CAPACITY BUILDING ON SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR
A
PAPER PRESENTED BY:
Sulaiman Abdullahi Albaji
@
GREAT
HEIGHTS ACADEMY KADO ESTATE ABUJA
INTRODUCTION
People’s
understanding of what constitutes social and anti-social behaviour (ASB) is
determined by a series of factors. As a result, what may be considered
anti-social behaviour to one person can be seen as acceptable behaviour to
another? The subjective nature of the concept makes it difficult to coin up a
single definition. In a nut shell, anti-social behaviour means:
Acting in a manner that causes or is likely to
cause harassment, alarm or distress to one or more persons (as the defendant(s)) While social behaviour
is the otherwise.’
Cameron
(1998) reviews classifications of problematic pupil behaviour in schools, and
of strategies and techniques employed to address these behaviours. As part of
this, he proposes a grouping of anti-social behaviour into five categories:
§
aggressive
behaviour (e.g. hitting, pulling hair, kicking, pushing, using abusive
language);
§
Physically
disruptive behaviour (e.g. smashing, damaging or defacing objects, throwing
objects, physically annoying other pupils);
§
Socially
disruptive behaviour (e.g. screaming, running away, exhibiting temper
tantrums);
§
Authority-challenging
behaviour (e.g. refusing to carry out requests, exhibiting defiant verbal and
non-verbal behaviour, using pejorative language);
§
Self-disruptive
behaviour (e.g. daydreaming, reading under the desk).
NB
It is
important to note the HATE theory
LITERATURE REVIEW ON SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR AS RELATED TO ACADEMIC
PERFORMANCE OF PUPILS
Research
indicates that children who display disruptive behaviour in school receive less
positive feedback from teachers, spend less time on tasks, and receive less
instruction. They lose opportunities to learn from their classmates in group-
learning activities and receive less encouragement from their peers. Finally,
children who are disliked by their teachers and peers grow to dislike school
and eventually have lower school attendance (Raver, 2002).
Science has
established a compelling link between social/emotional development and behavior
and school success (Raver, 2002; Zins, Bloodworth, Weissberg, & Walberg,
2004).
Research
has demonstrated the link between social competence and positive intellectual
outcomes as well as the link between antisocial conduct and poor academic
performance (Zins et al., 2004).
Programs that
have a focus on social skills have been shown to have improved outcomes related
to drop out and attendance, grade retention, and special education referrals.
They also have improved grades, test scores, and reading, math, and writing
skills (Zins etal., 2004).
CONSEQUENCIES OF ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR IN CLASSROOM
Misbehaviour
by some pupils may impact negatively on the classroom environment, and
consequently lead to a loss of teaching time.
Reasons are:
·
Students
don’t listen to what the teacher says.
·
There is
noise and disorder.
·
The teacher
has to wait a long time for students to quieten down.
·
Students
cannot work well.
·
Students
don’t start working for a long time after the lesson begins.
IDENTIFIED SOCIAL SKILLS AS ESSENTIAL FOR ACADEMIC SUCCESS
·
Getting
along with others (parents, teachers, and peers)
·
Following
directions
·
Identifying
and regulating one’s emotions and behaviour
·
Thinking of
appropriate solutions to conflict
·
Persisting
on task
·
Engaging in
social conversation and cooperative play
·
Correctly
interpreting other’s behaviour and emotions
·
Feeling
good about one self and others.
THE ROLE OF SCHOOLS IN IMPROVING BEHAVIOUR
The direct
involvement of parents with their child’s school (e.g. through meetings with
teachers or volunteering in school) has also been shown to be positively
related to pupil behaviour (Pomerantz et al, 2007).
a. School
climate
It has to
do with the shared beliefs, values and attitudes that shape interactions
between students, teachers and administrators.
b. Overall
approach to school discipline- Proactive measures/ Reactive
measures
c. Pupils’
attitudes towards school rules and discipline
Too much
and strict rule have negative impact on bahaviours.
d. In-school
provision for pupil behaviour management
There are
some examples of other strategies that might be adopted at the school-level to
improve pupil behaviour:
• Rewards.
• Seating arrangements.
• Support
staff.
• Class size.
• School uniform.
e. Specific
punishments or sanctions
(Burns,
1978; Houghton, Merrett and Wheldall, 1988 in Infantino and Little, 2005)
report that sanctions which restrict a pupil’s activities in school, such as
detentions, are successful as a deterrent for reducing disruptive
behaviour.
f. Working with parents
Six factors
that can impact upon the success of school-parent working are:
• treating
parents/guardians as partners and not blaming them for poor behaviour
• informing parents about their children’s
successes as well as about unacceptable behaviour.
• discuss with parents the school’s concerns
and agree a common way of working to help pupils make improvements to their
behaviour.
• establish
the best way of communicating with parents and provide regular feedback on
progress being made
• share
values and expectations with pupils, parents and staff
• ensure
parents and guardians hear from the school when their children are doing well
so that the first contact is positive
THE ROLE OF TEACHERS IN PROMOTING GOOD BEHAVIOUR
a. Teachers’
use of powers to discipline
These powers include:
• The power
to discipline pupils even when they are not at school, in uniform, or in the
charge of a member of staff.
• A
specific legal power to impose detention outside school hours (including at
weekends and on non-teaching days), regardless of parental consent.
• The power
to confiscate, retain or dispose of a pupil’s property as a punishment
(legislation protects school staff from liability for damage to, or loss of,
any confiscated items); and
• The power
to search without consent of the child for weapons and stolen items etc.
b. Classroom
management - Proactive strategies/ Reactive strategies
c. Teacher-pupil
relationships
SUGGESTIONS TO INCREASE SCHOOL READINESS IN YOUNG CHILDREN
1.
Policy –
Federal and state policies need to reflect the importance of these foundational
skills by removing barriers and providing incentives and resources to
communities and programs:
a.
to improve
the overall quality of early care settings
b.
to support
families so that they are able to promote positive relationships and social
competence in their infants and young children
c.
to prevent
problem behaviour by addressing social and educational factors that put
children at risk for challenging behaviour
d.
to provide
effective services and interventions to address social/emotional problems and
challenging behaviour when they occur.
2.
Public
Awareness – Federal, state, and local governments and community agencies
need to raise the visibility of importance of social competence in school
success.
3.
Knowledge
and Skills – Early care and education--- professionals need training and
on-site technical assistance for:
a.
Promoting
social skills (e.g., identifying and regulating emotions, playing
cooperatively, following directions, getting along with others, persisting with
tasks, problem solving, etc.)
b.
Preventing
problem behaviour (through classroom arrangements, individualizing to
children’s’ interests and abilities, etc.)
c.
Providing
effective intervention strategies when needed (e.g. positive behavior support,
peer mediated strategies, etc.)
CONCLUSION
The refining of a child’s social behaviour rests
heavily on the parents, teacher and the pupil’s shoulders. As such, it is a
tripod task. All other agents are mere subordinates. Therefore, teachers and
parents must patiently work hand in gloves to maintain social behavioural
stability in the young generation.
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