Running head: VIDEO ANALYSIS ON SCHOOL MATTERS 1

Portfolio Entry #4
Analysis of Video Clip, ‘School Matters – Challenging Behaviours’

May 2018
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Analysis of Video Clip on Strategies Employed to Correct Bad Behaviours in School

Children

Behaviours Strategies were designed to address

The strategies implemented in the video were used to mitigate classroom chaos

(Behaviour2Learn, 2011). Non-violent disruptive behaviour of students interrupts the flow of

classroom lessons, which hinders the learning of all students. Furthermore, challenging

behaviour exhibited by some students is a source of distress for many teachers. Teachers

suggested that a general lack of respect for authoritative figures, as well as change in society and

how students relate to all adults, teachers and parents alike, and the influence of media were

major influences in the bad behaviour of some students. Low level disruption in the classroom

was in the form of students shouting out of turn, leaving their seats without permission or

wandering around the classroom. Other examples of disruptive behaviour among students

include cursing at each other, or sometimes at teachers, jumping on tables and shouting abuse at

teachers. Additionally, students who do not follow classroom rules, do not participate in class

activities, or do not complete class or homework assignments can also be regarded as disruptive.

In times gone by, teachers and schools would have turned their backs on bad behaving students.

Presently, schools are employing different approaches in an effort to help these disruptive

students, who are otherwise described as ‘vulnerable’ by teachers.

Critique of the strategies implemented

The video highlights four strategies implemented by schools to address and curtail

disruptive behaviours among students in the classroom (Behaviour2Learn, 2011). The five

strategies employed at UK schools were the self-esteem through sport project, Ninestyles school
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behaviour policy, restorative justice (RJ), the nurture group programme and personalized

learning. Each approach has its own, unique characteristics, which contribute to their relative

appropriateness and effectiveness.

Self-esteem Through Sport. The self-esteem through sport project is a no-non-sense

approach to discipline. In the video a group of troubled year 10 boys engage in the team sporting

activity of rowing with an aim to change their bad behaviours (Behaviour2Learn, 2011). The

boys understand the importance of the roles they play in achieving the intended goal when

rowing. They follow the instructions and rules of their instructor keenly so that they can each

do their part effectively. They know that they are responsible for the success of their team and

they take pride in their achievements. As such, the boys gain a sense of belonging, achievement,

attachment and responsibility from the team building exercises, which helps to boost their self-

esteem. The programme instilled a form of discipline in the boys and helped to improve their

behaviour in and out of school. As such, the use of a sport is a very appropriate means by which

young boys can learn to respect themselves and others. In general, sports are fun, non-violent

activities that engages the whole being. They are not only interested in and motivated by the

sport; the boys also gain an understanding of how their actions affect everyone around them.

This strategy of self-esteem, through sport is also very effective. The effectiveness of the

programme was demonstrated in the improved behaviours and attitudes of the ‘troubled’ boys.

There was a marked decrease in the number of disciplinary sanctions the boys received during

school. Perhaps, the only downfall of the programme is that the boys still seemed to have a

general lack of motivation in academics, for example, still not doing homework. Nonetheless,

self -esteem through sport is appropriate and very effective because it resulted in a positive

change in the boys.

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Ninestyles School Behaviour Policy. The second strategy in the video, described as a

whole school approach is the Ninestyles School Behaviour policy (Behaviour2Learn, 2011). The

strategy is based on consequences; it is a clear, consistent approach to discipline that begins with

a verbal warning and may manifest itself to a six-hour stint in an isolation room. The hierarchy

of warnings students receive from their teachers when they are considered disruptive are C1- a

verbal warning, followed by a C2 – a second verbal warning, then C3 – an hour’s detention and

finally C4 – the isolation room. In my opinion, the level of punishment brought on by the first

three C’s are appropriate to discipline school children. However, the use of the isolation room is

a very extreme method of punishment. A major role of schools and the education system is to

