2014

Owen Doherty
Sheffield Hallam University
3/20/2014
General Professional Studies
General Professional Studies 2013-2014 20 March 2014
Owen Doherty

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General Professional Studies 2013/14
Contents
Introduction: ............................................................................................................... 2
Behaviour Management in schools ......................................................................... 2
External stimulus for behaviour .............................................................................. 4
Sugar consumption during lunch: ........................................................................ 4
Possible fights or commotions which have occurred: .......................................... 4
Classroom climate during the lesson: ................................................................. 4
Managing behaviour with regards Teaching Standards ............................................. 6
Establishing high expectations of behaviour ........................................................... 6
Enticing students from misbehaviour ...................................................................... 7
Differentiation: ..................................................................................................... 7
Climate control ........................................................................................................ 7
Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 8
References ................................................................................................................. 9












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Research Question
"A good school behaviour policy, agreed and communicated to all staff, governors,
pupils, parents and carers, consistently applied, is the basis of an effective approach
to managing behaviour." (House of Commons Education Committee 2011 p.3)
Based on your own school placement experiences, to what extent do you agree with
this statement?
Introduction:
This report outlines the aspects to which this writer concurs with the above statement
and elaborates on areas where external stimulus can effect students behaviour.
From the writers experience in two contrasting schools, one of which is an
independent school in the heart of Sheffield while the other is a comprehensive
school in the heart of Dronfield, there is a vast difference in student behaviour which
is apparent. From initial investigation it is clear to see that the behaviour in the
independent school is far superior to that of the comprehensive school with regards
the students attitudes for learning in the class and also the behaviour of the students
around teachers and other staff outside of class. That being said as the
comprehensive school is located in a rural area in comparison to other
comprehensive schools which may be situated in large cities with a larger catchment
area the behaviour policy in these schools may be completely different as behaviour
could be worse in more populated schools.
The relevance of what has been written above is to suggest that all schools have
their own behavioural policy which the writer shall investigate and compare to
identify the strengths and weaknesses of each school. Other aspects which may be
considered is the fact that students going to the independent school face fees of up
to 11,000 which may be an added incentive for good behaviour, as there will be
pressure from parents and guardians to get results for the amount of money which is
being paid. As aforementioned there are a series of aspects which contribute to the
students behaviour in class, which do reflect on the influences of students peers, i.e.
carers, parents, teachers etc. and there are other aspects which affect student
behaviour which will be outlined later in this report.
Behaviour Management in schools
The Department of Education (2009) defines behaviour management as;
"Behaviour management is a whole school approach to creating an
environment to promote positive behaviour and reduce opportunities for poor
behaviour. Behaviour management is also about responding to poor
behaviour in a way that not only allows students to take responsibility for their
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behaviour but provides them with an opportunity to learn and change."
The extract which above depicts that behaviour management is a whole school
approach to promoting good behaviour within the school, which means that an
evaluation of the behavioural policy of each school should prove beneficial to this
regard.
In terms of the Independent school there doesnt seem to be any formal written
behavioural policy which can be easily accessible however, positive behaviour is
rewarded in the form of house points and praise during lessons by the teachers while
negative behaviour is punishable through red lines, negative events which remove
house points and lunch duty where students must clean the food from their peers
plates and pick rubbish from the grounds.
In contrast the comprehensive school has a formal written behavioural policy which
should be adhered to by staff and includes the following:
Consistently good attitude to learning, academic progress and other achievements
