Josef Niedermayer 17795076 102082 PPLE

Assignment 1 – Research
Report

102082 PEDAGOGY FOR POSITIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS

JOSEF NIEDERMAYER 17795076

SEMESTER 2 (SPRING)

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Josef Niedermayer 17795076 102082 PPLE

Table of Contents
Research Report – Why do Young People Misbehave?................................................................................2
Introduction.............................................................................................................................................2
Literature Review....................................................................................................................................2
Interview Findings (350 words)...............................................................................................................3
Reconciling the Literature Review and Interview Findings......................................................................4
Implications of Findings...........................................................................................................................6
Conclusion...............................................................................................................................................7
References...................................................................................................................................................8
Appendix – Interview Transcripts..............................................................................................................10

Word Count: 1974

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Josef Niedermayer 17795076 102082 PPLE

Research Report – Why do Young People Misbehave?

Introduction
…

Literature Review
…

Perhaps the most widely recognised and understood of factors that play into the behaviour of secondary
students are biological, such as puberty. Puberty is a term that, although often misconceived as being
synonymous with adolescence, has a biological basis; it marks the time of a person’s life when they
begin to develop physically and sexually. Adolescence, by contrast, is a culturally constructed term and
varies in interpretation according to the country in which it is used[ CITATION Arn13 \l 1033 ]. Puberty is
an extremely important factor when considering the behaviour of an adolescent for three primary
reasons; the significance of the physical, cognitive, and social changes that occur over the
developmental period. Even the mere timing of pubertal onset has been shown to have some significant
influence on the development of an adolescence [ CITATION Arn13 \l 1033 ]. Thus, the biological
developments undergone within a young person should not be overlooked when reasoning their
behaviour.

The second group of factors are psychological which, although have a root in the biological (i.e., the
physical), are complex and hard to separate from the other factors [ CITATION Bor04 \l 1033 ]. Given
this, Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, which serves to catagorise the developmental level of a
student, sheds light on some psychological factors. The main point this theory is that young people need
to pass through a hierarchy of developmental stages in order to be able to problem-solve and process
information in a more sophisticated manner (Arnett, 2013; Mcleod, 2018). Psychological factors also
encompass conditions such as depression, trauma or mental disorders, all of which would have a severe
impact on a student’s development and behaviour inside and outside the classroom[ CITATION Chr08 \l
1033 ].

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The third and last group of factors are social, and this includes both the environment of a developing
adolescent and any interpersonal relations within it. Socialisation begins with the family environment
but is largely peer-driven for the duration of the schooling years (Smith, Chein, & Steinberg, 2013;
Arnett, 2013). Risk-taking adolescents are also more likely to take risks in social situations, this means
that students are more likely to ‘act out’ or do something socially risky for a potential gain in social
standing or attention (Smith, Chein, & Steinberg, 2013; Arnett, 2013). Peer pressure and reputation are
two common examples of factors that will drive a student’s behaviour and are particularly present in
classroom behaviour (Smith, Chein, & Steinberg, 2013; Arnett, 2013).

Interview Findings
…

Reconciling the Literature Review and Interview Findings

There are more factors influencing why young people misbehave than this report, or perhaps any
report, could hope to contain. However, there are some reasons that appear to be more predominant
than others, and this section hopes to align the most commonly identified factors in both the literature
review and the interview findings. This would begin with the identification of the teacher as a pivotal
factor in the causes of the behaviour of students. What defines a quality teacher is outlined in the
Professional Standards for Teachers documents from NESA and AITSL where they state that a quality
teacher can accurately and effectively address misbehaviour and promote more positive behaviour in its
absence (AITSL, 2011; NESA, 2011). However, it is also the case that student misbehaviour can result
from the actions or inactions of the teacher, or that student misbehaviour can cause aggressive
management strategies from the teacher, further provoking misbehaviour[ CITATION Ril12 \l 1033 ]. The
former theme was present in the interviews.

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Josef Niedermayer 17795076 102082 PPLE

Implications of Findings
After reviewing and performing an analysis of the literature, professional documents surrounding
teaching, and the insights generated by the individuals from the interviews, I feel more informed of the
complexity of the issues concerning student behaviour and managing such behaviour. The points made
in the interviews provided some unique perspectives on the multi-faceted problem of misbehaviour –
defining it is difficult enough – and allowed me to temporarily step into those perspectives; such as the
view of the teacher and the parent. I have become more aware of how many factors there could be
behind a student’s misbehaviour, this was best summarized by Person 4 who said, ‘students are like
icebergs; you can’t tell what the other 90% of them is like’, and some of the ways misbehaviour could be
addressed. One thing is very clear; that teaching is very much a profession, and a difficult one at that.

Some of the more prominent sources that appeared in the literature were found with regards to
effective pedagogy and understanding how content can be structured. Vygotsky is one such figure oft
cited for valuable contributions to pedagogical approaches in the classroom. His work advocates for
peer collaboration, scaffolded work, and understanding the ‘Zone of Proximal Development’ for
effective teaching strategies (Arnett, 2013; Clements & Battista, 1990; Vygotsky, 1978)). Bloom’s and
SOLO taxonomies are hierarchical tools for understanding a student’s level of knowledge and ability to
problem solve on a subject that can also be used to improve the pedagogy of a lesson (Bloom, 1956;
Chan, Tsui, Chan, & Hong, 2002; Krathwohl, 2002)). These sources are useful in addressing the
effectiveness of the teacher’s approach to the lesson, which they have the largest control over, but not
other factors such as biological ones.

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In the article Inductive Discipline, Parental Expression of Disappointed Expectations, and Moral Identity
in Adolescence, Patrick & Gibbs (2012) studied the relationship between the moral identity of a student
with the ‘perceived parental disciplinary techniques’ (p. 973). They found that parental use of
disciplinary techniques had a strong impact on the way an adolescent created their moral identity. This
is a point that bulwarks the idea of creating a strong student-parent and student-teacher-parent
relationship in order to help the student with their behaviour (Person 3 and Person 4), and can be
utilised to effectively manage academic pursuits too.

Conclusion
In conclusion, the vigilance and clear mindedness of a teacher is paramount to effectively managing
student behaviour in the classroom. Given the myriad factors that can cause or negatively impact
student misbehaviour, it is of utmost importance that the teacher gathers more information, such as
contacting other teachers and the student’s parents, before implementing any plan of action for such
behaviour.

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References
…

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Appendix – Interview Transcripts

…

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