Behaviour Management Theory - An Overview
Before developing a Behaviour Management Plan it is important to have an understanding of the various theories and approaches to behaviour management that have developed over time. Some of the most influential approaches to behaviour management are outlined below, along with examples of how they 'look, feel and sound' in a classroom setting. The most positive aspects of each approach have been highlighted below, however you may find that some approaches ‘fit well’ with your personal teaching style and philosophy while others may not.
An integrated approach to Behaviour Management can take elements of each approach and personalise them to suit the needs of the teacher and individual students, whilst working within the framework of the whole school's approach to behaviour management.
I would advocate an Integrated Approach to Behaviour Management, as like many aspects of the teaching profession, flexibility is paramount!
An integrated approach to Behaviour Management can take elements of each approach and personalise them to suit the needs of the teacher and individual students, whilst working within the framework of the whole school's approach to behaviour management.
I would advocate an Integrated Approach to Behaviour Management, as like many aspects of the teaching profession, flexibility is paramount!
Theoretical Approach
John Dewey - Progressive Education Movement (1963).
Made clear the connection between curriculum, pedagogy and discipline and determined that ‘control’ should not reside with the teacher but rather in the activities in which children are engaged.
Adolph Meyer - Mental Hygiene Movement
A focus on prevention of mental illness was the incubus for this movement. Children’s behaviour problems were taken as symptoms of underlying emotional problems that teachers may not be able to solve but needed to be aware of when disciplining children so as not to make matters worse.
Constructivist Approaches - Jean Piaget, Lawrence Kolberg
Kolberg aimed to show that children develop self-control, good behaviour and an understanding of right and wrong through the daily negotiations and problems they solve in order to get along with others. I.e. teachers help children determine what is fair, right and good.
Behaviourist ‘control’ approaches - Lee and Marlene Canter (1976)
Assertive Discipline – re-emphasising teachers rights, particularly with regard to limiting students’ inappropriate behaviour
Counseling Approaches - Rudolf Dreikurs (Logical Consequences)
Establishment of a democratic classroom and teaching style helps students to gain a sense of their own place within the classroom and develop a sense of belonging. Students then understand that it is to their advantage to contribute to the welfare of the group and thus learn to be responsible and become self governing.
Applied Behavioural Analysis (Antecedent, Behaviour and Consequence)
ABA is the manipulation of what occurs both before (antecedent) and after (consequence) a particular behaviour in order to increase or decrease the probability of the behaviour recurring.
Manipulation is in the form of continued use of praise or incentives to promote the desired behaviour. Critics suggest this approach is overly dependent on the continued delivery of desirable consequences,(e.g. rewards or extrinsic motivators) rather than focusing on the intrinsic motivation of ‘doing good work’ or ‘making an appropriate choice’
Responsible Thinking Process (RTP) - Edward Ford
A whole-school approach to discipline based on the premise that students are capable of making responsible choices.
Reality Therapy (RT), Choice Theory - William Glasser
Humanism – i.e. people are capable of making responsible choices and do not need to be controlled by those in authority. Assumptions:
Teacher control/discipline - Fredrik Jones (1987)
Main contributions were use of ‘time-out’ and effective use of body language, incentives and individual assistance for academic problems
Teacher Effectiveness Training (TET) - Thomas Gordon (1974)
Focusses on Preventive strategies, including:
1. Effective teacher-student relationships
2. Open Communication
3. Active Listening
4. Utilisation of preventive ‘I’ messages
Teacher Effectiveness Research (TET) - Jacob Kounins (1970), Brophy & Evertson, Evertson & Anderson
Studies on how teachers prevented or contributed to student misbehaviour. Also focussed on discipline and group management in classrooms and the teacher’s skills in organising and managing classroom activities, skills in presenting instructional material and quality of teacher-student relationships (i.e. ecological/organisational)
Brophy & Evertson identified a strong link between effectiveness of the student-teacher relationship on behaviour and achievement.
Restorative Practices (RP)
A relative newcomer to educational behaviour management, Restorative Practices have grown from restorative justice principles in the criminal justice system. RP is now gaining momentum in school settings.
In the traditional approach to school discipline the questions of what happened, who’s to blame and what is the punishment are the main focus. By contrast, Restorative Practices focus on what happened, who has been harmed and what can be done to repair the harm?
Repair and maintenance of relationships is key to this approach.
This table has been adapted from various sources, including Scarlett et al, (2009), Purnell (2011), Drewery (2011), Rogers (2006) and Woolfolk et al (2007)
Made clear the connection between curriculum, pedagogy and discipline and determined that ‘control’ should not reside with the teacher but rather in the activities in which children are engaged.
Adolph Meyer - Mental Hygiene Movement
A focus on prevention of mental illness was the incubus for this movement. Children’s behaviour problems were taken as symptoms of underlying emotional problems that teachers may not be able to solve but needed to be aware of when disciplining children so as not to make matters worse.
