Final+report


 * Behaviour/Classroom Management Role Play – Report**

Richard Gay Alison Harvey Michelle Lotriet Svetlana Spaseska **Fostering a sense of belonging in the classroom.** Students, as with all humans, need a sense of belonging, if they do; they have found a status and recognition within a group and have developed a sense of self-esteem. They are happy to co-operate within the group and within a classroom if they feel accepted and part of the group .  Many students misbehave in class as they lack a sense of belonging within a peer group. Without this, they develop unacceptable ways of behaving which they believe  will give them a sense of status and the approval that they need. This is how Dreikurs’ views children’s behaviour in a classroom. Dreikurs’ theory is based upon the human need to belong as a goal for social behaviour. He believes that when students do not achieve this genuine goal, they turn to a series of mistaken goals to achieve this, and this is where their behaviour becomes unacceptable in the classroom. As a teacher, it is important to separate the behaviour from the child and to resist the natural impulse to react. It is suggested that firstly the teacher must identify the student’s mistaken  goal – by the way the student behaves and by their own reaction to it. Instead of drawing attention to the negative, attention-seeking behaviour the teacher should focus on the positive behaviours of the student and his colleagues, and encourage the student, to increase his sense of self-worth. Even asking the student a question to change the focus, moving closer to the student or asking him to move places in the classroom would be more productive than focussing on the negative behaviour. Dreikurs argues that the student behaviour gets progressively worse and moves through four stages: from attention seeking, to power seeking, to revenge seeking and finally withdrawal. When disciplining the student, the teacher should be focus on constructive behaviour, rather than coercive discipline. There are four suggestions for dealing with student behaviour: don’t react unthinkingly, provide encouragement, apply natural and logical consequences and help the student identify their mistaken goals and deal with them. If there is a democratic classroom, led by a democratic teacher then students will be aware of the consequences of their actions as they were involved in establishing the code of conduct. This will foster a sense of belonging in the classroom, as all students were working together to create this democracy. By encouraging the child, the teacher is discouraging the behaviour and in this way, the students will see that it is in their best interests to contribute to the wellbeing of their group and so will feel that they belong.

417 words, plus 12

** References: **  Charles, C.M. Building classroom discipline. Pub Pearson, 1999. Rogers, B. (Ed). How to manage children’s challenging behaviour. Pub. Paul Chapman publishing, 2004. Lewis, R. Lecture and workshop notes. 2009. Lewis, R. The discipline dilemma. Pub. ACER press, 1991. 

Type in the content of your page here.