teach children how to socialize and interact with other people. Although, when isolated they may

come to understand that their ‘bad behaviour’ has consequences, the concerns of the disruptive

students are not addressed and students get no guidance as to how to improve their behaviour in

the future. I believe that the isolation room is a milder form of solitary confinement and is not

appropriate in disciplining school children. In the video, an educator at the school commends the

system for ensuring that students stay in school and continue to do work and making students

aware of the consequences of their behaviour. However, I observed that the isolation room

completely neglected the emotional aspect and development of students. As such, I do not think

it is appropriate. The effectiveness of the whole school approach was identified by a teacher as

lessening the low-level disruptions in class, which allows for classroom lessons to flow

smoothly. However, it was suggested that this form of discipline does not work for more

vulnerable students. This was evident as there was a frequent offender in the video who

described the isolation room as horrible and boring, yet she still behaved badly and was sent

there often. Consequently, the effectiveness of this strategy seems to be limited to some
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students. Therefore, the whole school approach, which is based on consequences is only partly

appropriate and effective.

Restorative Justice. Restorative justice (RJ) was the third strategy identified in the video

(Behaviour2Learn, 2011). Unlike the whole school approach, this strategy does not deal with

instant punishment or consequence. Instead, students are encouraged to think about and change

their behaviour. This method deals with conflict, tension and aggression through conferencing.

Students are guided by their teacher through oral questioning and advising to reflect on their

actions; they consider how their actions affect others and what can be done to address the issue.

This strategy is very appropriate because although it does not use methods of direct punishment,

students are still able recognize the consequence of their actions and strive to improve their

behaviour in the future. This method is also appropriate as it fosters the lower level of

aggression among staff and students within the school. Similarly, the method can also be

regarded as effective. Although the change caused by restorative justice method may not be

immediately recognized, it was proposed in the video that restorative justice had long term

effects on student behaviour. Older students described the progress they made over the years

from year 7 to present as a form of maturation. They respond differently in certain instances

because they consider the consequences and effect of what they do and say before they do or say

it. Therefore, restorative justice is an appropriate and effective means to improve students’

behaviour.

Nurture Group. Fourthly, a nurture group to improve the behaviour of younger children

was introduced in the video (Behaviour2Learn, 2011). The programme is based on early

intervention to prevent the development of higher level disruptive behaviour. There is an

emphasis on listening, speaking and putting feelings into words. Students learn to positively
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express their emotions instead of acting out or being disruptive. Through their ability to manage

their behaviour, the students’ confidence and self-esteem improves. This makes them better

prepared and smoothens the transition into higher level, traditional classroom settings. The

nurture group is appropriate because younger children are very sensitive and more open to

learning new ideas. Therefore, it is best to teach students features of good vs bad behaviours at

earlier stages of their development. Young children will be more receptive to do what their

teachers tell them, and are more likely to follow the behaviours modeled by their teachers. If they

learn to properly manage their feelings, then negative emotions they feel will not manifest

themselves into disruptive behaviour. In this regard, the nurture group is also effective in

improving the behaviour of students. There are also long-term benefits from this strategy because

students will continue to behave well as they advance to higher levels of education.

Personalized Learning. The fifth strategy presented in the video was getting the

curriculum right by introducing more personalised learning (Behaviour2Learn, 2011). Specific

students were taken out of mainstream classes and curriculum adapted to teach them. This is a

very appropriate and effective method because the adaptation of the curriculum is suited to the

interests of the students, which engages the students and motivates them to learn.

Applicability and transferability to Jamaican context

Aspects of the aforementioned strategies are applicable and transferable to the Jamaican

context. According to Roncell Brookes, dean of discipline of Norman Manley High, behavioural

issues plaguing the Jamaican school system include “punctuality, dress code violations

(including grooming), possession of weapons, disrespect for staff, expletives used in class, and

truancy, in addition to constant disruptions of class through loud talking, throwing of papers and

bottles, and sometimes verbal/physical confrontation between students (Cammock-Gale, 2015).

