Pedagogy for Positive Learning Environments 17719490 – Anthony Nakhoul

Why do young people misbehave in school?

Introduction:

Misbehaviour by young people in schools is an immense problem for educators around the

world. There are many underlying factors as to why students misbehave in class. Such factors

include the influence outside of the school context such as family problems, lack of interest

and engagement in the classroom and peer pressure amongst the class. This report will focus

on the responses of six interviewees answering why they think young people misbehave in

school. Literature will also be used in order to gain a deeper understanding on each of the

interviewee’s perspectives. Each participants name will not be disclosed due to confidentiality.

The six interviewees age’s range from 22-60 that come from all different professions and have

had different experiences throughout their schooling years.

Section One: Literature synthesis:

There are many theoretical literatures which contribute to analysing the views of the

interviewees. Such literature focuses on adolescent development and behaviour management

and focuses on strategies that help teachers manage their students. The ‘Stage-environmental

fit’ theory (Glass, Chance & Bibens, 1990) focuses on student’s ability to fit in a classroom

and feel a sense of belonging which will help them take control of their learning and have a

positive effect over their schooling experience. McGrath & Van Bergen (2015) was used as a

basis for analysing and evaluating the views of the interviewees as it illustrates that students

misbehaved in class as they could not connect to the teacher.

Pedagogy for Positive Learning Environments 17719490 – Anthony Nakhoul

The study conducted by Crawshaw (2015) focuses on teacher’s perception of student

misbehaviour in class and focuses on research from various countries and is an essential

reading that will benefit the course of the interviews. This is evident as it reveals many open

ended questions that were asked during the study and can be used as a guide to approach the

questioning method so that the participants do not feel pressured about what they want to say.

Crawshaw also reveals the different ways in which students were misbehaving in class with

each participant asked to rate how serious each offense was. The scale was rated from one to

ten where a ‘1’ was given to explain the most serious offense and a ‘10’ given to the least

serious offense based on the teacher’s perspective.

The study conducted by Sullivan (2014) focuses on whether teachers should punish or engage

their students and will be essential as it will allow the interviewer to have a deep understanding

of why the participants responded to the questions that they were asked. The article by

Demaray, Malecki, Secord & Lyell (2013) focuses on the perceptions of teachers, students and

parents and their insight as to why students do get bullied in schools. The data is taken based

on students from the third to the eight grade and illustrates that bullying is major factor in the

schooling setting. The theories evaluated helped the process of the interviews as it allowed the

interviewer to have common ground to work off and create the correct open ended questions

with the sole purpose of understanding each participant’s analysis on the topic.
Pedagogy for Positive Learning Environments 17719490 – Anthony Nakhoul

Section Two: synthesis of main interview findings:

The first interviewee was a male parent aged 60 years with four kids (Male A), the second

interviewee was a mother of three with 11 years teaching experience in a high school aged 35

(Female A). The third interviewee (Female B) was a pre-service teacher currently in her first

year of Masters of Teaching (secondary) aged 25, while the fourth interviewee is a construction

worker aged 26 who has been a qualified electrician for the past five years and is running a

successful business (Male B). The fifth interviewee is a social worker with three years’

experience in her field at the age of 28 (Female C) and the sixth interviewee is a friend who

has recently opened up a café aged 22 (Male C).

The interview process was conducted as an informal conversation with open ended questions

that allowed the interviewees to become relaxed and comfortable with what they were asked

to answer. The use of open ended questions meant that there was no specific answer that they

needed to provide, but rather allow them to use their personal thoughts and ideas to answer the

questions. There were many themes that emerged from the interviews and the most common

were that students found themselves losing interest in class as they were not interested in what

they were learning. The interviewees illustrated that for students to maintain interest in class

the teacher would have to find ways to make the lessons more engaging. Another theme that

was found common was that students had problems at home and due to these events they were

misbehaving in school as they had no family support behind them. Another theme that was

found common between the interviewees is peer pressure where students would listen to their

friends in class and disrupt the lesson for their own personal amusement or fear of getting

bullied in school. The final theme that was common within the interviews relates to a student’s

sense of belonging in the classroom as they found the need to misbehave to feel noticed in class

as they generally felt left out.

Pedagogy for Positive Learning Environments 17719490 – Anthony Nakhoul

Section Three: Comparison and contrast of findings:

The main perspective of the interviewees as to why young people misbehave in class is due to

a lack of engagement in class. This was seen throughout all six interviewees but predominantly

seen through the interview conducted with male B as he always found himself misbehaving in

class; he found no interest in what he was learning. Male B found that being ‘hands on’ with

his work a necessity to benefiting his learning. He emphasised that when he participated in

construction subjects during school that he would excel and always received top marks in

comparison to his results in an English class, in which he would tend to misbehave in. This

was primarily seen in female A’s interview as she found that fairly large amount of students in

all her classes were misbehaving as they found no interest in certain activities that they had to

complete in class. She found that she would always have to change her activities around

constantly in order to maintain classroom engagement. The study conducted by Sullivan (2014)

can be used compare the views of the interviewees as it focuses on the decisions made by

teacher to manage the student’s misbehaviour. The study acknowledges what the interviewees

perceived was the cause of misbehaviour and a key theme evident is the lack of engagement in

the classroom setting. The use of awards to encourage students to behave in class was a method

predominantly seen throughout the study. Rewards were also put into practice such as giving

students gifts as a form of appreciation.

