RABSEL the CERD Educational Journal Volume V Autumn 2004 Centre for Educational Research & Development RABSEL A Publication of the Centre for Educational Research and Development Department of Education Rinpung, NIE, Paro Bhutan Telephone: 975 8 272011 Facsimile: 975 8 271620 Email Address: [email protected] Autumn 2004 © Centre for Educational Research and Development. ISBN: 99936-19-01-9 The views and opinions expressed in this journal are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Centre for Educational Research and Development, the National Institute of Education, Paro, or the Royal University of Bhutan. Acknowledgement: International journal of Vocational Education Research, Australia, for permission to use Doug McCurry’s review of The Call: Stories of Yesteryears, first published by them. 2 Notes for an Editorial Many years ago, during my teaching practice days at Stepney Green in London, I met a most wonderful music teacher. After school, he would sit close to his wife with his guitar and play it. She was expecting. “Our child will hear my music inside my wife’s stomach. Even before stepping out into the world, the child will know that it must be a beautiful place to come to. Our baby will be happy and reassured inside. We are preparing our world for our baby”. When we meet our children in our schools, they will already have come out into the world. Not many would have heard the music when they were inside! But the need for music is the same for all children in all places at all times. Music integrates, harmonizes and elevates. For young children, each object that they see around stands all by itself. Each person is himself or herself, or itself. Each word or sound is independent. Making this universe intelligible is one of the toughest challenges that the child faces. But the child is trying, all the same. Nursery rhymes as a function of music are a response to the need in children to form patterns and relations. The very nature and structure of nursery rhymes is integrative, unifying and reinforcing. The moment there is Jill, there has got to be a hill, and as soon as we have the black sheep to give us wool, three bags, or thereabouts, must be full. What Jill and Hill or wool and full, or, for that matter, any other countless rhyming pairs, do is that they reinforce each other and remind the child that they are together, that they make sense, that the surrounding is intelligible. They are able to find links. There is unity. They gain confidence. They develop faith. They succeed. Children need constantly to be reassured, supported as they try to make sense of their fast- expanding world, as they try to put together pieces of wood and call it home. Songs and nursery rhymes invite the children to a celebration of the unity of sounds, the beauty of words and the goodness of people. It is in this scheme of the profound human and educational significance that Mrs. Sangay Bidha looks at the value of nursery rhymes and bemoans their slow disappearance from our school system. Nursery Rhymes: Out the Window? Is a plea to reinstate and engage the essential power of this treasure. This Autumn Issue of Rabsel is a bountiful harvest of equally significant and compelling arguments that concern education in our country today. Readers will be able to engage in rewarding experiences as they go through the rest of the papers included in this volume. All integrated thematically. As nursery rhymes. All inclusive as education. Happy reading! Thakur S Powdyel 3 CONTENTS Sl. No. Contents 1. Experiences of Beginning Elementary School Teachers in Dealing with Classroom Disruptive Behaviour - Rinchen Dorji…………………………………………………………………………… 2. Student Perception of Classroom Learning Environment in Junior High Schools in Bhutan - Sangay Jamtsho………………………………………………………………………… 3. Effective Teaching and Effective Classroom Management: One and the Same Technique? – A teacher’s Reflection and Approach to “Positive Discipline” - Els Heijnen……………………………………………………………………………… 4. Nursery Rhymes: Out the Window? - Sangay Bidha…………………………………………………………………………… 5. Gazebo: An Object of Art and its Essence - Yang Gyeltshen………………………………………………………………………… 6. The Cost of Higher Education: Who will Bear The Brunt? - R Balamurugan…………………………………………………………………………… 7. Portrait of an institute: National Institute of Education, Paro. - Dr Jagar Dorji and Mr. Gopi Chettri…………………………………………………… 8. Writer’s Corner: A Mother’s Dream - Dechen Wangmo…………………………………………………………………………. 