological research dating back decades to show that in fact, human beings tend to recreate what they know, even in circumstances that they themselves experienced as difficult.

For example, Chapter 3 notes the work of Albert Bandura (1977) on social learning theory, which shows how children tend to imitate the actions of adults, even where those actions are aggressive or violent. Alternatively, children with gentle adult models tend to behave gently. This has been used to explain findings such as those of Baldry (2003) that children who witness violence in the home are more likely to bully other children. Chapter 4 describes the insights of attachment theory, whereby an ‘internal working model’ (IWM) of relationships is developed based on experiences within early relationships. This internal working model directs our behaviour within all future relationships, and dictates what we expect from them, so that in later childhood and in adulthood we tend to recreate friendships, romantic relationships and other interactions that mirror the dynamics of those early relationships, even if they were characterised by violence, neglect or distress. Chapter 8 draws on the work of Bourdieu (1997) to show how reproduction can even work at a broader cultural and societal level, and educators can be complicit in ensuring that certain groups of children are excluded from educational success, often based on valuing certain behaviours, devaluing others, and responding to children differentially as a result. These understandings can contextualise the findings of Toshalis (2010) that without regular reflective practice and critical examination of their own schooling experiences, educators are likely to perpetuate destructive trends in discipline that were modelled to them. Take a moment to reflect on the approaches to discipline that were modelled to you in your education to date:

REFLECTION

Bring to mind an example of discipline experienced in your childhood that you felt was fair, either involving a parent or an educator. What behaviour on your behalf was being addressed? How did the adult respond? How did you feel during and after the interaction? What effect did it have on your subsequent behaviour? What elements of that approach would you like to reproduce in your own efforts as an educator to support children’s positive behaviour?

Bring to mind an example of discipline that you felt was unfair, either from a parent or an educator. What behaviour on your behalf was being addressed? How did the adult respond? How did you feel during and after the interaction? What effect did it have on your subsequent behaviour? What elements of that approach should you ensure not to reproduce in your own efforts as an educator to support children’s positive behaviour?

Considering our own experiences in retrospect requires a commitment to reflective practice and critical analysis. Educational systems generate complicity, and both students and educators unconsciously collaborate to maintain status quo. Those who benefit most from the system, such as those who have progressed through educational systems to sufficient standard to become educators themselves, are disciplined into believing in their own merit, and that they ‘deserve’ that outcome. Those who benefit least, such as those who leave school early or who do not reach their academic potential, are disciplined into believing that this is due to a flaw in them rather than any flaw in the system (Bourdieu, 1991). Equally, there may be a tendency to sanitise our memories of discipline. For example, Bower and Knutson (1996) found that people who experienced a specific form of physical discipline as a child were less likely to label that form of discipline as abusive.

Toshalis (2010) has also shown how educators often resort to punitive disciplinary approaches when efforts at engagement of children are unsuccessful. Educators can become so focused on maintaining discipline that they act against any sign of creativity or independence of spirit, defaulting to discipline as a way of coping with what they perceive to be challenging or off-task behaviour. They may focus more on discouraging misbehaviour than on promoting learning or inspiring engagement. This book aims to give readers the opportunity to step outside their own disciplinary history and fears about ‘losing control’, in order to mindfully decide how they would like to approach the promotion of positive behaviour in the children they work with.

AUTHORITY AND CONTROL

Educators are often in a unique position in their experiences of authority, control and discipline. On the one hand, in their work with children, they are often considered as the adult to hold the role of ‘power’, notwithstanding recent moves towards recognition of the agency of the child (Hayes et al., 2017). On the other hand, particularly in the early stages of their career, educators may work within relatively rigid structures that require them to conform to institutional norms (Toshalis, 2010). There is much evidence from classic work in social psychology that being in positions of authority may bring out the worst of human nature (Zimbardo, 1971), but that equally obedience in the absence of proactive, critical analysis of such institutional norms can have devastating effects (Milgram, 1965).

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Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• 1. Deconstructing authority, control and discipline
• 2. An authoritative approach to promoting positive behaviour
• 3. Behaviourist perspectives and strategies for positive behaviour
• 4. Psychodynamic and relational perspectives and strategies for positive behaviour
• 5. Humanist perspectives and strategies for positive behaviour
• 6. The biological bases of behaviour
• 7. Behaviour in context: Bioecological theory and the web of development
• 8. An intercultural perspective on behaviour
• 9. Combining theoretical approaches: The example of bullying
• 10. Reflecting on positive approaches to engaging with children’s behaviour
• References
• Index