ESE Discipline - An Old Problem in a New World Cet By Maurice Balson Monash University Introduction At national, state, and local levels there is widespread public and professional agreement that the behaviour of children and young people has emerged as the most serious educational problem. The problem of discipline has been highlighted in many countries by government legislation designed to eliminate the use of corporal punishment in school. Many teachers and parents have reacted strongly against this legislation, the strength of their response. reflecting their concern that the growing number of defiant, apatheticand unco-operative students will prove unmanageable without physical punishment. Such is the bankruptcy of interpersonal relationships in schools and homes, Many teachers and parents who know no approacita motivation other than the threat or use of punishment, feel that they will be powerless to influence the behaviour of young people without external control In recent years, a number of approaches have evolved which offer alternative methods of understanding and. motivating children. One of these approaches, Individual Psychology, presents a most effective, comprehensive and meaningful approach for teachers and, when combined with group-based mastery strategies provides teachers with the most powerful instructional and managerial, strategy available today. Changing Nature of Student-teacher Relationships Teaching has always been based on a tradition which emerged from an autocratic society. [t maintained the superiority of the teacher over the students and endorsed the absolute power of the master. Control and com: pliance were achieved through the use of rewards and punishment and the authority of the teacher was strong enough to subdue any classroom resistance With the slow progress towards @ moze democratic social system, newer values have begun to emerge which have profoundly aifected relationships between groups of people such as male-female, black-white, man- ment-labowtr, parent-chid and teacher-student. These values include social equality, mu al respect, shared responsibility and co-operation. Their acceptance in has created enormous problems for teachers who, being a roduct of a different social system, now find themselves with inappropriate and ineffective man- agement and instructional strategies Basic Principles of Individual Psychology 1. Belonging is the basic motivation The desire to belong, to feel a part of the group, is one of the most forceful basic motivations for all) human behaviour, People are essentially social beings whose behaviour can only be understood in relation to a social context. The extent to which an individual feels asense of belonging will determine the extent to which he or she will co-operate with others, To utilise this principle, a teacher will view classroom behaviour as having, social significance and a representing the students’ best attempts to belong, A boy who consistently disrupts a class through late-coming or clowning believes he belongs only if he can keep the teacher busy with him. The ‘Wrongness' ies notso much with the behaviour itself as with the belief that belonging depends on receiving constant attention, Teachers must aim to modify motivation rather then behaviour. One of the biggest mistakes which teachers make is to deal with problem stuclents in isolation and to view each student as their own responsibility. As all classroom problems are social problems, they mustbe solved within that context, Students influence each other far more than do teachers; itis necessary, therefore, that the fotal class be involved in any corrective action designed to help par ticular students. Practices which involve withdrawal or exclusion of particular students from the classroom fail to recognise the social nature of the problem, This point is made in a basi dictum of the psychologist Allred Adler that the individual is socially embedded and cannot be recognised or examined as an isolated human being, 2. All Behaviour is purposeful Every action by an individual, be it socal, intellectual or emotional, is purposeful and consistent with a chosen manner of belonging, The physical science model of looking for causes has not served the behavioural sciences well; determining the intention of a behaviour is a far more productive approach than seeking causes. A knowledge of the goal towards which behaviour is directed i5 essential if teachers are to influence students. When teachers indicate that they do not understand par ticular behaviour, they are revealing that they are unaware of the goal of the behaviour. If they know the they might perceive the behaviour tobe tent and perfectly appropriate A teacher who applies this principle will always ask “For what purpose?” rather than ‘Why slowness, defiance, inability to learn, disobedience, of Lateness,withdrawal, are all aimed at particular purposes. However, when teachers respond to such behaviour they almost invariably make it worse. What we do to correct children is why they are misbehaving, observed Dreikurs in 1968. The application of this principle to teaching will challenge the validity of certain practices. The large umber of students who fail or have difficulty has resulted in the growth of remedial programmes and remedial materials. These provisions fal to recognise that all behaviour is purposeful and that the majority of children whe do poorly in school cicose to do poorly. This is a rather startling statement for it suggests that the rapid growth of remedial provisions is unnecessary. True! Itis essential to realise with Dreikurs that, ‘Deficient behaviour may not result from real deficiencies