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In my opinion, Jamaican schools would benefit most from Restorative Justice (RJ) and the

Nurture Group. Both strategies would be fairly new approaches in the local education system.

Aggression among our youth population, as well as adults, is an area of concern in Jamaica.

Restorative justice and nurture group strategies have been associated with a decrease in the level

of aggression among students and an increase in the ability of students to express their feelings

and their sense of responsibility. Perhaps, the most challenging part of integrating these

strategies in Jamaican schools is the necessity of experienced and qualified educators to provide

appropriate guidance and nurturing to students. I believe that proper implementation would

require some level of expertise in psychology and counselling of children on the part of the

educator to effectively bring about a change in the behaviour of students. Educators would have

to possess the know-how of the best methods and strategies to help students properly manage

their emotions and find positive solutions to their issues.

In addition, the self-esteem through sport strategy is also very applicable to the Jamaican

context. In fact, forms of this approach already exist in Jamaica and have existed for years.

Youth organizations such as the Jamaica Combined Cadet Force (JCCF), the National Youth

Council of Jamaica (NYC), Rotary Club, as well as community after school programmes, have

strived to engage young boys and girls in Jamaica through sport, music, activism, mentorship,

etc. A study conducted by the World Bank revealed that a “disconnect from family, school and

society were emerging as leading factors contributing to delinquent youth behaviour in Jamaica”

(Sepaul, 2012). As such, more hands-on approaches, like the rowing programme implemented in

UK, where authoritative figures spend more time directly interacting with individual students

will be beneficial to Jamaican students. The National Security Minister, Hon. Robert Montague

also urges more youth to join the JCCF. As one of the oldest youth organizations in Jamaica, the
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JCCF “caters to the holistic development of young people, aged 12 to 18, by providing mental,

moral and physical training so as to build discipline and character while instilling in them the

ideal of service to community and country” (Patterson, 2018). Additionally, Jamaican schools

would benefit from the implementation of stricter and more explicit systems of consequences,

similar to that of Ninestyles School behaviour policy. From my primary and high school

experience, I observed unfair regulation of punishment when students were disciplined

differently for similar offences. I do understand that at times teachers would consider the general

behaviour and persona of their students before they punish them; a normally well-behaved

student might not be punished as harshly as a normally bad-behaved student. However, this

breaks down the effectiveness of acts of discipline because students will begin to challenge

authority when they regard something unfair and biased. Considering this, the clear, consistent

approach to discipline of the Ninestyle School, is applicable and transferrable to the local school

system. If teachers and school administration explicitly identify rules and the sequence of

possible consequences when rules are broken then punishment is more likely to be executed

fairly at all times. As such, students will better understand the consequences of their actions and

are more likely follow the rules and behave well. Although, personalized learning strategy would

benefit disruptive Jamaican students who are unmotivated in academics or struggling to keep up

with the general pace of class lessons, it is my belief that its transferability in the Jamaica is

challenged because it would require additional educational resources, which Jamaica seemingly

cannot or is unwilling to afford.

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References

[Behaviour2Learn]. (2011, Dec 19). School matters – challenging behaviour [Video file].

Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FQodgXWArU&t=532s

Cammock-Gale, M. (2015). Take firm action to improve discipline in schools. Jamaica

Observer. Retrieved from www.jamaicaobserver.com/columns/Take-firm-action-to-

improve-discipline-in-schools_18806120

Patterson, C. (2018). Youth encouraged to join cadet corps. Jamaica Information Service.

Retrieved from jis.gov.jm/youth-encouraged-join-cadet-corps/

Sepaul, M. (2012). Youth at risk - the ties that unravel. Jamaica Observer. Retrieved from

www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/youth-at-risk---the-ties-that-unravel_11944501