Guiding children's behaviour

Question 1

What are some common misbehaviour seen in schools?

Answer 1

• Scribbling on walls
• Children fighting over something (not sharing)
• Shouting during class
• Children pushing each other

Question 2

What is meant by guiding children’s behaviour?

Answer 2

Teaching children to take control of their emotions and responses to become independent and self-reliant individuals

Question 3

Why is guiding children’s behaviour important?

Answer 3

• Children are unique and have different temperaments. Guidance is needed to help children cope with their environment and support them to develop positive and prosocial behaviour
• Children are undergoing a sensitive period for emotional control and peer social skills
• Teaching children to act responsibly with good underlying behaviour leads to a productive and responsible life
• Parents and the public look at early childhood professionals to help children learn to live cooperatively

Question 4

What are the three elements needed in teachers and parents that are important in helping to promote self-regulation and child care?

Answer 4

• The use of logic verbal reasoning
• The gradual removal of control
• Sense of affection

Question 5

What is meant by prosocial behaviour?

Answer 5

Acts of kindness, compassion, and helping behaviours

Question 6

What are Morrison’s (2009) ten steps to guiding children’s behaviour?

Answer 6

• Arrange and modify the environment
• Establish appropriate expectations
• Model appropriate behaviour
• Guide the whole child
• Know and use developmentally appropriate practices
• Meet children’s needs
• Help children build new behaviour
• Empower children
• Use praise and encouragement
• Develop a partnership with parents, families and others

Question 7

How do you arrange and modify the environment?

Answer 7

• Have an open place for group meetings and activities every morning
• Make areas in centres well defined. Make boundaries low enough for supervision
• Provide all kinds of activities quiet and loud
• Have abundance of materials that are easily accessible
• Make sure materials are easy to store and keep away
• Provide guidelines to children on how to use learning centres

Question 8

Why should appropriate expectations be established?

Answer 8

Expectations help set boundaries for desired behaviour. When children​
understand, they can better achieve those​ expectations

Question 9

How do you establish appropriate expectations?

Answer 9

Setting clear limits and defining​ what behaviour is unacceptable. Remain consistent as it gives children a clear message. A child who knows what is expected of them builds security

Question 10

Why must teachers model appropriate behaviour?

Answer 10

Children need to see and remember​ how other people act and respond to others. After observing, the child will​ try the new behaviour and see if the behaviour is rewarded

Question 11

What is meant by ‘guide the whole child’ ?

Answer 11

Teaching the whole child in all areas of development also applies to guiding children’s behaviour. The teacher is​ expected to guide the child’s behaviour across all developmental domains

Question 12

How do you properly use developmentally appropriate practice?

Answer 12

Children cannot behave well when adult’s​ expectation of them is too high or low based on their development.​ It is important to understand what behaviour is​ appropriate to children based on their needs, gender, socioeconomic​ background, disposition and culture

Question 13

Why are children’s needs important and how do you meet them?

Answer 13

A child who is hungry does not have the​ patience to behave appropriately. Abraham Maslow says that human’s growth and development is directed to​ realise one’s potential, motivated by 5 basic needs that form a hierarchy of motivating behaviour

Question 14

What are some of the children’s basic needs?

Answer 14

• Physical needs
• Safety and security needs
• Need for belonging and affection
• Need for self-esteem

Question 15

Why is it important to satisfy a child’s physical needs?

Answer 15

A child’s ability to guide their own behaviour depends on how well their physical needs are met. For example, a child can only perform well in​ school if they’re properly fed, have sufficient resting time and is in a quality environment

Question 16

Why is it important to satisfy a child’s safety and security needs?

Answer 16

Children who are experiencing fear cannot be expected to learn. Forcing children to do tasks that are not developmentally appropriate can make children feel insecure. ​

Question 17

Why is it important to satisfy a child’s need for belonging and affection?

Answer 17

Children need to feel that they belong or are part of a group. Teachers can promote this by being kind, gentle, smile, courteous, and respect the children as well as show genuine care and values

Question 18

How can teachers satisfy a child’s need for belonging and affection?

Answer 18

By giving children responsibilities and opportunities to make decisions

Question 19

How can parents satisfy a child’s need for belonging and affection?

Answer 19

Parents can hug and kiss their children

Question 20

Why is it important to satisfy a child’s need for self-esteem?

Answer 20

Children who see themselves as worthy and competent will act accordingly to their feelings. How children view themselves come directly from how teachers and parents treat them. Self-esteem is the foundation to achievement and success

Question 21

What are ways to help children build new behaviours?

Answer 21

1) Internal control​
Children need to be taught to be responsible for their behaviours and the pleasure and rewards for good behaviour should come from within

2) Teacher child relations in guiding behaviour​
How well a child behaves and progresses depends on how they relate to their teachers. Teachers should:
- Respond to children promptly
- Anticipate students’ needs and emotion
- Always give feedback
- Provide good academic and social support in class

Question 22

Why should teachers empower children?

Answer 22

Children who always receive responsibilities develop greater self-direction, which means they are easily guided to the next level in their ZPD. Children without responsibilities become bored and frustrated and this leads to​ discipline problems

Question 23

How can you empower children?

Answer 23

• Give children responsibilities
• Give children choices
• Assist them to succeed

Question 24

Why should teachers use praise and encouragement?

Answer 24

Encouragement brings children to a greater level of self motivation which allows children to improve and grow. With​ suggestions on how to develop new skills and behaviour, children will learn to behave appropriately

• We acknowledge the child’s effort to improve or change;
• We recognise their little successes
• We assist them to self-evaluate their effort.

Question 25

Why should you partner with parents, families and others?

Answer 25

It’s a good way to gain insights about children’s behaviour. The more you understand the child, the easier it is to guide his behaviour. There are different ways teachers can​ collaborate with parents to gain information

Question 26

What are the types of ways teachers can collaborate with parents to gain information?

Answer 26

• Home visit
• Email
• Phone calls
• Parent conference

Question 27

How can teachers support parents?

Answer 27

Sharing their belief and developing a philosophy concerning child raising and behaviour guidance

Question 28

How do teachers promote the development of autonomous behaviour?

Answer 28

• Give sufficient time and opportunities for children to perform tasks independently by themselves
• Allow children to make mistakes and use problem-solving techniques to learn from them
• Practice sanction

Question 29

What are some examples of sanction?

Answer 29

• Children get excluded from the group when they misbehave
• Materials or privileges can be taken away but given back when the child express​es desire to use them appropriately
• Help children fix things they have broken and clean up after themselves.

Question 30

What are the problems with physical punishment?

Answer 30

• Physical punishment is ineffective in developing appropriate behaviour
• Adult who use physical punishment model physical aggression and give a message that aggression is permissible. The child will be more likely​ to use aggression with peers
• Physical punishment will increase the risk of physical injury to the child
• Parents, caregivers and teachers are children’s sources of security. Physical punishment erodes it

Question 31

Why is physical punishment ineffective?

Answer 31

It doesn’t show any form of adult expectation or teach them what to do or provide them​ with alternate ways to behave