Name: Carys Arnold

SID: 10096097

Why do young people misbehave in school?

Misbehaviour in schools is a widespread problem. Teachers have a limited amount of time in which

to teach students a multitude of skills from the syllabus and misbehaviour or class disruption can

detract from not only the time allowed to teach, but the learning environment itself. Therefore, it is

very important for teachers and schools to have effective strategies in place for dealing with student

misbehaviour. The motives behind the misbehaviour must be studied in order to create effective

strategies.

Section One

Traditional methods of behaviour management involved punitive consequences to unwanted

behaviour. These methods were designed to remove students from the situation, for example

sending them out of the classroom or suspensions. These strategies are not effective in changing

student behaviour, and often have a negative effect on students and the school overall (Han, 2014;

Peguero & Shekarkhar, 2011). While student misbehaviour itself can have a negative effect on the

learning environment (Martens & Andreen, 2013), the preferred strategies for dealing with it teach

students appropriate behaviour instead.

Motivational theorists assert that every behaviour has a motive (Nagel, 2011), therefore it would

follow that in order to understand why students behave inappropriately in class, we must

understand what motivates them to act that way. Neurologically speaking, adolescents are often

motivated by their need for social approval, coming from the risk/reward functionality of the limbic

system. The limbic system rewards adolescents for social acceptance with little regard for any

consequences (Arnett, 2014).

 Name: Carys Arnold
SID: 10096097

Student misbehaviour stems from a variety of reasons. Some of these include; students not

understanding the topic (Johnson et al, 2018), school environment (Servoss, 2012), classroom

procedures and policies (Goodboy, 2011), social standing (Nagel, 2011), and teachers failing to set

consistent standards for classroom behaviour (Cheney, 2000). One strategy to prevent student

misbehaviour is to define the school-wide expectations in terms of acceptable classroom behaviours

(Simonsen et al, 2015). This is the main principle behind the Positive Behaviour Intervention Support

(PBIS) strategy for dealing with student misbehaviour. Teachers, administrators and related service

providers all have positive experience with the program and it has been widely shown to be an

effective measure (Miramontes et al, 2011; Kelm et al, 2014; Tanfara, 2017).

Golding writes about the perceived ineffectiveness of women as capable of behaviour management.

Often, school leaders believe that boys won’t behave for women, and only men can control boys

because they are a threatening physical presence, and women, being smaller, are ineffective in

managing the behaviour of boys (Golding, 2017). Golding advocates for “assertiveness, consistency,

diffusion, and redirection” (Golding, 2017) rather than intimidation as effective strategies – not least

of all because they can be consistent across the entire teaching staff. This is a different way of

understanding how effective the PBIS strategy can be, and why it is the preferred method for dealing

with student misbehaviour.

Section Two

Interviewees

The interviews for this paper were undertaken 50% by phone and 50% in person. There were two

parents of secondary-school aged children; (1) a 46-year-old male and (2) a 34-year-old female (also

a pre-service teacher). Two teachers were interviewed; (3) a 36-year-old female and (4) a 35-year-
 Name: Carys Arnold
SID: 10096097

old male. One pre-service teacher was interviewed; (5) a 27-year-old male. One non-teaching, 35-

year-old female (6) was also interviewed. The interviews were conducted in an informal setting

where each interviewee was asked the question; “In your opinion, why do students misbehave in

school?” and their answers were recorded by typing notes during the interview.

The interviewees were selected from a variety of cultural and racial backgrounds, and from different

areas within Greater Western Sydney and the Blue Mountains areas. The male to female ratio was

1:1. Both teachers have been in the profession for over ten years. This set of interviewees skew to a

more mature perspective given their age, however, with regard to the parents and teachers, their

experience with secondary school aged children should allow them more insight into the reasons

behind student misbehaviour.

Most respondents required little prompting for their answers and listed a variety of reasons for

student misbehaviour. The non-teacher required some additional questions to get to an in-depth

answer.

Results

The main theme across all of the interviewee answers was social standing or attempting to gain peer

approval as a reason behind misbehaviour. Every respondent mentioned this as a factor in student

misbehaviour. Some of the statements made included;

“It’s cool to be obnoxious, you get approval from your friends.” (1)

“They try to impress their peers – they get something out of [misbehaviour].” (2)

“They’re showing off to their peers.” (6)

Both teachers and the pre-service teachers listed student engagement as a factor in misbehaviour.
 Name: Carys Arnold
SID: 10096097

“It comes down to teaching methods – you need engaging content.” (5)

“If they’re not interested, they’re disengaged.” (4)

“They misbehave because they don’t engage with the learning.” (3)

Respondents 2 and 4 mentioned gender roles as a factor, particularly in regards of the perceived lack

of authority of female teachers over male students. Respondent 3 listed trying to impress members

of the opposite sex as a factor, but this is included in the social aspects of misbehaviour and won’t

be looked into as a separate issue in this paper.

“They may be acting out home issues, like some of them may come from homes where women aren’t

respected. It’s not a cultural issue, it’s a gendered one.” (4)

“It’s a power struggle – sometimes boys don’t want to do what a woman tells them.” (2)

All of these main findings support the idea of preventative measures. These measures should include

strategies for student engagement to remove the social impression of misbehaviour as something to

strive for, and should also include respectful strategies for students and teachers to follow in the

case of class disruptions. This includes having engaging content.

Section Three

Cothran, Kulinna and Garrahy (2009) noted that Australian teachers tended to attribute the causes

of misbehaviour to students and their families. This seems to align with the findings of the

interviews undertaken for this paper, as only the teachers and pre-service teachers mentioned
 Name: Carys Arnold
SID: 10096097

family life as a possible cause for misbehaviour, while those outside of the profession placed the

blame solely on the student.

