conceptualising 'behaviour' in schools

Question 1

why is beh a big deal?

Answer 1

• beh can impact CYP e.g. lost learning time, anxiety, distress
• can impact teachers: mental health, burnout, professional attrition
• DfE (2016) statutory duty of schools to enure strong beh policy

Question 2

beh being challenging to define

Answer 2

• emotional beh difficulties
• social emotional & beh difficulties
• social emotional mental health difficulties
• beh understood in relation to internal life of child –> beh & its management is understood & perceived differently by diff people

Question 3

EP involvement & behaviour

Answer 3

• important to remember difficult beh is an interplay of factors
• CYP often have other needs, learning, comm, social & emotional needs
• SEN are high risk factor for school exclusion

Question 4

law & woods (2018) - EP involvement and behaviour

Answer 4

• consultation: provided teachers with organised time to discuss behavioural concerns, share information and learn from one another, which in turn enhanced their behaviour-management skills
• assessment: classroom-based observation of individual children, orr whole-class behaviour, including that of teachers
• interventions: structured manualised interventions and those devised by eps in collaboration with schools, parents and young people
• training: aid delivery of interventions and problem-solving groups relating to behaviour management

Question 5

EPs & problem solving models

Answer 5

1. student identified/raised as a cause for concern
2. assessment of the student’s problem or what it is
3. formulation of the student’s problem or why it happens
4. intervention or ways of dealing with the problem
5. eval of the interventions or its effectiveness

Question 6

psychological approaches EPs & problem solving models

Answer 6

• biological
• behavioural
• cognitive(-behavioural)
• social learning
• psychodynamic
• humanistic
• ecosystemic
• ecological

Question 7

biological approach & beh

ayers et al. (2015)

Answer 7

• biological and biochemical processes in accounting for behaviour (sometimes referred to ‘within-child’ or medical explanation)
• considers mental disorders to have underlying physical or organic causes. Various approaches within the perspective (behavioural genetics, brain biochemistry, brain anatomy, endocrinology)

Question 8

behavioural approach & beh

ayers et al. (2015)

Answer 8

• overt, observable and measurable behaviours and their reinforcement from the environment/others in accounting for behaviour shaping
• based on the theory that an individual’s overt and observable behaviour unless genetically influenced is the result of the individual’s learning. classical, behaviourism, operant

Question 9

cognitive(-behavioural) approach & beh

ayers et al. (2015)

Answer 9

• cognitive processes (beliefs, attitudes, expectations and attributions) in accounting for behaviour. combine cognitive and behavioural perspective to link the environment with individual’s thoughts
• different bases (cognitive processes are associated with behaviours; can bring about changes in behaviour; can be assessed, changed and evaluated)
• cline et al. (2023): helpful role in supporting individual change, and group-based interventions, to support social and behavioural development in children

Question 10

social learning approach & beh

Answer 10

• observational learning (e.g. role models/others), perceived self-efficacy and expectancies (in & of the social context)
• learning influenced by observational learning; behaviour, cognition and the environment are interconnected and influence each other (reciprocal determinism)

Question 11

humanistic approach & beh

ayers et al. (2015)

Answer 11

• self-esteem and potential problems in coping with and exploring feelings in accounting for behaviour
• concerned with the way people function as whole beings that have thoughts and feelings. maximise a pupil’s inherent motivation to learn by minimising factors that undermine or inhibit this process

Question 12

psychodynamic approach & beh

ayers et al. (2015)

Answer 12

• unconscious conflicts in early childhood as accounting for current behaviour and the notion of transference & projection of roles
• locates the origin of the maladaptive behaviour in the unconscious functioning of the psyche

Question 13

ecosystemic approach & beh

ayers et al. (2015)

Answer 13

• +ve & -ve interactions between teachers and
• students within and outside the school and, relationships and interactions at different levels - are seen as accounting for behaviour
• school behaviour and classroom behaviour as having a reciprocal influence

Question 14

ecological approach & beh

ayers et al. (2015)

Answer 14

• the influence of various systems and the broader environment influencing behaviour
• concerned with the functions of the system as a whole and its subsystems; school can be analysed with component subsystem or as a multi-level system

Question 15

application of psychological paradisms to support beh in schools

Answer 15

• behavioural approaches: including ABA & FBA
• cog behavioural approaches (Beck, 1976)
• attribution theory (Weiner, 2000; Miller, 2003)
• eco-systemic consultation (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 2006)
• person-centred (Rogers, 1973)
• psychodynamic approaches (Geddes, 2006; Boorn et al., 2009)

Question 16

applied behavioural analysis

Answer 16

• beh depends on & is controlled/influenced by the response it receives
• environmental antecedents make the beh more or less likely to occur
• beh are also increased or decreased by its reinforcing consequences
• Whedall & Merrett (1985)

Question 17

antecedents & consequences

ABA

Answer 17

• troubled & challenging serves a function
• may be triggered by particular “setting” conditions
• is sustained by reinforcement
• T&C beh is therefore best understood & addressed by
• B = f(P/E)
• Lewin (1936)

Question 18

rational for ABA in educational settings

Answer 18

• Madsen et al. (1968) first published study demonstrated
• beh learned
• pupils can learn acceptable & productive classroom beh
• changing the env can create the conditions for new beh to be learned
• studied the effects of praise; ignoring & clear statements of rules on inappropriate behs