but from wrong decisions’. Abilities or disabilities have nothing to do with learning. Ample evidence now exists which supports. Bloom’ doctrine that: “What one child can learn, all can learn’ ‘A student who is having difficulty in learning is dis. playing one of four possible goals ~ attention, power, revenge, or withdrawal. Failure to team reflects a faulty decision by the student rather than a lack of ability. A student who believes that he belongs only by being the most pawerful will not complete assignments, will defy and resist correction by a teacher and will appear to be apathetic and unmotivated. Far from it. His goal is to defeat teachers, and thus their constant urging, cor- recting, admonishing, and the like are exactly what he wants. At present, the major cause of school failure, namely, a faulty decision made by students, remains unrecognised while vast sums are expended on the eradi- cation of the symptoms of the faulty decision, 3. Misbehaviour results from a sense of inferiority All inadequate behaviour, be it intellectual, social oremo- tional, results from a series of experiences which cauises students to doubt their own worth. Harmful practices at school include: grading, streaming, competition, condi- tional acceptance, withdrawal programmes, accelerated or gifted classes, mistake-centered approaches, and reward or punishment. Their harm arises from their tendency to discourage or divide students. Many students find that their intitial attempts at learning and co-operating are unsuccessful. Some are unintentionally discouraged by teachers who use these practices. Consequently, they begin to lose faith in their ability to cope. This loss of confidence in one’s ability to cope with the demands of the school, particularly when applied to reading and mathematics, is the antecedent of, learning and behaviour problems. Some schools fail to accept students as they are; acceptance depends upon ‘being better’. Many students give up because they can never be as good as others want them to be, to be as good as other students, oras good as they themselves want to be. Teachers hesitate to accept students unconditionally. This is usually out of a fear that they will not improve unless their deficiencies are noted and corrected. This negative approach, particularly common in mathematics, results in discouraged students and discouraged teachers each fortifying the other's sense of inadequacy. Students who develop a sense of inferiority tend to avoid responsibility, conceal imagined deficiencies, avoid possible failure or attempt to prove their superiority over others. All unacceptable performance in the classroom can be traced to a loss of self-confidence, to a sense of inferiority resulting from discouragement. Failure in learning is not the cause of inferiority buta consequence. Lacking confidence in themselves and in their ability to meet the demands which schools place upon them, many. students turn to disturbing ways of behaving in their attempt to salvage some semblance of worth and signi cance, ‘It is the stage which is reached after one hi hoped against hope, tried without expectation. of, success, and finally give up in despair’, observed Dinkmeyer and Dreikurs. 4. Goals of misbehaviour Students who have difficulty in learning and those who create behavioural problems are indicating, their inability to find a place in the class through constructive activity and are resorting to inappropriate behaviour in a bid to gain recognition, significance and a feeling of belonging, ‘The four goals towards which all classroom. mis: behaviour is directed have been identified as attention secking, demonstrating power, seeking revenge or dis- playing inadequacy. Rather than concentrating on behaviour per se, teachers should seek to determine the purpose of the behaviour, ‘Is it to get attention? power? revenge? of for withdrawal?” These are the key questions which a teacher must ask ofa student who is not coping. with a particular task or is proving to be a behavioural problem, Students who seek aifention aim to put teachers in their service or to receive special recognition. ‘I am nothing. unless I can keep others busy with me.’ The clown, the nuisance, the lazy student or even, paradoxically, the model child In contrast, the students whose goal is power believe they belong by being the most powerful. ‘I can prove my importance by refusing to do what you want.’ They may be stubborn, disobedient, defiant, apathetic, argumen- tative and unco-operative, ‘Their failure to complete assignments or homework is frequently an attempt to defeat teachers. Students who seek revenge feel hurt and disliked. Their desire is to hurt others as they themselves have been hurt, Their purpose is to get even, and they are sullen, morose, vicious, cruel, violent, and moody. Students who display inadequacy are those who are very discouraged and no longer hope for any success or recognition in class; they cease to make any effort, They appear stupid or incompetent; their desire is to be left alone so that theirassumed deficiency may go unnoticed. The majority of students who perform very poorly in school operate on this goal, Their failure has nothing to do with ability but reflects their faulty decision about what to do concerning their lack of recognition or 5. ter ying stuclent god An understanding of the goals of a students mis- behaviour is necessary before a teacher can take effective action. Without understanding, teachers inevitablyworsen the problem by reinforcing the students’ faulty beliefs about how they can most effectively belong, Two methods of determining goals are available. The first involves noting the