Introduction
Classroom behaviour problems negatively affect students by disrupting the learning process and increasing teachers’ stress levels. They even change the dynamic focus of the classroom and change attention from academic excellence to solving challenges caused by disruptive behaviours. In most cases, classroom behaviour is started by a few students who act in ways that disrupt the learning process and incite others in the class to do the same. It is more advisable for teachers to stop these behaviours in the early years of learning because it helps children learn how to regulate their feelings and has a lasting effect on their cognition. This study will focus on strategies that can be used for classroom behaviour management in the early years (5-6 years old).
Individual-Based Interventions
Three main strategies can be used to manage behaviour: individual, classroom, and school-based. Individual-based strategies are aimed at students with behaviour problems in the classroom. One of the strategies that teachers can use is giving attention and recognizing positive behaviour. In this case, the educator needs to acknowledge positive behaviour from the students and be specific about it. In their article, Hester, Moran, and Richards focuses on students’ development and education standards in England from birth upto five years. They state that this initiative helps students understand and choose their actions wisely (Hester, Moran, and Richards, 2021, p 7). For instance, if the child that always makes noise in the class is quiet during a lesson, the teacher should be keen to acknowledge their positive behaviour. This will encourage the child to uphold good behaviour because it seems the right thing to do.
The other strategy is that the educator must know more about the children. This means they should only know about the student’s academic information but strive to know more about their families. According to Sinclair et al. (2020, p 8), an article that used a randomised group trial to determine teacher-perceived student need for behavioural management, educators should seek to understand a child’s background because it impacts their behaviour. For example, a child was hyperactive and excited to choose the type of activity to participate in, making them lack concentration in class. Upon following up on the student, the teacher found the student lives in a tiny one-single house with her mother and sister, which has no access to outside space. Therefore, the activities are enormous and overwhelming to the child. After knowing this situation, the teacher scheduled a “morning task” with the pupil and included an outdoor activity, enabling the child to remain calm and positively impact the rest of his day.
Educators can still use the language of emphasis on the children to help them get over a situation. Children will likely be disappointed if they finish some activities they like prematurely according to Saunders et al. (2022, p 6) and article which focuses on existing sedentary behaviour for children and youth. Therefore at the age of 5-6 years, they can significantly struggle to transition from one activity to the other, creating challenges in behaviour management. Teachers can use empathetic language and some sense of humour to show the children that they support them. For instance, if the break time is over and children are playing football, the teacher can use empathetic language to show them that it is time to switch activities and get to class. For example, the educator can say,” I know how fun it is to play football, you must be disappointed to go back to class, but there is still another break during the day when you can play more games.” This sense of empathy will show the children that the educator cares and will help them to transition from one activity to the other with little disappointment; hence fewer behaviour problems will be expected.
Children may need some quiet thinking space and time for self-reflection. Educators should ensure they give their children thinking space to replace the time-out strategies. According to (Wang, Blake and Chattopadhyay, 2021, p 6), in their study highlighting the importance of regular physical activity in children’s academic achievement and behavioural management, children should be given quiet time to meditate. With guided thinking time, children should be able to establish their problematic behaviours and what they can do differently to avoid the same in the future (Hester, Moran, and Richards, 2021, p 10). For instance, if a child is used to becoming the first academically in class, they may wish to be the first in all class activities prompting them to do problematic behaviour such as pushing others out to be first.
Classroom-Based Strategies
One of the most effective classroom-based interventions for behaviour management is noise reduction. Reducing noise levels in the class makes the learning environment more organised and efficient. Although complete silence is not considered a desirable trait, the teacher should ensure that students reduce their noise levels and allow a smooth learning process. One of the strategies Hopkins and Wilson (1973 educators) used was a sound level device whereby children could select their favourite music to p[lay in class (Hester, Moran, and Richards, 2021, p 10). Once their noise level exceeded a certain limit, it would go off. This method proved very effective in reducing noise and was adopted by other educators to help reduce noise by adopting a device called ‘Yacker-Tracker.” It allows the teacher to set the noise limits and signals the device will give when the limits are exceeded. For instance, a red signal implied that the noise level was more than acceptable, and thus the teacher had to intervene. A green signal meant noise levels were still within the accepted level, and the teacher could encourage compliance by rewarding the class if they kept the green signal.
Another classroom strategy that the teacher can use to tame problematic behaviour is relationship building. Since the teacher’s attention to students is used to reinforce good behaviour, having positive relationships between the teacher and children encourages them to adopt good behaviour. When students have a good relationship with their educators, they are likely to drop disruptive behaviour, and focus on student achievement. According to Saunders et al. (2022, p 5), three disruptive students were able to change their problematic behaviour due to teacher greetings at the classroom door by mentioning their names. In addition, the research showed that teacher greeting and interactions with children before starting the lesson reduced dramatic behaviour in the classroom. Therefore, teachers can use various strategies, including manipulative social power, likeability social power, coercive power, and expert social power, to manage student behaviour. Teachers who support positive behaviour, create personal relationships with children and target specific children are likely to be more effective class managers.