are recorded on e-portal (website based approach to rewarding and sanctioning
students) as 'Positive Event' on a students behaviour log. Many faculties have star
stamp systems that help students work towards a positive event. Higher rewards for
outstanding effort, contributions to the community, outstanding academic
achievement and progress are also recorded as positive events. Unacceptable
behaviour or attitude that has led to a teacher giving a sanction like a detention is
recorded on e-portal as a 'Negative Event' on a students behaviour log. The severity
of the negative event is determined by the unacceptable behaviour and resulting
sanction. Additional involvement by Heads of Faculty, Year Teams (Form Tutor,
Year Manager, and Progress Leader) or the Senior Leadership Group resulting from
a students behaviour log will also be recorded on a students behaviour log as an
intervention.
A students behaviour log will be shared with parents at reporting times, when
success is celebrated and when there is a cause for concern. All parents/carers are
given a username and password to access their childs e-portal behaviour log from
the internet. In addition, a parent/carer can request a printed copy of their childs
behaviour log at any time.
From the information provided above it can be attained that both schools are similar
in regards to rewarding and disciplining students for behaviour in terms of house
points/ positive and negative events. Therefore even though there is no accessible
written behavioural policy in one school there should not be any real significant
difference in terms of the student behaviour, hence there must be some form of
external impact on the students behaviour either from parents or carers or other
external influences.
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External stimulus for behaviour
There is the quantitative genetics approach, which looks inside the body to explore
how gene variants affect behaviour and pays scant attention to environmental factors.
Then there is the social sciences approach, which looks outside the body to gather
data on community-level influences and largely ignores genetic variation. Collier R.
(2012)
This quotation depicts that students are affected by external influences for example
that which may be hereditary and other external influences. Thus supporting the
opening question of how external persons may influence the behaviour of students
but also depicting that behaviour can stem from other influences also. It has been
noted on placement in the comprehensive school that Year 9 students in particular
become more energetic and more likely to misbehave after lunch where a range of
influences may act as a stimulus for misbehaviour. Consideration has been given to
the following areas:
Sugar consumption during lunch:
It has been noted that students at the comprehensive school brought bags of sweets,
fizzy drinks and chocolate to school and had been consuming them during form time
and during lunch which means that students during the lessons have extra energy
which needs to be released in some form. Some students are prone to playing with
pens, tapping on the tables, clicking pens and talking/ joking to other students which
in turn may disrupt other students who may or may not have had any sugar
consumption. This is something which did not occur in the independent school as the
school had free school meals for the students which meant that the sugar intake
during lunch time was minimal. This indicates that the classroom behaviour can be
addressed quite effectively before students even enter a lesson.
Possible fights or commotions which have occurred:
School yard bust ups have a major impact on whole school behaviour and not just
classroom behaviour as word of mouth travels fast amongst students especially from
those who have seen the altercation first hand. The writer refers to this as an
altercation occurred just prior to a lesson which started after lunch in the
comprehensive school and the period of time in which it took for the teacher to calm
and focus the students was extensive in relation to previous lessons. The
misbehaviour in these lessons is mainly in relation to maintaining classroom control
as students were more inquisitive about who took part in the altercation and what
had actually happened than what they would be doing in the lesson.
Classroom climate during the lesson:
Temperature:
The teacher has found that classroom temperature plays a major role in the attitudes
of students for learning. When the classroom in theory lessons reaches high
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temperatures students can tend to do one of two things:-
o Become tired and uninterested in the class and have a psychological
need for a rest.
o Become restless and have a need for interaction with other students as
a means of staying awake or alert.
Weather:
Students tend to react differently depending on the weather outside for example rain,
bad weather and the lack of natural light can make students feel a little depressed
and reduce the students attentiveness for learning where as good weather where the
sun invades the classroom can have the same effect as the above with regards
temperature and glare. Focus can reduce significantly as the desire to enjoy the
good weather takes over.

