teacher’ reaction to the mis behaviour! The second concerns the student's response to the teacher's correction. These approaches may be sum- marised as follows Goal Teacher’sReaction Student's Reaction toCorrection Attention Feels minor Behaviour secking annoyance temporarily stops Power Feelspersonally Behaviour persists challenged Revenge Feelsdeeply hurt Behaviour intensified Inadequacy Feelstikegivingup Remains disinterested How Teachers may apply Individual Psychology to Help Students 1. Go against your frst impulse Teachers need to resist their initial impulse when they encounter a difficulty in the classroom. Teachers are the target forall unsatisfactory behaviour and their corrective measures are invariably in line with the expectations of students who misbehave. Whatever teachers feel like doing is exactly what students want them to do. Sweeny has said that ‘behavioural research on conditioning affirms the Adlerian notion that, what most adults do impulsively when they respond to misbehaviour is incor- rect. To change student behavious, teachers must first change their own, Students act while teachers react. To break this cycle, teachers must learn to go against their first impulse. When confronted with a demand for attention, refuse to provide it; choose not to become involved in power struggles; do not feel hurt by the behaviour of the revengeful student and refuse to accept a students display of inadequacy. Not until this detri- mental cycle of act-react is broken can teachers begin to influence students positively 2. Use the encouragement process The most important obstacle to learning in school is dis- couragement. Almost without exception, students who are experiencing difficulty with a subject, or who possess negative attitudes towards it are those who have lost con fidence in their ability to meet the demands which the teachers make upon them To improve teaching use procedures which encourage students and restore their faith in themselves. The ultimate validation of any teaching method is the extent to which it encourages students. So crucial is this encour- agement process, that Adler wrote of it; ‘An educator's most important task, one might almost say his holy duty, is to see that no child is discouraged at sc Instead, teachers unintentionally provide students with a series of discouraging experiences. The major sources of discouragement are mistake-centred approaches, competition, grading, streaming, with- drawal, acceleration and differential teaching. Consider just one of these practices, mistake-centred teaching, A teacher introduces the topic of linear equations and works several examples on the board, then asks the stuclents to solve six problems presented on a work sheet, During supervision, the teacher points out the errors which students have made or theie inappropriate work habits. Teachers typically feel that no improvement will ‘occur unless they point out the nature of the errors or deficiencies, This approach is one of the greatest obs- tacles to learning, It undermines the self-confidence and self-respect of students. The focus on mistakes is calamitous. When teachers are asked why they constantly correct children they reply that their intention is to help. theit. students. This approach (detecting weaknesses and then providing remediation) has been generally accepted, particularly in remedial education, Yet there is no surer way” of @estroying a child’s confidence than to focus consistently on his or her deficiencies. The faulty pattern of behaviour or performance becomes more firmly established and further discouragement is inevitable. Mistakes simply indicate a lack of skill; with practice, this condition will be corrected. However, by focusing on mistakes, teachers erode away a student’ confidence. The number of students who drop certain subjects at the first available opportunity is ample testimony to the effect of discouragement. Poor performance in school is a product of poor teaching and has little or nothing to do with the ability of students, Dreikurs observed that: ‘The deliberate use of ericour- agement, and the knowledge and skill to use it effec. tively, are prerequisites to any constructive and corrective influence’. While teacher attitudes are important, there are a number of specific practices which aim at encouraging students. They include: {a) Build on assets and strengths while minimising mistakes and deficiencies: That is a good start to linear equations’, rather than ‘isee thal you are still having problems with negative numbe: (6) Emphasise the activity not the result ‘I see that you have been working hard on spelling’, rather than, ‘Good, ten out of ten. That's what I like, Provide recognition for effort: You found the homework assignment interesting’, rather than ‘I see that you weren't able to solve some of the homework problems. (2) Show faith in students and their ability so that they may have faith in themselves: “Knowing you, Lam sure that you will figure it out’, rather than You seem to have constant difficulties with multipli- In summary, encouragement recognises effort and improvement, shows appreciation for contribution,accepts students as they are now, minimises mistakes and deficiencies, focuses on assets and strengths, and separates the deed from the doer. Above ally encour agement is a process which communicates to children respect and self-worth through accepting them as they are 3. Establish group cohesion The success of a teacher will depend to a large extent on his or her ability to unite the class for a purpose. Teachers do not teach 30 individuals but a group of 30 students When that group’ united, positive attitudes to