Question 19

example of reinforcers

Answer 19

• material
• symbolic
• activities
• social
• intrinsic

Question 20

dangers of behavioural overkill

wheldall (1981)

Answer 20

the use of very powerful reinforcers where a more ‘natural’ reinforcer would suffice

Question 21

punishment

ABA

Answer 21

• Madsen et al. (1968) gave prominence to classroom rules, many early subsequent studies (& popular perceptions) became bound up with rewards & punishments
• research shown ABA strategies can be successful without inclusion of punishments (ppl usually react badly to punishments - can lead to ‘punishment-elicited aggression’)
• society’s tolerance for punishment of children steadily decreasing (with some exceptions)
• research ev that non-aversive approaches work, staff increasingly vulnerable if they advocate use of punishments

Question 22

sanctions, school exclusion and equity

Answer 22

• suspension rate for pupils with an EHCP is 17.63 compared to 4.69 for pupils without SEN
• permanent exclusion rate for pupils with an EHCP is 0.13 compared to 0.05 without SEN
• DfE (2023)
• exclusions within different ethnic groups and poverty as well

Question 23

using ABA in good classroom management

Answer 23

• limited classroom rules
• Tsoi & Yule (1976) - using break times as a reinforcer
• Williams (2012) - illustrated ABA underpinnings & +ve effects of differential reinforcement of alternative beh strategy - ‘fair pairs’
• Gable et al. (2009) review of ABA highlighted following features: pupil name, clear praise, statement of specific beh
• good classroom management also included: classroom rules, enforcing rules, +ve expectations, praise for specific beh, planned (safe) ignoring of undesirable behs

Question 24

criticisms of ABA

Answer 24

• subjectivity & can lead to observer effects
• teacher & child may behave differently when observed
• difficult to identify direct cause-effect relationship within complex environments
• costs, resources & time involved in assessing & intervening
• ethical concerns re-oppressive practice & misapplication

Question 25

cline et al. (2023) on ABA

further reading

Answer 25

• 3 main types of aba strategy: DRA, DRO, differential reinforcement of lower rates of responding
• practice in aba has seen an evolution from a focus on ‘on-task’ behaviour encouraged by changed consequences to a concern with more socially valid and academically useful behaviour and a greater focus on environmental antecedents, and on positive behaviour supports

Question 26

CBT

Answer 26

• involves person’s intepretation (thoughts/constructs) of events
• considers the link between these thoughts & feelings & behs
• involves identification of a person’s “faulty” thinking triggering any “dys” functional feelings &/or beh

Question 27

using cog beh interventions to support beh change

Answer 27

• be aware of, & manage, their thoughts, behs & emotions
• develop problem-solving skills
• alternative constructive & +ve thinking
• children taught rationale for rules; self-awareness is taught through self-monitoring, self-recording, self instruction & self-restraint skills (Porter, 2005)

Question 28

teacher attributions

attribution theory

Answer 28

• attribution = how a beh is explained or what is described as the underlying cause/s
• Weiner (2001) identified 3 dimensions where attributions lie:
• locus - whether cause is internal/external to the person
• stability - whether cause is fixed or can vary
• controllability - whether person is able to control the cause

Question 29

caution & consideration

attribution theory

Answer 29

• historically - measuring attributions has been difficult due to challenges of construct & ecological validity
• attribution retraining literature around beh in education setting is minimal. Effect size & duration of impact?
• eliciting cross-system attributions & supporting joint work & objectivity requires skills & careful handling (Miller, 2003)

Question 30

cline et al. (2023) on attribution theories

further reading

Answer 30

• attribution theories are concerned with the antecedent conditions to causal attributions, and consider the psychological consequences of these
• significant association between children’s ‘hostile attribution of intent’ towards peers and their aggressive behaviour

Question 31

eco-systemic consultation aims

Answer 31

• provide a punctuation point
• bring attributions to surface
• acknowledge & use emotions to facilitate change
• resolve boundary tension
• ‘squaring the triangle’ (Gibbs & Miller, 2014)

Question 32

cline et al. (2023) on ecosystemic approaches

further reading

Answer 32

ecosystemic consultation by psychologists can bring different parties together, to include exploration of the implication of differing attributions

Question 33

person centred approaches to beh

Answer 33

1. child involved in DM
2. enhances relevance of curriculum
3. using authentic & genuine feedback
4. collaborating to solve the problems
5. creating reciprocal agreements - how can child be involved
6. giving time for reflection
7. collaborating with parents

sanderson et al. (2007)

Question 34

psychodynamic approaches to school discipline

Answer 34

• beh in school can be managed by understanding a child’s “IWM” & current patterns of family relationships
• establishing +ve & secure relationships with key school staff
• establishing a ‘nurturing’ envs & a sense of belonging in school
• use of Nurture principles, Nurture groups (Bennathan & Boxall, 2000), nurture class or school
• behs in context of an unmet need
• attachment to schools/school belonging promotes acceptance inclusion and respect

Question 35

moore et al. (2019)

further reading

Answer 35

• research suggests that both: (1) understanding of pupil behaviour and (2) how best to train and support teachers to manage pupil behaviour is contested
• cameron’s (1998) classification of misbehaviour: aggressive behaviour, physically disruptive behaviour, socially disruptive behaviour, authority-challenging behaviour and self-disruptive behaviour
• positive behaviour (ellis & tod, 2018): concentration, prosocial behaviour and engagement
• ineffective classroom management can lead to pupil disengagement, aggression, low attendance and bullying