ITE Resource: Behaviour Management and Diversity

ITE Resource: Behaviour management and diversity

Louise Gazeley and Máiréad Dunne

Session notes for ITE Tutors

This resource isintended to stimulate discussion about the relationship between behaviour management and diversity and the implications of both for pupils’ learning. It consists of seven extracts taken from interviews recorded with ITE Tutors and ITE Students during a small-scale study that explored how the issue of high rates of disciplinary exclusion amongst Black pupils was being covered within ITE programmes. Each of the extracts is introduced by a broad heading and is followed by a general question to support discussion. There are also suggestions for further reading, some of which is available through the Multiverse website. The interview extracts are designed to promote an exploration of the following issues:

Whether teachers adopt different behaviour management styles in lower sets and whether this impacts more on the learning of specific groups of pupils, including Black pupils
Whether additional support for pupils with behavioural difficulties can be linked to judgments about what is ‘fair’
What additional planning might be needed to take account of the less regular attendance of pupils involved in disciplinary processes
How to minimize the impact of behaviour management strategies on pupil engagement
The influence of stereotypical assumptions linked to ethnicity and gender on behaviour management
The need to recognise factors specific to particular groups of pupils, in this case Black pupils
The feeling that there are aspects of professional practice that it is awkward to discuss, in this case Race.

This resource provides an opportunity for ITE Students to explore attitudes and assumptions that are often not articulated but which nevertheless often inform professional practice in schools.

The research report that was written following these interviews is published on the Multiverse website and is called: Reducing the disciplinary exclusion of Black pupils: an exploration of perceptions and practices within Initial Teacher Training programmes.

Notes onExtract One: Behaviour management styles and learning opportunities

Discussion question: Do you agree that differences in the way that teachers manage the behaviour of pupils affect their learning opportunities?

Key points for discussion:

Bottom sets may be more difficult to manage because of the tendency for pupils with behavioural difficulties to be concentrated in these groups. This would explain a stronger focus on behaviour management within these groups. Interestingly, some schools choose to move pupils whose behaviour is difficult to manage ‘up’ rather than ‘down’.
The multiverse teaching resource Teaching Styles – Pupil Perspectives has a table showing factors that underachieving pupils identified as barriers to their learning. These included: teachers shouting, being afraid to ask the teacher for an explanation and being given work that was boring.A link to this item can be found under the Multiverse resource: Addressing working class underachievement.
Using prior attainment as a measure of ‘ability’ impacts most on pupils whose attainment on entry to school is lowest. This is because over the period of compulsory schooling, early differences in attainment are accentuated rather than addressed. These early differences are closely linked to parental levels of education. The impact of bottom set placement is therefore not felt by all groups of pupils equally. Pupils from working class backgrounds, including those in receipt of Free School Meals (FSM), are more likely to be located in bottom sets. Importantly, whereas 14% of all pupilsare in receipt of FSM, 40% of Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) pupils are (Source: DfES, (2006), Social Mobility: Narrowing Social Class Educational Attainment Gaps, Supporting materials to a speech by the Rt Hon Ruth Kelly MP Secretary of State for Education and Skills to the Institute of Public Policy Research 26 April 2006. A link to this paper can be found on the Multiverse website.
Tutor E contrasts the attitudes and expectations of this teacher trainee with those of other teachers at the school. For a discussion of concerns about the impact of ‘ability grouping’ see for instance the article by Jo Boaler listed in the suggested reading.
Set location has an impact on pupils’ self-esteem and behaviour. Teachers sometimes make comments about set location that reinforce positive and negative messages about the value of pupils.
Some schools try to keep bottom sets small and to allocate additional resources such as a Teaching Assistant (TA). However, some pupils have Statements of Special Educational Need (SEN) that entitle them to the support of a TA anyway. It is more difficult for TAs to support pupils in groups where behaviour is not well managed. There may also be an expectation that the TA manage some of the behaviour. Where the teacher’s expectations are clear, and the TA is involved in planning and feedback, support for pupils is more effective.For more on these issues see the Multiverse link to a government publication Breaking the link between special educational needs and low attainment: Everyone’s business. DCSF 2010.

Notes onExtract Two: Inclusion, exclusion and the concept of fair treatment

Discussion question: Do you agree that the inclusion of difficult pupils can be linked to judgements about what is ‘fair’ to other pupils?

