7/5/2009

PREVENTING DISCIPLINE
PROBLEMS
 It is obviously wise to have a successful prevention
discipline programme
EST 213: CLASSROOM
 If discipline problems can be prevented, many of
MANAGEMENT the difficulties experienced by teachers will be
Creating a Personal Theory of Discipline
avoided.
Lecture17

 A good preventive discipline programme has

 Discipline problems tend to escalate once they
appear
 In a good preventive discipline programme, the
problems will not have a chance to grow to make it
increasingly difficult to overcome
several important characteristics:
1) It provides for students’ needs (love, control,
freedom, fun) in the instructional programme
2) It encourages students to communicate what they
would like to learn and how they would like to
learn it

3) It involves students in establishing explicit rules and

expectations Providing For Students’ Needs
Human needs include control, freedom, and fun along
4) It allows students to help determine the role of the with love and acceptance (Glasser, 1984)
teacher
Misbehaviour of students indicate that such needs
5) It fosters the establishment of good relationships are not being met
between students and teachers
Students are often unable to satisfy their needs at
6) It helps students learn how to evaluate their own home. This may apply to home or other social
academic performance settings

1

Since children spend a lot of time in school teachers
have a unique opportunity to help students to have
their basic needs met more fully
and in turn
enjoy a more satisfying school
experience
 However, this rebellion cannot be controlled by
restricting their behaviour
 Their unruliness is a product of having too few
opportunities to govern them
 This problem can be solved only when students
are allowed more control and responsibility
 This need for freedom is difficult to provide for
students in schools as they are assembled in large
groups and expected to pursue common goals
 Anyone observing children learning in a free
setting (unstructured environment) would
admit that they seem to have a lot of fun.
 From a very young age children are
compelled to learn and spend much of their
time engaged in learning, enjoying
immensely all the time
 Unfortunately the longer children stay in
school settings the less they like learning
7/5/2009
In the preventive discipline approach described here
helping students satisfy their basic needs is an
important way to prevent the problem behaviours
that often result when these needs are not met
Adults usually consider children’s need for control to
be illegitimate. It seems not right to allow students
control when they seem out of control and
rebellious
 Curriculum and rules are usually dictated
giving students little or no flexibility
 These restrictions are thought as necessary
because students are thought to be inherently
irresponsible
 Students are customarily told that learning is
difficult and that to be successful they have to
work hard
 Most teachers do not believe that they have
any obligation to make learning fun. In fact,
teachers consider learning to be hard work
and not fun
 Infact schools can turn some children off
from learning altogether.
How can this change be explained?
One major factor is learning in school is
different from the natural settings
- Students are expected to learn what they
are assigned instead of what they consider
interesting
- Strict schedule must be followed
- Unlike natural environments completing
assignments is drudge
2

 However, learning in school can be just as
exciting as learning that occurs naturally
 When it is so, fewer discipline problems
exist
 It is when learning becomes boring that they turn
for other activities to entertain them – usually they
misbehave
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 One of the prime requirements for teachers
is that they love their students
 Ifstudents do not feel that they are loved
they will react negatively
 Love is demonstrated through actions (pats
on the back, handshakes), words (use of the
student’s name, compliments), and attitudes
(fairness to all, kindness)
 Excessive control, anger and cutting
remarks express a lack of love and respect.