Use of a technology‐enhanced version of the good behavior game in an elementary school setting

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a variation of the Good Behavior Game (GBG) in which teachers used ClassDojo to manage each team's progress. ClassDojo is a computer‐based program that enables teachers to award students with points for demonstrating target behaviors. Dependent variables included class‐wide disruptive and academically engaged behavior, teachers’ ratings on the Behavior Intervention Rating Scale (BIRS), and the rate of teacher praise statements delivered in each phase. Overall, results indicated that the GBG with ClassDojo was effective at reducing disruptive behavior, increasing academically engaged behavior, and was rated as socially valid. Additionally, when the intervention was in place, increases in the amount of behavior‐specific praise statements delivered were observed across all three classrooms.     

Teachers’ Attitudes towards Disruptive Behaviour and their Use of Internal Referral

This study offers a very neat demonstration of something which conventional wisdom holds: that our actions reflect our beliefs. But the topic under investigation is a challenging one – teachers’ uses of ‘referral systems’ in school. The evidence suggests that referrals reflect teachers’ beliefs – not, therefore, the pupils’ behaviour. We do not know of a study of this sort anywhere in the literature on school behaviour, yet these findings have major implications for those pastoral systems which have become distorted into discipline systems. Michael examines these with care, taking pains not to be simply ‘pointing the finger’.

Michael Evans has been teaching physical education and mathematics in London for seven years. Currently in his second secondary post as Head of Year, Michael is working to complete his MA at the University of London Institute of Education. In his spare time he heads for the hills, wind and rain of Scotland.     

Distinguishing between demographic and contextual factors linked to early childhood physical discipline and physical maltreatment among Black families

BackgroundDespite persistent discouragement from professionals, U.S. parents, especially Black parents, highly endorse physical discipline, which also is a risk factor for physical maltreatment. Few studies have examined physical discipline heterogeneity or maltreatment, and predictive demographic and contextual factors within the same population.ObjectiveThis exploratory study aimed to identify subgroups of Black parents’ use of early childhood physical discipline. It also examined whether demographic and contextual factors’ relations with physical discipline were similar or different from those with physical maltreatment.Participants and setting310 Black parents from three geographically-distinct high-risk U.S. communities participated in home-based interview and survey data collection.MethodsWe conducted latent class analyses to identify sub-groups among Black parents characterized by physical discipline frequency and type. Bolck, Croon, and Hagenaars method and binary logistic regression were conducted to examine relations between demographic and contextual factors (child gender, family income, marital status, parental education, family stress and perceived neighborhood safety), discipline and maltreatment.ResultsThree physical discipline classes, which differed in frequency and type, were identified among Black parents. Only income was significantly related to both discipline (x² = 18.97, p < .001) and maltreatment (OR = 1.03, p < .01). Child gender (x² = 6.66, p < .01), never-married status (x² = 13.94, p < .001), parental education (x² = 10.32, p < .001), and neighborhood safety (x² = 7.57, p < .01) also significantly related to discipline. Family stress was significantly related to physical maltreatment (OR = 1.42, p < .001).ConclusionsDiffering demographic and contextual factor relations with physical discipline and maltreatment within a Black population should be considered when identifying parents at-risk.     

Teachers’ differing perceptions of classroom disturbances

Background: Efficient classroom management and adequate discipline are major issues for teachers in schools worldwide, with the guiding of students’ behaviour as one of the primary challenges. Teachers’ knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviour play central roles in the appropriate handling of classroom disturbances.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore how practising teachers perceive classroom disturbances and to compare their views to those presented in the literature. By clarifying typical perceptions, this research is intended to give individual teachers tools to develop their insights by comparing their perceptions with those of other teachers.

Sample: The empirical material was collected by interviewing 14 home economics teachers in Finland. Home economics is a school subject that involves individual and group work as well as theoretical and practical work. In Finland, home economics is a compulsory subject for students aged 13–15 years, which are challenging ages in regard to classroom management.

