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Teachers Speak out About Classroom Behavioural Problems

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Teachers Speak out About Classroom Behavioural Problems Breaking the silence: Teachers speak out about classroom behavioural problems Creating a positive learning environment in middle school classrooms – It can be done! Anne-Marie, Jacqueline Marias, M.Ed. Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for a degree of Doctor of Philosophy Faculty of Law, Education, Business and Arts Charles Darwin University 2016 Declaration I hereby declare this work contains no material that has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university or other tertiary institution and, to the best of my knowledge and belief, contains no material previously published or written by another person, except where due reference has been made in the text. This research gained Charles Darwin University Human Ethics Clearance, reference H12144. I give consent to this copy of my thesis, when deposited in the University Library, being made available for loan and photocopying online via the University’s Open Access repository e Space. Anne-Marie Marias 12 November 2016 i ii Acknowledgements This research study is dedicated to my late husband, Claude Jacques Marias whose quest for wisdom was an inspiration all my life. It is also dedicated to all educators - my colleagues - who despite many challenges embrace the teaching profession with passion, and shape the future for our children: Our future. The research journey was very challenging due to the broad scope of my topic of inquiry and the sense of great responsibility I felt in addressing those critical issues, but it was supported by fabulous people who have made this thesis possible. In particular, I wish to thank my main supervisor Dr Brian Devlin for his trust in my ability to analyse this subject matter, for his ongoing encouragement and outstanding guidance. As a University educator, he exemplifies the best of what the teaching profession has to offer, and therefore my gratitude towards him is immense. My deep thanks also go to Dr Helen Spiers who provided me with expert and ‘superb’ moral support in both her mentoring and supervisory roles, and to Dr Greg Smith for his ongoing expert comments and advice particularly regarding the structure of the thesis. Special thanks also go to all the participants interviewed, my colleagues, who agreed to share their experiences with me. Their contribution has been outstanding. This work was also greatly facilitated by the unique culture of support provided by Charles Darwin University, and this was reflected at all levels of responsibilities within that institution: I wish to acknowledge the staff from the Faculty of Law, Education, Business and Arts, specifically Professor Dr Peter Kell, Professor Dr Sue Shore, Associate Professor Dr Laurence Tamatea, Dr Aggie Wegner for being so approachable, and providing excellent ongoing support to research students. On a iii more personal level, I thank Jennie Buckworth and Janice Crerar for being so friendly and sharing their own research journey with me. I also appreciated the tireless advice from Tracy Hooker, Alison Chin, Jen Girling, and Lee-Ann Cole when dealing with bureaucratic matters, and the support provided by the library staff particularly Jayshree Mantora and Bernadette Royal whose assistance was most valuable with research skills development. For their ongoing interest in discussing my research and for their moral support I am also indebted to colleagues such as Aneetha Gill, Pilar Jadue, Alison Arnott, to my fellow PhD student Ratih Koesoemo, to a number of friends from the Darwin Social Bridge Club such as Philippa Hockey, Val Matthews, Darlene Wright, Michael Furstner and my long term friends Rosemary Hutchings, Jennie and Ray Robertson and Elaine and Paul Cozens. I thank Rosemary Purcell, professional editor, who provided copyediting and proofreading services, according to the guidelines laid out in the university-endorsed national Guidelines for editing research theses. Finally, most of all, thanks are directed to my family: My late parents, Jacques and Suzanne who gave me so much love, always trusted my judgement and built my confidence for life; my uncles and aunts who were all educators in France and a source of inspiration for my passion for education; my son Igor and daughter-in-law Johanne, for their ongoing encouragement, and my beautiful grand children Anna, Amélie and Jacques who give me so much joy with their own educational journey. Anne-Marie iv Abstract Too many teachers are struggling with students’ disengagement and behavioural problems in the classroom despite extensive research findings available to them on how to create a positive, harmonious learning environment: Why is this so? The aim of this research was to understand the realities faced by frontline practitioners particularly in middle school in order (1) to identify the barriers that limit a teacher’s chances of success in creating a positive learning environment and (2) to search for the ‘right drivers’ and ultimately the actions, sometimes small, that as ‘tipping points ‘can lead to significant improvements in the classroom. A qualitative methodology, namely a constructivist form of grounded theory was selected for this exploratory research study in order to develop insights and create a theory for action. The goal was to capture teachers’ voice and to use my own reflections and voice in the research. It was found that the silence about classroom behavioural problems needs to be addressed through a school culture of transparency, openness and collegial support, and the importance of classroom management needs to be recognised as a major teaching skill at the teacher, school and system level. A balanced leadership approach is recommended based (1) essentially on prevention but also (2) on positive, respectful intervention through logical consequences when preventative measures are insufficient to guarantee a lesson free from student misbehavior, and (3) on support provided to students with more challenging behaviours in order to assist them with the development of self discipline. It is the contention of this thesis that creating positive classroom learning environments is certainly achievable, and this reasonably quickly. v vi Acronyms ABA Applied behaviour analysis ACER Australian Council for Educational Research AITSL Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership BaSS Behaviour at School Study BMSS Behaviour Management Strategies Scale CBM Classroom behaviour management CM Classroom management CBT Cognitive behavioural theory DMA Developmental management approach ICSEA Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage LOTE Languages other than English MCEETYA Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs NAPLAN National Assessment Program-Literacy and Numeracy NSW New South Wales NT Northern Territory OECD Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development PBL Positive behaviour for learning PBIS Positive behaviour interventions and supports PBS Positive behaviour support PD Professional development PISA Program for International Student Assessment QLD Queensland RTC Responsible thinking classroom RTP Responsible thinking process SWPBS School-wide positive behaviour support SA South Australia SLSS Student Learning and Support Services Taskforce TET Teacher effectiveness training TALIS Teaching and Learning International Survey UN United Nations USA United States of America WA Western Australia YOTS Youth Off the Streets vii viii Contents Declaration+..............................................................................................................................................+i! Acknowledgements+...........................................................................................................................+iii! Abstract+....................................................................................................................................................+v! Acronyms+.............................................................................................................................................+vii! CHAPTER(1! THE(RESEARCH(AND(ITS(CONTEXT(.............................................(1! 1.1! The+research+territory+...........................................................................................................+4! 1.1.1! Disruptive!behaviour:!An!ongoing!and!growing!problem!............................................!4! 1.1.2! Definitions!.........................................................................................................................................!7! 1.1.3! Extensive!documentation!on!strategies!..............................................................................!13! 1.1.4! School!improvement!research!................................................................................................!14! 1.2! Problem+statement+................................................................................................................+17! 1.3! Methodology+............................................................................................................................+18! 1.4! The+significance+of+this+study+.............................................................................................+18! 1.4.1! Impact!on!teaching!and!learning:!Learning!outcomes!.................................................!18! 1.4.2! Equity!issues!...................................................................................................................................!20! 1.4.3! Teacher!wellbeing:!Stress!and!retention!............................................................................!21!
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