learning, and motivation permitall students tobe successful; when the group consists of varying subgroups, it is impossible to promote learning for all. The teacher should be the leader of the group. Effective and skilled handling of groups is a major task for teachers. Usually we have been taught to relate to students individually and are unprepared to influence and utilise groups. Butiitis important to know your class’ group structure, or you will unwittingly” intensify existing detrimental inter-group relationships. Then you can rearrange the subgroup structure to increase your influence on the class and on individual children Dealing with individuals or subgroups emphasises divisions and interferes with learning and socal func. toning. Teachers who are concerned only with those students who are highly motivated or who are high achievers will createan environment where the success of 2 Few will be at the expense of many. Only by integrating all students into one group can a learning environment be created where all can be successful The need to make use of the group stems from evolution of the the democratic ideal. With its accom- panying sense of equality, this has given the group a new significance. As adult domination has diminished, so has the power of teachers to enforce conformity to their rules, The group has become the major value-forming agent, and group pressure, rather than the power of teachers has become the most powerful influence on individual students. The teacher’ role has changed from ‘boss’ to ‘group leader. The teachers major task is now to unite a class for a common purpose. Shared responsibility is one of the most powerful means of integrating a class. Teachers lose the sole responsibility for dealing with the inadequate per- formance or behaviour of particular students; that task mow rightly belongs to the group. ‘What are we going to do about if? isa far more valid question than ‘What am f going to do about it?" It is a valid approach because the behaviour of particular students in a class is primarily influenced by the behaviour of others. Some students sive up because they cannot do as wellas others; some do well in order to be better than others, This tendency of stuclents to form opposing camps, to set up antagonistic subgroups of the ‘good’ and the ‘bad’, the ‘fast’ and the ‘slow’, the ‘accelerated and the ‘remedial’, represents a challenge to teachers. ‘Their effectiveness will be determined by the extent to which the challenge is met Until a class is united, teachers will continue the counter-production and damaging practices of setting up ability grouping, withdrawal programmes, special 8 or schools for the handicapped or gifted homogeneous grouping, differential curricula, streaming, and the like. A teacher who is skilled in intege rating a class will find these practices unnecessary, par ticularly when a group-based mastery learning strategy is carried out. These two strategies produce an optimal academic and social learning environment. Teachers who are to be effective in today’s school must view themselves as group leaders, recognise the increasing influence of peer pressure compared with adult domination, think and act in terms of the group rather than of individuals, and develop the techniques that lead to the establishment of cohesiveness within the class. The value of sociometry must be recognised, the indispensable technique of group discussion must be Practised, the divisiveness of competition recognised, and the compelling influences of classroom climate on morale and cohesiveness be realised. These imperatives represent a major challenge to teachers and to those who train them but, as Corsini observes, ‘a good system of education must be based on a correct theory of per sonality and upon a proper philosophy of life.’ Values which are fostered in a democratic community, such as ‘mutual respect, co-operation, shared responsibility, and social equality, must be those which aze developed, prac: tised, and modelled in the schools of today Notes Dr Maurice Baison is Senior Lecturer in Education at Monash. University; Clayton, Victoria. His work on classroom behaviour ‘has been published in a book Balson, M. 1982 Understanding Classrovm Behotiour, Australian ‘Council for Ectucational Research, Hawthorn, ‘The dictum from Alfred Adler can be found stated in Ansbacher, Hil. and Ansbacher, R.R. 1936 The ficial Psychology of Alfred Adler. Harper and Row, New York The observation that what we do to correct children is why they are misbehaving, made by Dreikurs.can be found first in Dreikurs, R. 1968 Psychology in the Classroom. Harper and Row, New York, His observation about deficient behaviour and wrong decisions can be found in Drcikurs, R., Grunveald, B. and Popper, & 1971 Maintaining Sanity inthe Classroom, Harper and Row. New York, p.6. The ideas of mastery learning, that, ‘what one child can learn, all can learn’ were introduced and discussed by Benjamin Bloom and can be read about in Bloom, B.S. 1976 Henare Characteristics McGraw-Hill, New York, The quotation describing the stage of despair after hoping ‘against hope is from Dinkmever, D. and Dretkurs, R. 1963 The Encouragement Pravess Prentice Hall, New York, p35. Sweeney’ affirmation from behavioural research of the idea that mostadults impulsive reaction ta misbehaviour is incorrect Sweeney, TJ. School Learn 1975 Aaterian Counselling. Houghton Mifflin, Boston, p. Adler’ comment on the educator's holy duty to avoid discour ement can be found in Adler, A. 1930 The Eduction fC Dreikurs observation on the deiibera from p64 of his Ps iren. Gateway, Chicago, p84 use of encouragementis, wom mentioned above. i I a