5.1.

WHAT KINDS OF PROBLEMS TO EXPECT

From children
It is important to remember that children are still learning to self-regulate their
behaviour and whatever subject you may be teaching, your job as a teacher includes
helping students through this process.

Lawrence Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development postulates that all youngsters go

through four stages of moral and ethical reasoning, and that the speed of progress
depends entirely on the individual. This explains why although all your students may be the
same age, some students haven’t yet learnt to self-regulate, and also why heavy-handed
discipline techniques may work well for some students, but not others. The four stages
recognised by Kohlberg are:

Stage 1: Recalcitrant behaviour - the ‘power’ stage

This is the lowest stage and is characterised by recalcitrance. Students are defiant, and
require a lot of attention from the teacher. They often refuse to do as they are asked and if
they want something, they usually just take it. They show very little concern for the feelings
of others. They seek out extensions of power - pencils, scissors, and rulers become weapons
in their hands. They have not as yet developed an inner sense of morality, but will follow
orders because of a fear of reprisal. They generally only respond to assertive discipline –
the imbalance between the adult’s power and the student’s power is what makes these
students behave. Fortunately, in any one class only a very small percentage will be at this
stage of development – by the age of five, most children have grown out of this stage.

Stage 2: Self-serving behaviour - the ‘reward-punishment’ stage

These youngsters have an individualistic morality and tend to be egotistical. They will
behave in class either because they want a reward (sweets, free time etc.) or because they
don’t like the consequences when they don’t behave. They have little sense of self-discipline
and rely on the teacher to provide supervision. Most children move beyond this stage by
the age of eight or nine. Older students who are still functioning at this level respond well
to assertive discipline.
Stage 3: Interpersonal discipline - the ‘how can I please you?’ stage

At this stage, children have started to develop a sense of discipline. They behave because
you ask them to – they care about what others think of them and they want you to like
them. A softer approach works with these students – assertive discipline is generally
unnecessary. These children are just beginning to trust others and build interpersonal
relationships – they may be fine with a particular teacher, but misbehave in other classes,
depending on the relationship with the teacher. In middle school, the majority of children
will be at this stage of development.

Stage 4: Self-discipline - the ‘social order’ stage

Students functioning at this level rarely ever get into trouble. They have a strongly developed
sense of right and wrong. They behave well because in their minds it is the right thing to do.
They enjoy cooperative learning – you can leave them to get on with a project with little
supervision. Students at this level do not respond well to assertive discipline.

--------

According to the Honor Level System, understanding these stages can help us to know how
to deal with problem behaviour. It is unrealistic to expect a Stage 2 student to suddenly jump
to becoming a Stage 4 student. Teachers need to accompany and coax students to the next
level of behaviour. It is also important to remember that children can always regress to a
lower stage at any time. If your student consistently performs at a higher stage and suddenly
regresses, you should look for a reason for the shift in behaviour: problems with family,
friends, alcohol, drugs, tiredness, illness etc.