While two interviewees mentioned gender roles as a perceived cause of student misbehaviour,

effective teaching and behavioural strategies ought to deal with the issue of gendered disrespect of

female teachers by male students. Golding’s (2017) reflection on her own teaching strategies

pointed out the effectiveness of de-escalation and assertiveness in behavioural management. This

shows that by simply assuming control of situations and having strategies to redirect misbehaviour,

female teachers can be as effective as males in disciplining boys. This kind of strategy should

empower female teachers regardless of their size relative to students and is useful for all teachers in

controlling misbehaviour.

The belief that social pressure is a deciding factor in student misbehaviour is directly related to the

students’ biopsychosocial development. Regions of the human brain mature at different rates.

During adolescence the limbic system, which is responsible for motivation and emotions, matures

faster than the prefrontal cortex – the site of executive functions that allow control over behaviour.

This imbalance favours behaviours motivated by emotions rather than rational decisions. It gives

adolescents the propensity towards risk-taking behaviour. The adolescent brain reacts differently to

stimuli than adult brains. Adolescents have a heightened sensitivity to the rewards offered by high-

risk behaviour, and reduced sensitivity to the consequences (Arnett, 2014). This often means that

they participate in disorderly conduct in the classroom if they believe their peers will approve, and

importantly, that the threat of punishment has little effect. If students are acting out in order to gain

peer approval, it logically follows that if their peers are engaged in the classroom, students will be

less likely to want to display disruptive behaviour.

 Name: Carys Arnold
SID: 10096097

Since student engagement is “composed of three dimensions; emotion, behaviour and cognition”

(Balwant, 2018), then it is essential that any preventative measure or intervention address all three

of these concerns.

Section Four

It is essential that teachers create a learning environment that is respectful of all students, and that

the teachers’ own biases do not come out in the classroom (NSW Education Standards Authority

(NESA), n.d). One example of this would be to ensure that the teacher allows all students’ voices to

be heard and that they don’t always call on their favourites (or least favourites) when asking

questions. Students’ liking of their peers can be influenced by not only their own behaviours, but

also the student-perceived amount that the teacher likes the student (Hendrickx et al, 2017), so

teachers must interact with all students positively.

The PBIS method is an effective means of behaviour management. PBIS is a three-tiered framework

of support designed to support meaningful behavioural change and pro-social behaviour (Tanfara,

2017). PBIS methods work best when implemented across the school rather than isolated to a single

teacher’s pedagogy (Simonsen et al, 2015). The primary tier is comprised of strategies that should be

applied at the school wide level for all students to follow. Many of these strategies are preventative

in nature and emphasise the key areas of culture and climate within the school with a focus on what

comprises appropriate and inappropriate behaviour whilst establishing the consequences for both

(whether reward or punishment). The secondary tier addresses students who have not responded to

the primary tier strategies and require intervention so that the student is supported in engaging in

appropriate behaviour. A secondary intervention may include assigning the student a mentor

teacher they should check in with regularly to provide feedback on their behaviour. The tertiary tier
 Name: Carys Arnold
SID: 10096097

of intervention is usually individual-based, and a plan of action will be formed according to the

student’s needs.

For the everyday teacher, the PBIS method should be a useful tool for classroom behavioural

management, even if it is not utilised across the school. The teacher should set out classroom

expectations from the beginning so that all students are aware of what is acceptable. This could take

the form of a code of conduct for the classroom, and have practical applications such as having a

token for students to pass around during discussion and they may only speak when they hold the

token. The teacher should set out specific consequences for both good and bad behaviour. A way to

combine the two of these might be to have every student’s name on a slip of paper and they are

asked a question and the name is drawn out of a hat. If a student misbehaves, their name goes into

the hat again, increasing their chance of being called on, so that they may be more likely to pay

attention from the start. This type of activity is dependent on the culture within the school, but

should be adaptable to most situations. In terms of moving up the tiers, it would be good practice

for a teacher to keep a log of student behaviour and responses to interventions. This data will also

be useful if the student needs more specialised attention, especially for the tertiary tier.

The tiered interventions are designed to assist students in the “building of coping skills and the

capacity for self-monitoring (or self-awareness) ... [Introducing] a behavioural plan also creates a

structure that holds teachers and staff accountable … because the feedback must be consistent and

generate an aura of predictability” (Levine, 2001). It helps students to make sense of their

environment.

In the same way the responsibility of behavioural expectations is a joint responsibility, so too is

learning and student engagement. It is not enough for a teacher to lecture students and expect that

they will take everything in. Students must be actively engaged in the curriculum (Trowler & Trowler,
 Name: Carys Arnold
SID: 10096097

2010). One of the more interesting points made in Harper’s (2008) work points to social capital as an

outcome of student engagement. Trowler and Trowler (2010) note a gamut of positive outcomes

from engaged students including cognitive ability, moral and ethical development, and psychosocial

development. The biggest obstacle in creating engaging content for students is that there is no

empirical evidence to say what should be done to create it (Balwant, 2017). On a basic level (and for

the purpose of this paper), student engagement is focused on effective teaching practice (Kahu,

2013). Effective teachers must create lessons that are interesting and relevant to students in order

for them to be fully engaged (Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership, 2016). Since

“engagement is a persistent and pleasurable cognitive-affective state consisting of vigour, dedication

and absorption” (Balwant, 2017), teachers should ensure that their content is culturally and socially

relevant for their students. This should be particularly easy in the English classroom given the

emphasis on intertextuality and the plethora of multimodal representations of texts. One example of

this could be to examine Shakespeare through the recent manga comic, or through a film adaptation

such as 10 Things I Hate About You as a cross referent to The Taming of the Shrew. Another could be

to have students examine the iPoe interactive app version of Edgar Allen Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart.
 Name: Carys Arnold
SID: 10096097

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