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Managing behaviour with regards Teaching Standards
In terms of the writers experience in class and from a review of literature classroom
behaviour can be managed and Roffey S. (2011) states that;
Helping students feel safe, secure, successful, valued, acknowledged, included and
heard will, over time, influence their constructs and the way they feel about
themselves and others. This is the foundation for changing behaviour and
engagement with learning.
Establishing high expectations of behaviour
In terms of the Teaching Standards this writer has adopted a no nonsense approach
to teaching in that all students must have respect for the teacher and their peers
should a classroom discussion be held. On a number of occasions and especially
after lunch the teacher has had to reaffirm the rules in the classroom with regards
respect for one another whether they are speaking to the teacher in a theory lesson
or in the workshop. This rule is not only for the students own health and well-being
with regards the workshop but also to build self confidence in students who are trying
to include themselves in parts of the lesson as they shall feel safe in the knowledge
that their contribution is valued by their peers and acknowledged by the teacher.

Sanctions have been used in accordance with the schools behavioural policy with
regards negative events, red lines, detentions or isolations as a means of controlling
the behaviour in the classroom so students are aware that should the rules not be
obeyed they will expect repercussions for their behaviour.
Positive behaviour has also been rewarded in line with the schools behavioural
policies and department policies with regards positive events and postcards home to
inform the students parents of their impeccable behaviour. The reinforcement of
positive and negative behaviour not only links well with Teaching Standard Seven
which depicts the high expectation of behaviour and establishing a framework for
discipline with a range of strategies but also links well with Theorists such as Skinner
(1903-1991). Bentham S. (2002) states that
actions that are followed by reinforcing consequences are more likely to re-occur,
and that actions that are followed by unpleasant or punishing consequences are less
likely to re-occur.
In reflection of this sub section positive behaviour is rewarded whereas negative
behaviour is punished. This means that students will behave more attentively if they
feel they can be rewarded for their good behaviour and in contrast should not act
inappropriately if they know they will be sanctioned. This should relate to the
student's outer school life where parents may reward good behaviour or good grades
from school with regards a physical outcome i.e. a holiday or a new phone.
Misbehaviour may be sanctioned with regards grounding them, no pocket money or
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loss of privileges.
Enticing students from misbehaviour
There a close link between student behaviour and student learning. If students are
misbehaving they are not learning. Kyriacou C. (2009) states that there are three key
elements to student learning;
Attentiveness: the learning experience must elicit and sustain the pupils
attention.
Receptiveness: the learning experience must elicit and sustain pupils
motivation and mental effort.
Appropriateness: the learning experience must be appropriate for the
educational outcomes required
Differentiation:
As aforementioned students behaviour and student learning are closely linked and
they are so in the following regard. As the statement above states the pupils should
sustain a focus during the lesson. This means that all should need to be engaged so
that if the gifted and talented are completed their work they shall not be kept waiting
for others to catch up. This will keep all the students engaged in the lesson and
challenge the more able students which in turn minimises the chance of
misbehaviour amongst students. Ofsted (2013) portray differentiation as;
This is the crucial moment when you engage the students in the exciting task ahead
and explain that this will make a difference to them personally. To succeed you must
communicate your expectation of success and your personal excitement about what
they can achieve and why it is important.
What the writer has outlined here is that not only do the students stretch their
knowledge but they are effectively distracted from being bored and having nothing to
do other than to misbehave. In the writers lessons he has found one of the most
effective ways of differentiating is to have the more able students working on a
demonstration which is relevant to the topic which is being covered in the lesson and
have them present their demonstration to the rest of the. Again this keeps the
students motivated as they may be nervous talking in front of the rest of the class
they usually want to gain some positive feedback amongst their peers.
Climate control
This writer likes to try and harness the negative energy and flip it on its end in terms
of climate control. Where rooms are of an extensive temperature and students begin
to become tired and quiet the teacher will open a window or door or try a practical
method of learning theory for example a Y7 class were doing a theory lesson on
levers and pivots in a classroom with no natural light and where the heat was
extensive. The teacher took it upon himself to open the door to allow some colder air
to enter the room and also got all the students to take part in a demonstration looking
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at how wheel barrows are a form of class two lever and have two students personify
a wheel barrow to identify the difference in weight. This kept all students attentive
and receptive to the objectives of the lesson, which ties in well with Teaching
Standard Five.
Conclusion
From the information provided in this report it is evident that there is some truth to
the statement in the research question however it does extend to much more than
what has been stated. This writer has investigated that there are some hereditary
and external stimulus which can dictate the behaviour of particular students in
lessons, however there are methods for teachers to overcome and eliminate
misbehaviour in the first place. These methods include climate control, differentiation
and by setting down clear behavioural rules for students.
Climate control could be as simple as ensuring the temperature in the class is
adequate for learning to take place and ensuring that if there are students who are
becoming tired that there is some form of physical interaction where students can get
out of their seats and take part in demonstrations for example.
Differentiation can be a useful tool for students to stay focussed during lessons
where the more able students finish their work earlier than others and are moved on
to a further learning task which should stretch the students ability and thus reducing
the possibility of those students misbehaving.
Following the schools behavioural policy the teacher should be able to adopt the
same behavioural policy for each lesson and be safe in the knowledge that the
students will be aware of the school policy themselves and may be afraid to be
sanctioned should any inappropriate behaviour occur. An example of this may be a
school house system where students are rewarded with house points for positive
behaviour and sanctioned house points for negative behaviour.
Most parents and carers do adopt a similar policy with regards rewards for positive
behaviour and sanctions for misbehaviour. These are usually in the form of the
addition of a positive event for example a cinema trip or day at the zoo etc. or in
contrast the removal of a positive event for example pocket money or even
forbidding the students to leave the house (grounding them).




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References
Department Of Education. (2009). Improving student behaviour and welfare.
Teacher In-Service Behaviour Management. 1ST Edition (1), 6.
Collier, Roger. "Unhealthy behaviours influenced by genes and environment."
Canadian Medical Association Journal 184.8 (2012): E395-E396.
Roffey, S. (2010). Changing behaviour in schools: Promoting positive
relationships and wellbeing. SAGE.
Bentham, S. (2002). Psychology and Education. Hove: Routledge.
Ofsted (2013). The framework for school inspection. [online]Last accessed 20
March 2014 at http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/framework-for-school-
inspection.
Kyriacou, C. (2009). Effective teaching in Schools Thoery and Practice. 3rd ed.
Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes.