Guiding children's behaviour Flashcards
What are some common misbehaviour seen in schools?
- Scribbling on walls
- Children fighting over something (not sharing)
- Shouting during class
- Children pushing each other
What is meant by guiding children’s behaviour?
Teaching children to take control of their emotions and responses to become independent and self-reliant individuals
Why is guiding children’s behaviour important?
- 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
What are the three elements needed in teachers and parents that are important in helping to promote self-regulation and child care?
- The use of logic verbal reasoning
- The gradual removal of control
- Sense of affection
What is meant by prosocial behaviour?
Acts of kindness, compassion, and helping behaviours
What are Morrison’s (2009) ten steps to guiding children’s behaviour?
- 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
How do you arrange and modify the environment?
- 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
Why should appropriate expectations be established?
Expectations help set boundaries for desired behaviour. When children
understand, they can better achieve those expectations
How do you establish appropriate expectations?
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
Why must teachers model appropriate behaviour?
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
What is meant by ‘guide the whole child’ ?
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
How do you properly use developmentally appropriate practice?
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
Why are children’s needs important and how do you meet them?
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
What are some of the children’s basic needs?
- Physical needs
- Safety and security needs
- Need for belonging and affection
- Need for self-esteem
Why is it important to satisfy a child’s physical needs?
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
Why is it important to satisfy a child’s safety and security needs?
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.
Why is it important to satisfy a child’s need for belonging and affection?
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
How can teachers satisfy a child’s need for belonging and affection?
By giving children responsibilities and opportunities to make decisions
How can parents satisfy a child’s need for belonging and affection?
Parents can hug and kiss their children
Why is it important to satisfy a child’s need for self-esteem?
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
What are ways to help children build new behaviours?
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
Why should teachers empower children?
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
How can you empower children?
- Give children responsibilities
- Give children choices
- Assist them to succeed
Why should teachers use praise and encouragement?
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.
