PPLE Essay 1

Misbehaviour. This is something that we have all encountered in our life, and it is

loosely defined as actions that contradict the accepted reasonable expectations of people

within our society. In a classroom context it would be more clearly defined as a deliberate

action that disrupts the function of teachers as facilitators of learning and the engagement of

students as learners (Houghton, Wheldall, Merret, 1988). To understand how these scenarios

effect different members of our educational community I have held informal interviews that

entailed asking 6 different people about their definitions and explanations of possible

motivation for those students that misbehave within a classroom. Looking then at

contemporary literature to gain an understanding for and managing misbehaviour in the

classroom I will seek to create tangible links between what the research tells us, and what the

subjects of my interviews elaborated on. Furthermore, I will discuss the implications of this data

to provide insight in best practices for teachers in order to manage both the students (and

instances of misbehaviour) and the teachers themselves in challenging situations in their

classrooms.

Literary Synthesis (review)

To understand the causes of misbehaviour it is important to clearly define what both

teachers and students consider it to be. Student Teachers have been found to be troubled by

students who are talking out of turn and moving about the classroom at inappropriate times,

and these inexperienced teachers exhibited signs of anxiety at these lesser forms of

misbehavior when compared to more experienced teachers (Atici, 2007). More experienced
teachers defined misbehavior within similar frameworks, but did not feel the same level of

anxiety when confronted with minor misbehavior. If cultural diversity is to be considered here,

then it is important to note that within Eastern countries (particularly China) the most

commonly noted form of misbehavior is daydreaming (Meixia, Yeping , Xiaobao, Kulm, 2008),

rather than talking out of turn, disruptions, avoiding work, bullying and aggressive behavior

towards other students were far more common within European schools (Stephens, Kyriacou,

Tønnessen, 2005). Similarly, in a study examining misbehaviour in Japanese schools, a student

found to be resting their head on the desk was listed as the most common form of

misbehaviour (Kyriacou, 2010). Interestingly these behaviour are not considered or mentioned

within western studies. These cultural differences became apparent during my research also,

with these more common western forms of misbehaviour being noted by the interviewees. In

an investigation as to the causal factors in student misbehaviour as noted by student teachers

in English and Irish schools, it was suggested that there is a wide range of reasons that student

teachers perceive as being the cause. These causes range from an unfair reward and

punishment system employed by teachers, unfair punishment of students, students needing

more time for completing work, the personality of the children and the seeking of attention

(Gibbs, Gardiner, 2008). This range of causal factors was described by both primary and

secondary teachers that were surveyed, with some parallels being found in my own research

interviews. Continuing to focus on the causes of misbehaviour experienced by student teachers

(in order to establish relevance for my own pedagogy), a Spanish study of student teachers’

opinions on the causes of misbehaviour ranged from external factors such as poor parenting

(not instilling good values in children), emotional difficulties and lack of self-discipline, to
teacher related factors such as poor skills at engaging students and curriculum and delivery

not being interesting enough (Kyriacou, Ortega Martín, 2010). This study noted that teacher

training is a key aspect of improving student behavior as it goes hand in hand with student

engagement.

Interview Findings

The interviews were conducted in a free-flowing manner and generally allowed the interviewee

to express their views in a fluid and cohesive way. During the interviews I responded (when

appropriate) to the responses given and took notes as the descriptions and opinions were

given. When further clarification was needed I asked more direct questions to gain a more

defined and cohesive response. I interviewed the following people.

Age Gender Group

18 Male Student

16 Male Student

48 Female Parent

75 Female Teacher (Retied, active casual), Parent

32 Female Non-teaching friend (Social worker)

27 Male Pre-Service Teacher

 I asked all participants to firstly give their own definition of misbehaviour in a classroom.

This is where the first variance in the interviews appeared with the students giving a very

externalized group of responses. The 2 males indicated that misbehaviour was broadly

described as disobeying instructions and rules, as well as disruptive and distracting actions

towards other students. The pre-service and professional teachers took a very pragmatic and

analytical approach to this response stating that breach of a code of conduct and or school and

classroom rules was a better way of defining misbehaviour, coupled with actions that show

disrespect for teachers also. The non-teaching friend stated that an action that affects others in

the classroom was an indicator of misbehaviour, with almost all participants stating that lesson

disruption was a common theme. Parents and teacher both listed the breaking of school or

classroom rules as their most prominent definition. The greatest variances appeared in the

responses to the question ‘why?’ do students misbehave in class. The students again stated

external reason, almost a deflection of responsibility, saying that students misbehave due to

actions and attitudes of teachers. Theses included being treated unfairly and punished

incorrectly leading to future reactionary misbehaviour, and a personal dislike of a teacher

leading to a desire to feel dominant. This was also evident in inter-student relations as

dominance (physical and emotional) over one another was given as a reason for contrary

conduct. In the worst scenario, one student mentioned that misbehaviour was a potential way

to get rid of a teacher where there was a personality personality clash. Repeated misbehaviour,

complaints from parents regarding overly strong discipline and interventions were a part of this

process.
 The parents interviewed took a more wholistic and objective approach to their opinions

of why students misbehave. They both stated that external factors such as poor parenting,

difficulties in home life and emotional instability as the main causal factors that lead to