9. Book Review: The Call: Stoties of Yesteryears - Douglas McCurry………………………………………………………………………… 4 Experience of Beginning Elementary School Teachers in Dealing with Classroom Disruptive Behaviour. - Rinchen Dorji, Lecturer, NIE, Paro. Abstract Classroom disruptive behaviour has not been a serious issue in Bhutanese schools, unlike in some other countries. However, every teacher is aware of the adverse effects of children's disruptive classroom behaviour. Disruptive behaviour influences the quality of teacher's teaching and children's learning. Study is needed to provide insight into the experiences of beginning teachers to understand how they deal with disruptive behaviour with the view to minimizing the adverse effects of classroom disruptive behaviour. The objective of this study was to explore and portray the experiences of beginning elementary school teachers in dealing with classroom disruptive behaviour. Eight beginning elementary school teachers with teaching experience of three or less years volunteered for this study. An in-depth conversational interview was used to gather data. All interviews were audio-taped, transcribed, and analyzed to uncover the themes from the participants' experiences in dealing with classroom disruptive behaviour. While each individual participant's experience was unique, there were similarities across their experiences. Five themes emerged: 1) perceptions of classroom disruptive behaviour; 2) types of classroom disruptive behaviour; 3) factors influencing classroom disruptive behaviour; 4) challenges faced when dealing with classroom disruptive behaviour; and, 5) impact of classroom disruptive behaviour on beginning teacher's teaching. The results of this study have significant implications on the professional support needed by beginning teachers when dealing with classroom disruptive behaviours. Teacher educators, school authorities and dzongkhag education officers could devote more attention to effective classroom management and the development of skills required for solving daily classroom mis-behaviours. Further, the Education Division needs to provide national in-service programmes on classroom management for elementary teachers. Background Stories of beginning classroom experiences are part of the teaching lore. Although some are heart-warming, many are heart-wrenching and filled with humiliation and frustration. Many teachers have frustrating tales to tell about their first few years on the job. Of course, the beginner’s experience is common to every profession: new physicians, lawyers, engineers and others. All must learn to apply and transfer what they have learned in their chosen profession. Some of the most painful stories of beginning teachers result from their work environment. Many educators believe that the profession has hindered the development of new teachers and has lost many of those with high potential (Jonson, 1997). 5 Gold, Roth, Wright, and Michael (1991) state that being a first-year teacher is difficult, stressful, and a whole lot more work than anyone ever imagined. Most often, beginning teachers perceive mismatches between their preparation programmes and the realities of real schools and classrooms (Veenman, 1984). In relation, Brock and Grady (1997) suggest that although other professions ordinarily increase the amount and difficulty of the work assigned in gradual progression, this is not the case in teaching. Beginners often start out with more responsibilities than veterans and often with the same expectations of expertise. Schlecty and Vance’s (1983) findings indicated that about 30% of beginning teachers leave the profession during the first two years. Another 10% to 20% leave during the next five years. Approximately 50% of all beginning teachers leave the profession within seven years. One can only wonder about the cost of this situation in terms of educational efforts and expenses, shortages of teachers, and the number of potentially successful teachers who prematurely end their career with feelings of frustration, inadequacy, and failure (Urzua, 1999). Canter (1989) said that the lack of ability to manage student behaviour is one of the key reasons why both beginning teachers and veteran teachers drop out of education. Gold et al. (1991) explain that the reason why discipline concerns most beginning teachers is because 30 students can break a teacher and because most classes contain enough masters of disobedience and defiance to make any teacher’s life unpleasant. In addition, Ferguson and Houghton (1992) point out that the amount of time a teacher spends dealing with children who are disruptive and the stress that results from discipline problems in the classroom constitute a major area of concern for many educators (p. 24). Disruptive behaviour may not be a new problem but rather one that might have been around since teachers have opened up their doors to educate students. For beginning teachers, effective management of student behaviour is most crucial for their professional growth. Learning to manage students’ unruly classroom