Constructivist Approaches - Jean Piaget, Lawrence Kolberg
Kolberg aimed to show that children develop self-control, good behaviour and an understanding of right and wrong through the daily negotiations and problems they solve in order to get along with others. I.e. teachers help children determine what is fair, right and good.
Behaviourist ‘control’ approaches - Lee and Marlene Canter (1976)
Assertive Discipline – re-emphasising teachers rights, particularly with regard to limiting students’ inappropriate behaviour
Counseling Approaches - Rudolf Dreikurs (Logical Consequences)
Establishment of a democratic classroom and teaching style helps students to gain a sense of their own place within the classroom and develop a sense of belonging. Students then understand that it is to their advantage to contribute to the welfare of the group and thus learn to be responsible and become self governing.
Applied Behavioural Analysis (Antecedent, Behaviour and Consequence)
ABA is the manipulation of what occurs both before (antecedent) and after (consequence) a particular behaviour in order to increase or decrease the probability of the behaviour recurring.
Manipulation is in the form of continued use of praise or incentives to promote the desired behaviour. Critics suggest this approach is overly dependent on the continued delivery of desirable consequences,(e.g. rewards or extrinsic motivators) rather than focusing on the intrinsic motivation of ‘doing good work’ or ‘making an appropriate choice’
Responsible Thinking Process (RTP) - Edward Ford
A whole-school approach to discipline based on the premise that students are capable of making responsible choices.
Reality Therapy (RT), Choice Theory - William Glasser
Humanism – i.e. people are capable of making responsible choices and do not need to be controlled by those in authority. Assumptions:
- We are all basically good
- There are four basic human needs – belonging, love, recognition, having fun and being free (survival and security) i.e. very similar to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.
- Teachers provide warm, supportive place of learning
- Individuals are capable of making choices that affect them
Teacher control/discipline - Fredrik Jones (1987)
Main contributions were use of ‘time-out’ and effective use of body language, incentives and individual assistance for academic problems
Teacher Effectiveness Training (TET) - Thomas Gordon (1974)
Focusses on Preventive strategies, including:
1. Effective teacher-student relationships
2. Open Communication
3. Active Listening
4. Utilisation of preventive ‘I’ messages
Teacher Effectiveness Research (TET) - Jacob Kounins (1970), Brophy & Evertson, Evertson & Anderson
Studies on how teachers prevented or contributed to student misbehaviour. Also focussed on discipline and group management in classrooms and the teacher’s skills in organising and managing classroom activities, skills in presenting instructional material and quality of teacher-student relationships (i.e. ecological/organisational)
Brophy & Evertson identified a strong link between effectiveness of the student-teacher relationship on behaviour and achievement.
Restorative Practices (RP)
A relative newcomer to educational behaviour management, Restorative Practices have grown from restorative justice principles in the criminal justice system. RP is now gaining momentum in school settings.
In the traditional approach to school discipline the questions of what happened, who’s to blame and what is the punishment are the main focus. By contrast, Restorative Practices focus on what happened, who has been harmed and what can be done to repair the harm?
Repair and maintenance of relationships is key to this approach.
This table has been adapted from various sources, including Scarlett et al, (2009), Purnell (2011), Drewery (2011), Rogers (2006) and Woolfolk et al (2007)
Examples of Methods
Teachers are effective professionals who can manage a classroom so that everything about the classroom holds students’ attention and stimulates in children the desire to be good and productive citizens. (Scarlett et al, 2009)
We do nothing to harm or hinder the physical development of children. (i.e. we do not use shame, sarcasm, ridicule or humiliation in any way and we do not ask children to do work beyond his capability), do not place them in a position to fail constantly and avoid anger and scolding. i.e. Promote the child’s health and happiness. (Scarlett et al, 2009)
Class meetings, i.e. holding a class discussion to have everyone figure out how to reduce teasing and other annoying behaviours.
Stimulate thinking about justice and caring.
The teacher should clearly and firmly communicate their needs and wants to the students and is prepared to reinforce her words with appropriate actions. Teacher-centred.
Encouragement rather than praise
Natural and logical consequences rather than punishment Democracy rather than power, control and coercion.
Give choices as well as consequences, e.g. if you choose not to do your work now in class time you will need to complete this work at lunchtime.
Behaviour is shaped intentionally through reinforcement, e.g. positive and negative reinforcement.
The circumstances that took place before (antecedent), during (behaviour) and after the behaviour (consequences) are examined to determine the ‘function’ of the behaviour. E.g. acting up in class may result in the teacher providing more attention one-on-one, so the function of the behaviour was ‘attention seeking’.
For example, rather than giving attention to inappropriate behaviour, more subtle techniques may be appropriate, e.g. body language cuing or immediate 'time-out'.
Encouraged students to take responsibility for their own behaviour regardless of personal circumstances. Teachers help students to realise the consequences of their actions and to be responsible for their own decisions.
e.g The teacher may be aware that a student is not able to complete homework at home due to family situation, therefore, assists student to find an alternative way to get homework done.
Acknowledge reasons behind student behaviour to help them set more appropriate goals and make more appropriate choices.