Male A focussed on bullying throughout the interview with the main emphasis on students

feeling a sense of exclusion during class. This can be related to an extent with regards to the

interview conducted with female C. The interviewee focused on the student’s problems that

they are facing at home is reflecting on their behaviour in class. She illustrated that the student’s

she has worked with over the years have often had problems at home and caused them to

misbehave in class through bullying. The study conducted by Demaray, Malecki, Secord &
Pedagogy for Positive Learning Environments 17719490 – Anthony Nakhoul

Lyell (2013) on the other hand, focuses on the prevalence of bullying in schools and does not

specifically acknowledge the underlying factors contributing to students’ behaviour in class.

Such factors include; being previously bullied through cyber space, being called names and

being left out. The study by Crawshaw (2015) however, identifies the perceptions of teachers

and what behaviours students are presenting in class. Crawshaw found that the main reasons

why students misbehave is due to a lack of respect for authority which can lead to disobedience

in class as well as rowdy behaviour. Crawshaw does not provide reasons behind their actions

so it does not support the interviewee’s perspective.

Both Female B and Male C voiced similar concerns that there is a direct correlation between

the lack of belonging within the classroom and the lack of connection between teacher and

students and how these two issues have aided to their misbehaviour. The ‘Stage-Environmental

Fit’ theory by Glass, Chance & Bibens (1990) supports this theme as it focuses on the same

belief that students misbehave in class due to a lack of belonging in the classroom. This

comparison is further highlighted through the study conducted by McGrath & Van Bergen

(2015) as it focuses on student’s misbehaviour during class is due to a lack of connection

between the teacher and student.

Section Four: Provide implications for praxis:

There are many implications for praxis when attempting to manage student behaviour in the

school room setting. Such implications can come from many different perspectives as seen

throughout both the interviews and literature. A theme that stemmed throughout the interviews

was that students struggled to connect with their teachers. This is highlighted through the study

by McGrath & Van Bergen (2015) suggests that a student-teacher relationship is essential

throughout school but plays a more significant role during the earlier schooling years. As the
Pedagogy for Positive Learning Environments 17719490 – Anthony Nakhoul

students grow older their relationship changes with their teachers and is proving to have a

negative effect due to the teachers showing less care towards their students. The study found

that misbehaviour in class was predominantly higher in males rather than females. The study

suggests that in order to improve behaviour it may be beneficial to maintain positive

relationships with the students throughout all their schooling years. By monitoring and

supervising students in class, it allows the students to gain a connection with the teacher as

there is extra effort put into maintaining the relationship, which will then improve their

behaviour.

Another implication related to this approach is that teachers do not know what the students are

dealing with at home and may not be able to understand the student’s perspective as to why

they are misbehaving. Empathy can be used as a tool help understand each student’s reason for

misbehaviour and can therefore figure out strategies to help the students. The ‘Stage-

Environment Fit’ theory also suggests that student’s misbehaviour is due to a lack of sense of

belonging in the classroom. This can be improved by the teacher setting out group activities to

complete tasks which will allow the students to connect with each other. By doing so, the

students are forced to communicate with each other to complete the activity thus allowing them

to connect with each other and find a common ground for learning in class.

A lack of engagement is a prime issue as to why students misbehave in class and there are

many implications with controlling the situation. An effective strategy that can be used in the

classroom is to provide awards for students’ efforts in class. This can provide motivation for

the students to focus in class as well as excel in their studies. An award could be in a form of

merit stamps whereby students must collect 5 stamps throughout the year and they will receive

a voucher to use at the school canteen. The implications associated with this approach is that
Pedagogy for Positive Learning Environments 17719490 – Anthony Nakhoul

the students who are not receiving the stamps may feel left out and give up which could lead

to misbehaviour in class. Therefore, it is the teacher’s role to execute this idea effectively in

order to maintain students’ attention throughout the year. Another strategy that can be used is

to award students for their efforts in class by giving them a chocolate or lolly. This also has an

implication for praxis as it may work on younger students but may ware off on the older

students as they will not be interested in receiving a gift so simple for their efforts.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, it has become evident that there are many underlying factors that contribute to

students’ misbehaviour. In order to understand each student’s perspective, you must

concentrate on outside influences that could reflect on their attitude and behaviour in class.

Although the research conducted reveals why students misbehave in class, further research

must be conducted in order to provide common ground. Through the research, it is evident that

there are many factor that contribute to behaviour in school, by analysing the perspectives of

the interviewees and justifying their answers through literature, we are able to understand the

common themes perceived that influence student’s misbehaviour in school.

 Pedagogy for Positive Learning Environments 17719490 – Anthony Nakhoul

References
Crawshaw, M. (2015). "Secondary school teachers’ perceptions of student misbehaviour: A review
of international research, 1983 to 2013." Australian Journal of Education 59(3): 293-311.

Demaray, M. K., Malecki, C. K., Secord, S. M., & Lyell, K. M. (2013). Agreement among students',
teachers', and parents' perceptions of victimization by bullying. Children and Youth Services
Review, 35(12), 2091-2100.

Eccles, J. S. & Midgley, C. (1989), ‘Stage – Environment Fit: Developmentally appropriate

classrooms for early adolescents’. In R. E. Ames & C. Ames (Eds), Research on Motivation
in Education: Goals and Cognitions. Academy Press. New York. Volume 3. Pp. 13 - 14.

McGrath, K. F. and P. Van Bergen (2015). "Who, when, why and to what end? Students at risk of
negative student–teacher relationships and their outcomes." Educational Research Review 14:
1-17.

Sullivan, A. M., et al. (2014). "Punish them or engage them?: Teachers' views of unproductive
student behaviours in the classroom." Australian Journal of Teacher Education (Online)
39(6): 43.