Different approaches to behaviour prevail in England and Scotland. A common perception is that schools in England tend to take a more traditionalist, disciplinarian approach, while Scottish schools favour more restorative approaches and have all but eliminated permanent exclusions.
Yet, the truth is more nuanced than that, and there are critics within both systems of the received wisdom that teachers encounter.
Bruce Robertson, a secondary headteacher in Scotland, looks at where good intentions in behaviour policies can go awry.
There is nothing more destructive to learning in a classroom or school than poor student behaviour. Sadly, this is not always appreciated or taken seriously enough.
Here are eight key points to consider:
1. The destructive effect of poor behaviour
I have seen great teachers reduced to tears as a result of persistent poor behaviour. I have seen whole lessons ruined. I have seen students turn up to class day after day and learn virtually nothing because of the disruptive behaviour of one or two others. I have seen teachers walk away from the profession altogether. None of this is acceptable. All schools, regardless of context, can and should have high standards of student behaviour.
2. Putting up with too much
In some schools, serious behaviour issues are tolerated to the point that they are the norm. Students swear at staff. They square up to them and refuse to follow even basic instructions. They are aggressive and intimidating. They truant lessons and run around corridors. Sometimes they bang on classroom doors or throw things at teachers. In one school I worked in, a student who was truanting opened a random classroom door and threw a tangerine at the teacher.
If you want to destroy everything in your school, accepting poor student behaviour is the quickest way to do it. Staff morale will plummet and every student’s learning will suffer, even though it is likely to be but a small number of students causing the problems.
3. ‘Inclusion’
A warped interpretation of the word “inclusion” can be the root cause of behaviour problems. Let’s be clear: all schools should be inclusive. There should be no argument about that. However, in the minds of some, certain words and principles have become incompatible with an “inclusive” school. These include “rules” and “consequences”. Some schools have banned these words altogether. Some won’t talk about “behaviour”, perceiving it as an archaic term.
4. Teaching behaviour
Tom Bennett [founder and director of researchED and lead behaviour advisor to the Westminster Department for Education] suggests that, like any other area of our curriculum, we need to teach students how to behave. He is absolutely right. A key part of this teaching is ensuring students are clear about what the rules are, and what will happen if these are broken. A lack of clarity with rules, and a lack of consequences of any kind, is a surefire route to poor student behaviour and unhappiness in everyone across the school.
5. ‘All behaviour is communication’
In some schools, the idea that “all behaviour is communication” has led some to believe this: “There shouldn’t be consequences for poor student behaviour. The student is trying to tell us something. We need to try to find out what this is. That’s what’s most important.”
Students are, of course, trying to tell us something through their behaviour. This might be that:
- They are bored.
- They are finding what they’re being asked to do too difficult.
- They don’t like the subject you’re teaching.
- They don’t like you.
- There’s something upsetting them.
- They’d rather be doing something else.
While such things might explain poor behaviour, rarely do they excuse it. Making excuses for poor behaviour might seem like kindness at the time, but, actually, it will lead to longer-term problems.
Addressing the reason behind poor behaviour without addressing the poor behaviour itself teaches students that actions don’t have consequences. But, of course, they do. This is one of the most valuable life lessons schools should be teaching such students. We have a moral responsibility to do so. While background circumstances should always be considered, we should avoid the temptation of using these as an excuse. Far from being kind, this more often leads to us doing students a longer-term disservice.
6. ‘Is your lesson worth behaving for?’
I know of cases where teachers have been blamed for poor student behaviour: students aren’t behaving because the lesson isn’t good enough. “Is your lesson worth behaving for?” is an expression I have heard more than once. Every time I do, I can feel my blood start to boil.
It’s not about whether a lesson is “worth” behaving for or not: students should be expected to behave in every lesson. Poor teaching does not justify poor behaviour. In other words, student behaviour shouldn’t be excused because the teaching is poor. If the quality of lessons is a consistent issue, then this needs to be addressed, using appropriate channels and quality-assurance procedures. Excusing poor student behaviour because of poor teaching is corrosive to the school ethos and staff morale.
7. Upskilling teachers
Sometimes, issues with student behaviour are because teachers haven’t been trained to manage it properly. Being able to manage student behaviour in a class is a prerequisite to great teaching. Actually, I would go further than that: it is a prerequisite to any teaching. No one can teach in an environment of poor student behaviour. It doesn’t matter how good your knowledge of the curriculum and pedagogy is, or how enthusiastic and motivated you are: in the absence of good behaviour, students won’t learn.
8. Prioritise behaviour
If there is a problem with behaviour, focus on it at the expense of (almost) everything else until it is fixed. This means that other agendas will need to go on hold. All schools, regardless of context, can and should have high standards of student behaviour.
Bruce Robertson is the rector (headteacher) of Berwickshire High School - which was recently visited by school inspectors - and author of The Teaching Delusion trilogy. He tweets @TTDelusion
