Running head: STUDENT BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT

FBLA 279 Student Behavior Management

Justin E.R. Blietz
Drake University

STUDENT BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT

Student discipline and management is a vital issue that must be addressed by school
leaders in order for academic success to occur in their building. John Hatties research states that
the influence of appropriate classroom behavior has a .71 effect size on a students academic
achievement. His work also shows that decreasing disruptive behavior in the classroom has a .37
effect size on student achievement (Hattie, 2012). Equipped with the knowledge of the
overwhelming impact of student behavior on academic achievement, it is important school
administrators have a well-planned, research-based behavior management system in place.
Based on the abundance of research, this behavior system should center on a few key ideals.
These include understanding the importance of peer groups and using them to change behavior,
as well as reframing student weaknesses into strengths, allowing them to become part of the
solution rather than the problem.
The foundation of any behavior management system should include the understanding
that the peer group, not the teacher, has the most potent impact on youth. However, this doesnt
mean adults dont have a significant role in changing behaviors and developing social skills in
the youth. It simply means we must be smarter in our approach of dealing with young people.
This starts with the idea of enlisting the opposition. Rather than creating unnecessary conflict
and power struggles, we should work to win over the peer group in a very systematic way.
Vorrath and Brendtro (1998) draw an analogy to the Japanese art of jujitsu in their research,
stating:
The highly developed Japanese art of jujitsu, when mastered, enables
even very small persons to deal with powerful adversaries. It is not
necessary to be stronger than an opponent, since force need not be
met with force. Rather, the adversarys strength and movement are
channeled into a different direction to achieve the intended result. In
the same way, it is not necessary to overcome the peer groups power;
instead, the peer groups action is rechanneled to achieve the intended

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goal. Here the analogy ends, for our intention is not to defeat young
people but to bring forth their potentials (p. 8).
In order to change culture and win over the peer group, one must have a foundational
knowledge of a peer groups social pecking order and the impact it has on student behavior. Dr.
Howard Polsky created a diamond to demonstrate the hierarchy of power within a social group.
The diamond suggests that the youth group hierarchy is not unlike that of most groups and
organizations and can best be understood as a structure with little room at the top and the bottom
and plenty of room in the middle (Mullen, 1999). Equipped with this knowledge, educators can
learn the value of developing meaningful relationships with the leaders of the peer group and the
trickle-down effect it will have on their peers. It also demonstrates the importance of protecting
those at the bottom of the diamond. Last, when operating with the diamond in mind, we can
begin to identify the reason behind many behaviors including students psychological need for
power, belonging and achievement within their peer group.
Using the diamond effectively also allows educators and caregivers to begin to see
students as the solution rather than the problem in behavior management. One flaw observed far
too commonly in our education system is adults attempting to instill a sense of obedience in our
youth that belonged to an earlier time (Vorrath & Brendtro, 1998). In a struggle for power, we
frequently see adults acting with the motto we will show them who is boss. Often this type of
thought process results in high levels of referrals and suspension. Emerging research continues
to demonstrate the negative impacts of suspension on student achievement. According to the
research of Richard Balfanz, the typical ninth grader who went to prison had attended school
only 58% of the time, failed at least one quarter of their classes, and read at a sixth grade level at
the end of eighth grade. Two thirds had been suspended at least once in eighth grade (Loosen &
Skiba, 2006). Data also indicates that schools with higher rates of school suspension and

STUDENT BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT

expulsion have poorer outcomes on standardized achievement tests, regardless of the economic
level or demographics of their students (Loosen & Skiba, 2006). With this research in mind,
educational leaders must make suspension the very last option for behavior management. In
contrast, by operating with Polskys diamond in mind, educators can begin to use students as part
of the solution and turn their perceived weaknesses into strengths. For example, when observing
top of the diamond leaders acting out, educators must understand this is frequently due to their
psychological quest for power. Fulfilling this need for power by providing positive leadership
opportunities in the classroom or school can eliminate many negative behaviors, in turn
influencing the others in the group through the positive norms set by this leader. Furthermore, if
a student is observed seeking status in the classroom by acting out or talking frequently, this need
can be filled by offering positive groups, athletic teams, or clubs for this student to join. In short,
behaviors and culture cant truly be changed until educators and leaders begin to understand their
students and the root causes of their behaviors. Creating meaningful opportunities and rewarding
positive behavior will yield much more success than consistently punishing negative behaviors.
Understanding the impact of behavior on student achievement elevates behavior
management as a top priority for educational leaders. Without a successful behavior
management system, leaders will never be able to create the positive change they wish to see in
regards to achievement. Leaders must strive to stop operating under outdated ways of thinking
which merely puts a band aid on deep-rooted issues and creates unnecessary power struggles and
conflict between students and staff. Instead, administrators must strive to use students as part of
the solution process and gain a deeper understanding of their backgrounds and behaviors. This
effort will create a lasting change in culture in which educators are changing their students
thought processes rather than masking negative behaviors and creating systems of compliance.

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References

Hattie, J. (2012). Visible Learning for Teachers: Maximizing Impact on Learning. Routledge.

Losen, D. & Skiba, J. (2006). Suspended Education: Urban Middle Schools in Crisis. Southern
Poverty Law Center.

Mullen, J. (1999). Working in a Diamond Mind: Polskys Insight on Youth Subcultures.

Reclaiming Youth International, 8(3).

Vorrath, H., & Brendtro, L. (1985). Positive peer culture (2nd ed.). New York: Aldine de
Gruyter.