Design and methods: The empirical research was completed via deep, qualitative theme interviews for data gathering and phenomenography for analysis.

Results: The analysis identified five dimensions in which interviewees expressed varying views of classroom disturbances: who or what disturbs, whose work is disturbed, why students disturb, who is responsible and how to prevent classroom disturbances. Based on the various perceptions within each dimension, the main perceptions for understanding classroom disturbances can be condensed into four categories: unavoidable nuisance, deficient resources, the matter of atmosphere and educational task.

Conclusions: Teachers who wish to develop their classroom management skills may use these findings as tools to compare their perceptions with those of other teachers. This knowledge may also be useful for developing teacher education.     

Reducing exclusions whilst developing effective intervention and inclusion for pupils with behaviour difficulties

abstract

This article draws upon a recent evaluation study of developments in behaviour/discipline systems in an inner-city secondary school over a period of 5 years (including a 3 year O°action research' cycle). The methodology involved the collection and analysis of data from a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches with reference to other school performance indicators. Elements of the study are discussed in order to help bridge the theory/practice divide and to share practical research findings with other schools.     

Child discipline in low- and middle-income countries: Socioeconomic disparities at the household- and country-level

BackgroundIn the past month, an estimated eight of ten children worldwide have experienced violent discipline. Understanding the economic and social contexts in which parents are more likely to use particular disciplinary practices is necessary to reduce violence against children. Critical examination of disciplinary practices and beliefs in cross-country analysis of low- and middle-income countries (LMICS) has been limited.ObjectiveTo estimate the association of country-level stressors and household-level economic stressors with disciplinary behaviors and beliefs.Participants and settingUsing Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey data between 2010 and 2013, 231,221 parents from 32 LMICS were included.MethodsThe prevalence of past-month nonviolent discipline, physical discipline, psychological aggression, belief in the utility of physical discipline, and incongruence of disciplinary practice and belief were estimated. Country-level prevalence was regressed on country-level stressors (economic burden, economic inequality, human security, and human development). Individual-level disciplinary practices and beliefs were regressed on household wealth.ResultsCountry-level stressors predicted psychological and physical discipline use and belief in the utility of physical discipline. Lower household wealth was associated with increased violent disciplinary practice and belief. Lower household wealth was associated with increased likelihood of using violent discipline, even when the caregiver did not believe in its utility (OR = 1.63 [1.34, 1.98]).ConclusionsDiscipline use and belief in LMICS should be understood within the context of salient societal and household stressors.Parental disciplinary beliefs and practices reflect complex interplay with broader social, political and economic contexts and should not be taken to be defined by monolithic views of culture.     

Decoding ClassDojo: psycho-policy,social-emotional learning and persuasive educational technologies

ClassDojo is one of the world’s most successful educational technologies, currently used by over 3 million teachers and 35 million children globally. It reinforces and enacts emerging governmental ‘psycho-policies’ around the measurement and modification of children’s social and emotional learning in schools. This article focuses specifically on the ways ClassDojo facilitates psychological surveillance through gamification techniques, its links to new psychological concepts of ‘character development,’ ‘growth mindsets’ and ‘personal qualities,’ and its connections to the psychological techniques of Silicon Valley designers. Methodologically, the research mobilizes network analysis to trace the organizational, technical, governmental and scientific relations that are translated together and encoded in the ClassDojo app. Through its alignment with emerging education psycho-policy agendas around the measurement of non-cognitive learning, ClassDojo is a key technology of ‘fast policy’ that functions as a ‘persuasive technology’ of ‘psycho-compulsion’ to reinforce and reward student behaviours that are aligned with governmental strategies around social-emotional learning.     

Stress and positive attitudes towards violent discipline are associated with school violence by Ugandan teachers

BackgroundGlobally, the use of violent discipline methods by teachers to manage child behavior is still highly prevalent despite enactment of laws that prohibit school violence. In the case of Uganda there is a dearth of accurate prevalence statistics on school violence and factors associated with the use of violence by teachers.ObjectivesTherefore, the current study examined the prevalence of and attitudes towards violence. The study also explored the association between teachers’ stress, positive attitudes towards violence and the use of violent discipline management methods.MethodsA representative sample of 291 teachers and 702 students from 12 public secondary schools in southwestern Uganda responded to anonymous self-administered questionnaires. Data were collected from April to November 2017.ResultsFindings indicated that 86.5% of the teachers reported having used violent disciplinary methods on students in the past month while 91.5% of the students reported experiencing violence by teachers. Teachers (88.3%, n = 256) endorsed positive attitudes towards violent discipline. Teachers’ stress was related to higher levels of violent discipline (β = 0.20). This relation was mediated by positive attitudes towards violence (0.06, SE: 0.01, 95%-CI: 0.035–0.092).ConclusionsOur findings indicate that teacher reported stress was associated with their use of violent behavior and positive attitudes and that positive attitudes reduced the association between teachers’ stress and violent behavior. Therefore, interventions aiming to reduce violence by teachers may need to integrate effective stress management skills, in addition to nonviolent discipline strategies, and fostering attitudinal change towards the use of violent methods.     

Re-conceptualising authority relations in education: a micro-situational approach

ABSTRACT

This article explores the conception of authority relations in the classroom that are implicit in some examples of related policy documentation in Scotland and England. We argue that the importance of the constitutive role of the micro-dynamics of face-to-face interaction in classroom settings is neglected in documentation of this type. We explore this claim with reference to examples of policy in two jurisdictions of the United Kingdom, namely The Donaldson Review and The Standards for Registration in Scotland, and policy-related guidance from England on improving discipline in schools and pupils’ behaviour. We also consider how authority relations are conceptualised in a recent article that has made a significant contribution to the literature in the field. Finally, we present a theoretical account that counterbalances prevailing approaches to authority relations in the classroom. We suggest that authority is continuously negotiated, challenged, accepted, defined and ultimately constituted in and through the dynamics of interaction amongst pupils (and between pupils and teachers).     

Rebuilding the Walls of Quality Education for Disadvantaged communities

Abstract

The research study reported on was conducted to establish how the walls of quality education for disadvantaged communities can be rebuilt through classroom discipline. Social and economic instability, which has always existed, has been intensified by the recent widespread political unrests, which in turn has eroded discipline in the classroom situation. A cross-sectional research survey design was employed and a questionnaire was used as the research instrument to collect data, in addition to an interview tool. Simple percentage and Chi-square statistical methods were further used to analyse the collected data. Grounded theory underpinned the study as a lens to understand the impact of discipline on learner performance in the school set up. The findings suggested that lack of time management skills; violation of rules and regulations; and poor parental involvement might affect classroom discipline to a certain extent. It was against this backdrop that recommendations were formulated.     

In the Service of Technocratic Managerialism? History in UK Universities

Abstract

This article discusses the conceptualisation, organisation and philosophical orientation of academic history culture in UK higher education. It problematises the extent to which a dominant history culture in UK universities implies and uncritically reproduces normative understandings about the subject; about its epistemological standing, sociopolitical functions, and the presumed cultural value of the discipline practices that students learn to perform. We suggest that current conceptions of history degree curricula are overly thin and organised around a dominant managerialist discourse of skills, personal development and learning outcomes. In a historicised world, in which history-focused behaviour has a crucial, ideological, affirmatory role, and in which historical narratives have a privileged cognitive function, we argue that it is critical for university history students to be able to deconstruct the processes by which history legitimises itself, and reinforces matrices of power in our societies. The positioning of history in higher education as a form of technocratic managerialism closes down spaces in which students can explore the potential of historical practices as a means of engaging with issues of current sociopolitical and ethical concern. We ask in this article, is this what we want an academic history culture to do?     

