Heading: WHY DO YOUNG PEOPLE MISBEHAVE IN SCHOOL: REPORT

Why do young people misbehave in School: Report

Sam Higginson
18934292
Western Sydney University

Why do young people misbehave in school: Report

There are a myriad of influences that can be attributed to why young people

misbehave. Over the years, there have been many studies addressing student misbehaviour

(see Crawshaw, 2015), however, there has been little outlining why misbehaviour actually

occurs. According to Charles, Senter, and Charles (2014, p 10), “misbehaviour is behaviour

that violates class rules, demeans others, or is otherwise incompatible with the legal or social

norms of the society.” This paper will explore the ideas of why young people misbehave in

school, through a critical review of the available literature and the beliefs expressed by six

people in individual interviews. Through an analysis of the findings from both the research

and interviews, mechanisms behind misbehaviour will be highlighted, and techniques to

mitigate this student misbehaviour and how to implement them will be presented.
De Nobile and colleagues (2017) summarises and suggests that the misbehaviour of

young people can be split into three core groups: developmental, psychological and

environmental. The developmental group focuses on age and the experience that comes with
WHY DO YOUNG PEOPLE MISBEHAVE IN SCHOOL: REPORT 2

growing up, cognitive ability, social and emotional development, and moral development.

The psychological aspects, include emotional abuse, self-esteem issues and disorders like

autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Third, the environmental group references the influence of

home environment, socioeconomic status, ethnic and religious ideals, school and classroom

rules and teacher attitudes. This grouping of behaviour is extremely beneficial as it provides a

well-rounded view of why young people misbehave. Despite naming differences, these

groups identified are comparable to those identified in De Jong (2005). He emphasises how a

young persons physical, cognitive, social, emotional and spiritual components of health can

impact a young person’s behaviour, as well as the importance of self-esteem (psychological)

and providing effective pedagogy (environmental) (De Jong, 2005). This belief is further

reiterated in Alter, and colleague’s research (2013), as they highlight the occurrence of

misbehaviour differs by age and gender (developmental), and the impact of teacher pedagogy

and attitudes (environmental). The idea of teacher attitudes is additionally explored in

Demanet and Van Houtte (2012), focusing on the impact of teacher expectations and how low

expectations of a student can result in the teacher spending less time and effort supporting

that student. Sullivan and colleagues (2014) articulates an “ecological approach” whereby

behaviour is influenced by teacher factors, curriculum and resources, physical factors and

student factors. Whilst each of the articles may present their findings using different

terminology, the core tenets of explaining why young people misbehave is inherently linked

to components of health and wellbeing.

To gain a deeper understanding of why young people misbehave, six people from

various backgrounds were interviewed. The participants’ background were as follows:

F1 Female – 24. In her final year of study in a Master of Psychology
F2 Female – 25. High school music teacher
F3 Female – 58. Recreational officer for elderly and mother
M1 Male – 23. Pre-service teacher with a background working as a School

learning support officer

M2 Male – 19. Studying Sports & exercise science at University
M3 Male – 59. Business Operations Manager and father
WHY DO YOUNG PEOPLE MISBEHAVE IN SCHOOL: REPORT 3

The interviewees were provided with the participant information sheets and asked to

sign the consent form. Each interview took place as a one-on-one conversation, five

interviews were face-to-face and the remaining one was over the phone. The question, “In

your opinion, why do young people misbehave in school?” was asked and the interviewees’

responses were recorded. After all interviews were completed, the responses were collated

and analysed. During the analysis of the interviewees’ responses, a few key words were used

by the interviewees, such as: bored, attention, student ability.

The idea of students being bored in the classroom was mentioned by four out of the

six participants. F2, drew from her experience as a third year music teacher and stated that

students can become “bored because the lesson isn’t planned well, with empty spaces

between tasks.” This was further reiterated by M3 “students are bored because they don’t like

the content of the lesson.” With M2 recalling from his own experience and stating “students

don’t enjoy the work given.”

Although some of their reasoning’s in answering why do you people misbehave

differed, five out of the six participants suggested that gaining attention was important. F1

stated that “a student could receive lots of attention at home, but then at school they have to

fight for it, so they misbehave to get attention.” Similar to F1, F2 stated that “young people

might not be getting any attention at home so they try to get it at school." Likewise, M1

recalled some his own experiences “I had detention recess and lunch every day for two

weeks, because I mucked up in class. I had like a badge of honour for that any detentions.”

Another common theme expressed by the interviewees involved student ability and

disabilities. Working with young people throughout her course, F1 stated the “young people

could have a learning delay or disability. They become overwhelmed by the work and act out

to try escape it.” Equally in F2’s teaching experience, she has found that “young people might

have low abilities, and are hesitant to start the work because they are scared they might fail.”
WHY DO YOUNG PEOPLE MISBEHAVE IN SCHOOL: REPORT 4

It is easier for the student to misbehave than to ask for help. Additionally, M3 a father of two

said “young people could have behaviour issues so that’s why they misbehave.”
The interviewees also had some differing opinions including language and age

detailed by F2. M1 stressed that teacher expectations and that in dysfunctional families, a

young person cannot build up resilience. Meanwhile F3 suggested entitlement and electronic

distractions as a cause for a young person’s misbehaviour. Moreover young people’s

misbehaviour can be attributed to their feelings of being bored in the classroom. As

mentioned earlier, several of the interviewees shared the belief that young people misbehave

when they are bored, referencing “space between tasks” and “lesson content” as main

contributors. Whilst the research does not directly say the word bored, De Jong (2005)

highlights the importance of teachers creating engaging tasks and an overall engaging

classroom environment. Without this, a student will become disinterested and misbehave

because they are not enjoying the class.

Additionally, seeking attention occurs an act commonly associated with misbehaviour.

De Nobile and colleagues (2017) explains that students try to gain attention form their peers

by “showing off” and acting as a class clown (pp. 218). This behaviour can be the students’

way of trying to make friends or even trying to get out of doing classwork. Whilst the

interviewees described seeking attention as a common misbehaviour, the actual source of the

attention came from either having too much or too little attention in their home environments.
Looking at certain psychological factors such as mental disorders and learning

disability can also explain why young people misbehave. Apart from De Jong (2017), none of

the research explained in detail that student ability might have an impact on their behaviour.

Sullivan and colleagues (2014), did however suggest that there are certain student factors that

should be considered. On the other hand, the responses collected from the interviewees stated

specifically that learning deficits and disabilities can lead to a young person misbehaving.

Furthermore, teacher expectations can have a significant impact on a young person’s

behaviour (Demanet & Van Houtte, 2012). From his own research and experience, M1 was
WHY DO YOUNG PEOPLE MISBEHAVE IN SCHOOL: REPORT 5

the only interviewee to argue that if student felt the teacher has certain expectation of them,

then that student would actively fulfil that role. Alter and colleagues (2013) discussed the

influence of age and gender when considering the misbehaviour of young people. During

school, students experience numerous biological changes including brain development and

physical changes such as body growth (Arnett, 2014). These changes can affect the maturity

of students and the behaviour greatly. F2 was well aware of this through her experience as a

teacher and he teacher studies.

From the evidence above, it is clear that there are many reasons for why young people

misbehave in school. To stop or at least limit the misbehaviour, there are several crucial

implications for both teachers and the whole school community. In order to manage these

behaviours, teachers need to have a sound understanding of the biological and physical

changes their students are undergoing (De Nobile et al., 2017). Information on these areas is

continually growing, so a presentation during a staff development day at the beginning of

each year could be critical for teachers and their classrooms. By addressing all teachers, the

presentation will leave the whole school better informed and assist with managing student

misbehaviours.
Moreover, the aforementioned research stated boredom as a reason for misbehaviour.

For teachers, the significance of developing effective pedagogy is essential in providing an

engaging classroom environment. To do this, teachers need to ensure that lessons plans are

developed with flexibility to adapt to different classes. The lesson should involve stimulating

activities. For example, in a music class, instead of identifying musical notes on pieces of

paper, the teacher could separate students into groups and make it into a competition. Each

group would have team name and have to buzz in to answer, however, each student can only

answer once. Thus giving each student the opportunity to contribute. This would be

completing Standard 3 of the Australian Professional Standards for Teaching “Plan and

implement effective teaching and learning” (Australian Institute for Teaching and School
WHY DO YOUNG PEOPLE MISBEHAVE IN SCHOOL: REPORT 6

Leadership [AITSL], 2017). There are many game ideas that can be adapted for any subject.

If a teacher from each faculty can create and/or modify a few games for their teaching area,

classrooms within the whole school would be more stimulating and reduce student boredom.
Although they can have different implications for teachers, student abilities and

disabilities are also causes of misbehaviour in young people. A large majority of classes,

especially during years 7-10, are mixed ability classes, therefore is extremely important that

the teacher is aware of the students’ abilities. This references Standard 1 “Knowing students

and how they learn” (AITSL, 2017). Whilst this may take some time, getting to know the

students, their interests and understanding how the students learn will mean allow the teacher

to differentiate lessons. In doing so, all students will be able to attempt and complete the tasks

provided to them. For the students with learning disabilities, Killu (2008) suggested the

importance of developing Behaviour Intervention Plans (BIPs). Developing a BIP for a

student may also take some time, however, it should take into consideration the environment

in which the behaviour occurs, the actual behaviour exhibited as well as the antecedent and

consequence of that behaviour. The BIP should be designed as a collaborative effort using

teachers from multiple classes and the learning support team. If the teachers can work

together as a team, managing student misbehaviour will become a lot easier.

The articles and interviews above highlighted that seeking attention was a popular

means of misbehaviour in schools. Getting to know a student and establishing a professional

relationship, can be extremely beneficial for a teacher. Showing the students that you care

through asking about their interests can bring comfort to those students that struggle with

gaining attention at home. Establishing respect in the classroom and the school is very

effective in managing misbehaviour from attention seeking students. In addition, stating your

high expectations in the classroom can limit the “class clown” from misbehaving. There may

be some time needed, but the student should hopefully be able to self-regulate and understand

that there is a time and a place to be funny.

WHY DO YOUNG PEOPLE MISBEHAVE IN SCHOOL: REPORT 7

Through an examination of the articles in this paper and an analysis of the responses

from the interviews, it is clear that misbehaviour in young people is not caused by only one

factor. There can be several contributing factors such as student factors, teacher factors and

the environmental factors. The advantage of knowing and understanding these factors is

critical for both pre-service and in-service teachers as they try to curtail misbehaviour in

schools.

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