Key points to cover include:

In schools, where difficult behaviour poses an immediate problem, it can be difficult to think in terms of the long-term impact of disciplinary exclusion. However, there are long-term social costs as disciplinary exclusion is associated with an increased risk of involvement in crime, poverty and unemployment. There are also intergenerational implications as the capacity of these pupils to support the learning of their own children is likely to be affected.
The national guidance on exclusion makes it clear that the impact of a pupil’s behaviour on other pupils has to be considered. In practice, it can be very difficult to balance the needs of the well-behaved majority against those of an individual, even if the child is identified as ‘vulnerable.’ Although Trainee 2A suggests that it is unfair for pupils to take up additional time and resources because of their behaviour, it would be equally unfair not to take account of differences in pupils’ circumstances and needswhen allocating resources.
Professionals may be less tolerant of pupils with behavioural needs than those with other types of SEN. However, behavioural and cognitive needs often overlap and bad behaviour may be a response to cognitive needs that have not been addressed. It may also be a response to trauma. Although a pupil might be considered to have chosen their behaviour, it is important to qualify this with an understanding of its causes.
Trainee 2A suggests that schools are reluctant to exclude pupils permanently because of arrangements that mean they have to pay a sum of money for the support of that pupil in a new school. However, it would be incorrect to assume that permanently excluded always benefit directly from this money. For instance, a school may decide to keep the money so that they can pass it on if it becomes necessary to permanently exclude the pupil again.
Trainee 2B suggests that where the line between inclusion and exclusion is drawn is the critical question. However, teachers and schools often draw the line in very different places – reflecting differences in resources and professional values. As this can lead to pupils experiencing very different outcomes in different school contexts, what constitutes ‘fair’ treatment is also an issue here.
This interview extract raises questions about the extent to which pupils can/should be included in mainstream schools. Warnock (2006) explores the case of pupils with SEN and expresses particular concern about high rates of exclusion amongst pupils with Statements of SEN (Listed in the suggested further reading). See also Multiverse resource Breaking the link between special educational needs and low attainment: Everyone’s business. DCSF 2010.

Notes onExtract Three: Behaviour management and pupil engagement

Discussion question: Do you agree that pupils’ disengagement from learning can be linked to strategies adopted to manage their behaviour?

Key points to cover include:

In this extract the ITE Students discuss four different scenarios. Only the first of these relates to behaviour management practices within the classroom over which individual teachers have control. The other three scenarios relate to behaviour management decisions taken at a higher level. Although behaviour management operates at different levels within schools, pupils’ experiences of school are shaped by the interaction of all of these different levels. It is important to consider to what extent pupil (dis)engagement is a response to factors within schools, and whether pupils might perceive ‘schools’ as disengaging from them.
The ITE Students identify a number of problems with the practice of putting pupils outside the classroom as a behaviour management strategy:

Missed learning - particularly of the explanation of the learning activity - making participation in the classroom more difficult
A lack of monitoring and accountability, making it difficult to assess a pupil’s actual experience of school
More disruptive behaviour, likely to lead to additional disciplinary sanctions.

Students could discuss whether other behaviour management strategies have similar effects and which ones do not have these unintended consequences.

Trainee 4C describes the disengagement of a pupil who is waiting to be transferred to another school, a situation that might create additional behaviour management difficulties. Students could discuss intervention strategies that might be useful in a similar situation.
Pupils often respond well tothe more adult environment of a college and to a vocational curriculum (Discussed in Attwood et al, (2004), listed in the suggested reading). However, as college attendance has an impact on the school-based learning of pupils, personalised planning and additional support may be needed.

Trainee 4A refers to the practice of putting some pupils on part-time timetables. However, all pupils have a minimum entitlement to education and arrangements that limit this should be set out in a Pastoral Support Plan and regularly reviewed. The emphasis at policy level on the benefits of 100% attendance conflicts with the view that full attendance is not possible/desirable for a minority of pupils.
At the end of this extract Trainee 4A says ‘I don’t know how that’s helping them with their learning.’ This is a critical question and it highlights the importance of considering whether a strategy that has been adopted to manage a pupil’s behaviour presents an additional barrier to learning or impacts on the motivation to learn.

Notes onExtract Four: Personalising the learning of excluded pupils

Discussion question: Do you agree that additional planning is needed if excluded pupils are to be successfully included?

Key points to cover include:

The students in the previous extract raised the problem of unpredictable attendance. In this extract Trainee 2F links this explicitly to disciplinary exclusion and time spent in isolation/internal exclusion. The importance of good inter-professional communication within the school is clearly suggested.
Trainee 2F recognises that the pupil begins the lesson at a different starting point from the rest of the class. Students could discuss how to take account of this – perhaps by using a TA or ensuring that alternative/individual resources are available. As it is possible that bad behaviour might be a consequence of a pupil’s difficulty ‘tuning in’ to a lesson, it might be considered to be not fully within the pupil’s control.
Any difficulty accessing learning, particularly in the absence of the class teacher, would be compounded for pupils with SEN.
There are a number of reasons why the sort of additional planning Trainee 2F is suggesting might not be undertaken. In addition to requiring more time, the unreliability of the pupil’s attendance and the pupil’s behaviour might act as a disincentive. Trainee 2F also suggests that the composition of the group (lower set) makes this more difficult.