misbehaviour in classrooms. A strong need for a sense of power was evident in the parents’

responses also, with students potentially feeling a lack of personal power over their lives and

their circumstances giving rise to this misbehavior. The theme of a need to feel power was a

common one throughout all the interviews, though the parents listed it as a higher causal factor

than the other participants. The parents also commonly stated that a lack of strong adult

relationships leads to misbehaviour in that classroom. As students can find themselves without

strong role models at home, and without guidance as to the respect towards elders that is

necessary within a functional society, these students can find themselves mirroring the poor

behavior that they witness at home. The Teacher that was interviewed was the only respondent

to mention that bad behavior can be an attempt to mask a skill deficit, with the bad behaviour

preventing the student (and their lack of skills or knowledge in a certain subject area) from

having their deficiency exposed. This causal factor links to the students need for a sense of

power, as well as indicating that a lack of relationship exists between the teacher and the

student. I observed 2 general overall themes in the responses, the first being that misbehaviour

is a response to a lack of engagement with a lesson or with the teacher themselves, and the

second was the students need for attention (for a variety of reasons). This is coupled with the

general statements that conform to the pattern of younger students stating factors other than

themselves (bad teachers), while the older respondents provided a more rounded and less

specific grouping of causal factors in classroom misbehaviour.

Cross-referencing Findings with Literature

At the very core of these issues is the inability for the teachers and students to form

strong relationships with one another and therefore the ability for both parties to demonstrate

respect for each other. Though there were many factors to consider, I feel that this little factor

that was barely mentioned is an important one. These relationships are critical in the proper

functioning of a classroom (McGrath, Van Bergen, 2015), and some of the issues that teachers,

students and student teachers encounter could be relieved by forming stronger relationships. The

parent interviewed was adamant that this is an important factor in her children’s’ schooling, with the

16-year-old boy confirming this in his responses from a personal experiential point of view. Having

encountered a teacher with whom there was a clash of personalities, the respondent described how the

inability for the teacher to understand him lead to his poor behaviour and academic performance for an

entire year. Correlation can also be seen between the respondents and the findings mentioned earlier

regarding the unfair reward and punishment system employed by teachers and an unfair

punishment system being employed by teachers (Gibbs, Gardiner, 2008). The student

respondents described how punishing a student incorrectly would lead to future disruption by

that student, and this would indicate that the student does not gain validation through any

rewards system yet is caught in a cycle of punishment and reaction that may have stemmed

from the student feeling that they had done nothing wrong. The responses of the interviewed

parents were somewhat congruent with causal factors of the poor parenting, emotional

difficulties and lack of self-discipline (Kyriacou, Ortega Martín, 2010).

Implications for praxis

Classroom and behaviour management is a very complex and dynamic attribute of a

positive pedagogy. As the literature and interviews have shown, there are many definitions and

causes for classroom misbehaviour, and there is no fixed set of instructions or rules that one

can follow to achieve an engaged and well-behaved student body. Teachers must take into

account not only the external factors that students bring with them to the classroom such as

home life and parenting attributes that they experience, but teachers also are required to

understand that students’ attitudes and emotional well-being can vary greatly from day to day.

Adolescent students experience mood swing, emotional and rational irregularities that can

cause a student’s behaviour and responses to situations to vary from day to day and moment to

moment. Teachers can however be self-reflective when examining the causes of student

misbehaviour. During the interviews it was overlooked that the teacher and their own feelings

towards their students and potential burnout can contribute to the causal factors that have

been mentioned (Costas, Tsouloupas, Carson, Matthews, Grawitch, Barber, 2010). With teacher

exhaustion being a causal factor leading disciplining students, this then leads to students

harbouring a feeling of low self esteem and embarrassment, which then leads back to more

misbehaviour as the student attempts to regain that lost sense of power and dominance. A lack

of self-efficacy is evident in both teacher and student at this point and can be regulated if the

teacher has a good sense of self-awareness and is able to break the cycle. If respect is to be

earned and not simply given, it is therefore the responsibility of the teacher to assume the role

of the wiser mind and attempt to guide the student to regain a positive relationship.
 In conclusion, misbehaviour is a very varied and diverse element of interaction in our

classrooms with which we should take cultural, personal and professional factors into

consideration. As teacher’s we possess the ability to be somewhat more reflective and

objective about this, and the student’s responses in my interviews confirm this, as they took a

very reactionary and dismissive approach to describing the causes of misbehaviour within and

around them. Reflective practice should then be adapted to keep our students engaged and our

relationships healthy. Focusing on building these relationships through mutual respect rather

than through a process of order and discipline should encourage our students to behave

appropriately in the classroom and aid in student outcomes.

PPLE References 

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& Behavioural Difficulties, 12(1), 15-27. doi:10.1080/13632750601135881 

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investigation. Journal Of Research In Special Educational Needs, 8(2), 68-77.

doi:10.1111/j.1471-3802.2008.00104.x 

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school teachers say they find most troublesome. British Educational Research Journal,

14, 297–312. 

Kyriacou, C. (2010). Japanese high school teachers' views on pupil misbehaviour. Pedagogy,

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pupil misbehaviour in Spain. Teacher Development, 14(4), 415-426.

doi:10.1080/13664530.2010.533481 

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