Behaviour management in the classroom can be done by effectively facilitating transitions. The modern curriculum has created more activities that students can undertake in their learning, including group activities, discussions, moving around, and equipment sharing. The transition into these activities tends to be noisy, especially for young children in their early years. In addition, some of the activities, such as group discussions, are generally noisy, and the teacher may have less control over them. However, the teacher can manage these transitions by creating clear rules and guidelines which should be followed during the transition period (Hester, Moran, and Richards, 2021, p 13). Using colour-coded rules can be effective for children to know which rules apply at given specific periods. Additionally, having well-crafted transitioning rules encourages positive behaviour because students know what they are expected to do.
In other cases, good behaviour management can be done by introducing the good behaviour game. According to Saunders et al. (2022, p 14), this method was very effective in managing good behaviour in the lower grades. The game is about setting a small number of good behaviour rules which students are expected to follow. These may include rules such as; respecting others, managing yourself, keeping your classroom clean, and solving problems responsibly. The teacher then has to define the rules and break them into daily activities by integrating them into the routine. The rules are then written somewhere so the children can read them, and each rule is awarded specific points. The teacher can divide the class into teams competing against each other to maintain good behaviour. The pass mark for the teams and reward can be set to motivate the students. When one team achieves the target, they are rewarded to encourage the other teams to be disciplined too. This method can be successful in behaviour management, especially for early learners who are highly competitive and enticed with rewards.
Another effective classroom-based intervention is teacher performance feedback. This method evaluates the teacher’s ability to follow the agreed behaviour management programme. When the assessment and feedback are provided to both the teacher and student, it proved to be more effective than when it was based on the students alone (Saunders et al., 2022, p 12). Performance feedback significantly improved teachers’ compliance and skills with programme goals. When teachers strictly follow the agreed programme by appreciating students’ positive behaviour, smiling at children, praising them when they do good, and rewarding them, they are likely to lead to good behaviour management. Teachers’ interaction with students should be highly monitored occasionally, and observe how the teacher should deal with problematic children. The teacher’s feedback can help them better tackle the problem of distractions and poor behaviour in a classroom setting.
School-Based Interventions
The first school-based intervention which can be helpful in behaviour management is harnessing the energy of the new school year. People always have the desire to start over when they have something new. Just like that, children are excited when they get New Year’s resolutions, guiding them through the learning process. Therefore, the teachers and school administrations should make new changes at the beginning of the year to give children some change. The pupils expect new classmates, schedule changes, and even new rules, which implies that it is the best time to introduce behaviour management rules (Saunders et al., 2022, p 13). The teachers should tell the children how they expect them to behave and leave an open door for discussion and suggestions. This makes them feel more comfortable and willing to comply with the new rules.
The other school-based intervention is choosing the appropriate punishment for children with behavioural misconduct. Unlike adults, children need to be supported when they make mistakes rather than being punished. This enables them to take the support positively and encourages them to do what is right. A common way of punishing students was cutting them from fun activities such as playing football or from their peers. This traditional method has a negative impact on students because it does not provide solutions on what to do better in the future (Hester, Moran, and Richards, 2021, p 8). Additionally, the method creates an environment of rejection from peers and a sense of humiliation. Thus, children should be given supportive punishments, including regulating calm-down space to better themselves. The school should have well outlined punishment models, and the teachers should be taught how to listen and connect with the children. This will make them understand the scenario from the student’s perspective making it easier to help them to feel better.
Conclusion
Good classroom behaviour is essential for a smooth learning process and positive academic achievement. However, when children adopt negative behaviour, the educator must use the right strategies based on the given scenarios to rectify it. Some of the individual-based strategies are; giving attention and recognising positive behaviour, knowing more about the children, using the language of emphasis to help the children, and giving children some silent-thinking time. Classroom-based interventions include noise reduction, relationship building, effectively facilitating transitions, using the good-behaviour game, and teacher performance feedback. The school-based intervention includes harnessing the energy of the new school year and choosing the appropriate punishment for children who have behavioural misconduct. When used effectively, these strategies can be helpful for behaviour change, especially for children in their early years.
Reference List
Hester, S., Moran, L. and Richards, E. (2021). Reimagining Children’s Behaviour and Behaviour Management ‘Otherwise’: A Critical Commentary on the English Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). Child Care in Practice, 13(2), pp.1–16.
Saunders, T.J., Rollo, S., Kuzik, N., Demchenko, I., Bélanger, S., Brisson-Boivin, K., Carson, V., da Costa, B.G.G., Davis, M., Hornby, S., Huang, W.Y., Law, B., Ponti, M., Markham, C., Salmon, J., Tomasone, J.R., Van Rooij, A.J., Wachira, L.-J., Wijndaele, K. and Tremblay, M.S. (2022). International school-related sedentary behaviour recommendations for children and youth. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 19(1), pp.1–10.
Sinclair, J., Herman, K.C., Reinke, W.M., Dong, N. and Stormont, M. (2020). Effects of a Universal Classroom Management Intervention on Middle School Students With or At Risk of Behavior Problems. Remedial and Special Education, 42(1), pp.1–14.
Wang, H., Blake, H. and Chattopadhyay, K. (2021). Development of a School-Based Intervention to Increase Physical Activity Levels Among Chinese Children: A Systematic Iterative Process Based on Behavior Change Wheel and Theoretical Domains Framework. Frontiers in Public Health, 9(2), pp.1–10.