Notes onExtract Five: Behaviour management and racial stereotypes

Discussion question: Do you agree that the behaviour of some pupils is sanctioned more harshly because it is perceived as more threatening?

Key points to cover include:

In this extract the students suggest that some teachers have stereotypical assumptions about Black boys that might lead them to judge and sanction their behaviour differently. This would provide one explanation for disproportional rates of exclusion amongst Black pupils.
As boys are four times more likely to be excluded from school than girls, gendered professional assumptions about the behaviour and attainment of boys are important.
As pupils who are excluded from school are predominantly from working class backgrounds, classed professional assumptions about the support for learning in the home and the future occupational trajectories of pupils are also important.
Other groups of pupils who are disproportionately excluded from school include: pupils from Traveller backgrounds, Children in Care and pupils with SEN.
The students suggest that Black pupils might be perceived as more intimidating. Students could discuss factors that might lead teachers to feel less comfortable with some pupils than with others. These might include: size, speech, gender, social class, ethnic group, dress etc. Students could also discuss to what extent these perceptions are shaped by the teacher’s own experiences and identity.
The students suggest that media representations, particularly in relation to gang culture, affect how Black pupils are perceived in schools. Students could discuss whether there is more that ‘schools’ could do to challenge stereotypical representations of specific groups of pupils.

Notes onExtract Six: Teachers’ understandings of Black pupils

Discussion question: Do you agree that teachers who understand issues specific to Black pupils are more likely to be able to promote their educational achievement?

Key points to cover include:

In this extract a Black tutor describes feelings of frustration engendered by an encounter with a teacher trainee who had refused to accept that his description of a recent personal experience had exemplified racist assumptions about Black men.
Tutor A suggests that to successfully educate Black pupils there is a need for teachers to be open to their particular experiences and needs. Students could discuss whether they agree with this assertion and whether there might be other groups of pupils for whom this might also be the case.
Tutor A suggests that he is committed to racial integration. Students might discuss what integration means in the context of the English education system. This could include reference to pupils’ access to the highest performing Secondary schools and to Higher Education.
Tutor A argues that high rates of Black exclusion need to be set in the context of Black history. For a brief account of the racism and low expectations experienced by Black pupils in the English education system in the past see: Mirza, H. (2005) in the suggested reading for this session.
The idea of fair/equal treatment for pupils with behaviour difficulties was discussed by the ITE Students in Extract 2. In contrast, Tutor A suggests at the end of this extract that some allowance might need to be made for the behaviour of some Black pupils because it is rooted in social inequalities and therefore not simply a matter of individual responsibility. Students may feel that this is a contentious view and wish to discuss this further.
Tutor A comments on the high attainment of Black pupils in two schools. It is important to draw ITE Students’ attention to the positive achievement and good behaviour of the majority of Black pupils. Students could be asked to discuss strategies that they are aware of that have been developed to promote the attainment of Black pupils and those from other groups at greater risk of low attainment and disciplinary exclusion, including Children in Care.

Notes onExtract Seven: Confidence about diversity and practice

Discussion question: Do you agree that it can be difficult to talk about race and its implications for practice in schools?

Key points to cover include:

Trainee 1D suggests that he worries that his actions might be interpreted as racist and that this makes him more hesitant when managing the behaviour of pupils from particular ethnic groups. Students might discuss whether they have similar doubts and how these might be resolved.
Trainee 1D says that he has not witnessed any racism in schools. It is important to draw out the difference between racism and institutional racism, as this is not overt but a racist outcome derived from unintentional and unconscious processes and decisions.(See also the article by Polly Curtis in the suggested reading for this session).
Trainee 1D suggests that he had few opportunities to learn about racial diversity in his own schooling. Students could discuss their own educational experiences and how these affect their professional identities and values.
Although Trainee 1E fears that to make teachers more aware of high rates of disciplinary exclusion amongst Black pupils might actually lead to more Black pupils being excluded, schools have a legal dutyunder the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 to promote equality of opportunity between different racial groups. Students could discuss whether the fear of labelling pupils gets in the way of identifying outcomes that impact adversely on specific groups of pupils.