'Time-out' is an effective technique for students who constantly talk, call out and interrupt the learning of other students.
'Time-out' can take place in the same classroom - priority is to quickly and efficiently move the child who is distracting other students to a position where they are out of sight.
For example, 'Riley - stand up and move to the back of the class near the wall'.
‘Active Listening’ to develop positive relationships (Scarlet et al, 2009)Use of ‘I’ messages:
1) State the problem
2) Describe effect
3) Describe your feelings
e.g. 'Simone - when you talk during class discussions your classmates find it hard to hear (problem) and I have to repeat all of the instructions (effect) which upsets me as it wastes our classroom time.'(Describe feelings)
For example: reorganising desks and classroom schedules to have better work groups and to better coordinate special education teams – in turn preventing problem behaviours.
Determining the most effective way to structure groups for each activity will reduce student misbehaviour - e.g. ability levels for reading, friendship groups for arts, mixed-ability groups for Maths.
Developing good teacher-student relationships via well designed engaging lessons and careful management of all classroom activities, including group work.
Answers to the questions of what happened, who has been harmed and what can be done to repair the harm are achieved through a consultation process where all parties affected by the behaviour have a 'voice'. Examples include 'circle time' or 'class meetings' where students and teacher use discussion to make wrongdoing's right.
An example of an issue raised could be 'Why do people talk behind my back?' 'Circle time can provide the forum in which to express feelings openly and without hesitation' (Woolfolk et al, 2007)
Whilst generally seen as a 'whole school approach', elements can be implemented into individual classrooms, e.g. class meetings (Rogers, 2006). Rogers is an advocate of 'class meetings' and has written about this approach in many of his books.
We do nothing to harm or hinder the physical development of children. (i.e. we do not use shame, sarcasm, ridicule or humiliation in any way and we do not ask children to do work beyond his capability), do not place them in a position to fail constantly and avoid anger and scolding. i.e. Promote the child’s health and happiness. (Scarlett et al, 2009)
Class meetings, i.e. holding a class discussion to have everyone figure out how to reduce teasing and other annoying behaviours.
Stimulate thinking about justice and caring.
The teacher should clearly and firmly communicate their needs and wants to the students and is prepared to reinforce her words with appropriate actions. Teacher-centred.
Encouragement rather than praise
Natural and logical consequences rather than punishment Democracy rather than power, control and coercion.
Give choices as well as consequences, e.g. if you choose not to do your work now in class time you will need to complete this work at lunchtime.
Behaviour is shaped intentionally through reinforcement, e.g. positive and negative reinforcement.
The circumstances that took place before (antecedent), during (behaviour) and after the behaviour (consequences) are examined to determine the ‘function’ of the behaviour. E.g. acting up in class may result in the teacher providing more attention one-on-one, so the function of the behaviour was ‘attention seeking’.
For example, rather than giving attention to inappropriate behaviour, more subtle techniques may be appropriate, e.g. body language cuing or immediate 'time-out'.
Encouraged students to take responsibility for their own behaviour regardless of personal circumstances. Teachers help students to realise the consequences of their actions and to be responsible for their own decisions.
e.g The teacher may be aware that a student is not able to complete homework at home due to family situation, therefore, assists student to find an alternative way to get homework done.
Acknowledge reasons behind student behaviour to help them set more appropriate goals and make more appropriate choices.
'Time-out' is an effective technique for students who constantly talk, call out and interrupt the learning of other students.
'Time-out' can take place in the same classroom - priority is to quickly and efficiently move the child who is distracting other students to a position where they are out of sight.
For example, 'Riley - stand up and move to the back of the class near the wall'.
‘Active Listening’ to develop positive relationships (Scarlet et al, 2009)Use of ‘I’ messages:
1) State the problem
2) Describe effect
3) Describe your feelings
e.g. 'Simone - when you talk during class discussions your classmates find it hard to hear (problem) and I have to repeat all of the instructions (effect) which upsets me as it wastes our classroom time.'(Describe feelings)
For example: reorganising desks and classroom schedules to have better work groups and to better coordinate special education teams – in turn preventing problem behaviours.
Determining the most effective way to structure groups for each activity will reduce student misbehaviour - e.g. ability levels for reading, friendship groups for arts, mixed-ability groups for Maths.
Developing good teacher-student relationships via well designed engaging lessons and careful management of all classroom activities, including group work.
Answers to the questions of what happened, who has been harmed and what can be done to repair the harm are achieved through a consultation process where all parties affected by the behaviour have a 'voice'. Examples include 'circle time' or 'class meetings' where students and teacher use discussion to make wrongdoing's right.
An example of an issue raised could be 'Why do people talk behind my back?' 'Circle time can provide the forum in which to express feelings openly and without hesitation' (Woolfolk et al, 2007)
Whilst generally seen as a 'whole school approach', elements can be implemented into individual classrooms, e.g. class meetings (Rogers, 2006). Rogers is an advocate of 'class meetings' and has written about this approach in many of his books.