The mediating effect of trust on the dimensionality of organisational justice and organisational citizenship behaviour amongst teachers in Malaysia

Abstract

The swelling discourses on organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB) have diffused into areas of management and organisational research. The existing literature encapsulates that trust will mediate the relationship between the three dimensions of organisational justice: procedural justice, distributive justice and interactional justice and OCB. Based on the literature discussions, several hypotheses were proposed and conceptual framework was formulated. A total of 411 teachers had responded and participated in the survey. The collected data were analysed using Smart Partial Least Square software. Vigorous two-stage analytical procedure was adopted. The statistical results indicated that trust significantly mediates the relationship between organisational justice and OCB as well as the dimensions of organisational justice and OCB with various degrees of mediating effects. These findings have provided new insights in the organisational behaviour discipline and shed light on trust’s mediation in the relationship of organisational justice and OCB.     

Historical Thinking -- and Its Alleged Unnaturalness

Abstract

No articulation of `historical thinking' has been as influential as Sam Wineburg's position, according to which historical thinking is, fundamentally, the recognition of the ways in which the past is different than the present. Wineburg argues, further, that achieving that state is `unnatural.' This paper critiques both of these claims, arguing instead that we should replace a generic conception of historical thinking with one that is much more rooted in the specific practice of the discipline. It is surely necessary for students to learn this practice, but it is not unnatural. Instead, learning to think historically is learning to speak the language of the discipline that we call ‘history.’     

Parenting and discipline in post-conflict Sierra Leone

BackgroundWhile the literature on physical punishment concludes that it has negative effects on children, the practice remains common in many countries. In post-conflict countries with nongovernmental organizations (NGO) operating in child protection, traditional disciplinary practices may conflict with international child rights agendas. The country of Sierra Leone has a unique history of conflict, abject poverty, low literacy, and weak governance – often, NGO agents are responsible for providing social services that the government is unable to consistently provide.ObjectiveWe examined how Sierra Leonean caregivers think about appropriate discipline for children, and whether they perceived any changes in their attitudes toward disciplinary practices since the end of the war.Participants and SettingWe collected data from parents and caregivers in urban, peri-urban, and rural areas of Sierra Leone’s four districts.MethodsWe used focus groups (12 groups, n = 92) and individual interviews (n = 21) to collect data in 2013. Focus groups and interviews were conducted by research assistants fluent in Krio and English. We used a thematic content analysis approach.ResultsWe found that physical discipline—“beating”—was widely acceptable and common. A few parents mentioned other means of discipline, such as withholding food. Parents widely agreed that parenting had changed since the war, and reported that child rights movements supported by NGOs had made it more difficult to discipline their children in traditional ways.ConclusionsDiscipline was seen a central component of child-rearing and a means of ensuring safe and proper development. This may be a protective mechanism in the precarious, high poverty environment of post-war Sierra Leone. The negative responses of parents to NGO efforts to reduce physical punishment and other forms of child abuse suggest that grassroots approaches are needed to address this pervasive problem.     

Boundary-Work and Discipline Construction: Boundary Strategies to Institutionalize Guoxue as a Discipline and Its Failure

Abstract

The construction of knowledge boundaries is an important mechanism in the formation of disciplines. This article examines and analyzes boundary strategies and difficulties in the institutionalization of guoxue (“national studies” or “Chinese classics”) as a discipline in recent years from the perspective of boundary-work. To establish guoxue as a discipline, proponents of the discipline have proposed the knowledge strategies of “new guoxue” and “broad guoxue,” so as to dispel potential conflict between guoxue and the external political environment. In addition, in the construction of the discipline, proponents have emphasized the differences between Chinese and Western scholarship, and also made analogy to Western Sinology, to highlight the necessity of constructing a holistic “discipline of guoxue.” However, these strategies and efforts have not achieved the objective of building guoxue as a discipline. One important reason is that guoxue studies are, to a very great extent, embedded in Chinese literature, Chinese history, Chinese philosophy and other related disciplines. The knowledge boundaries between guoxue and these disciplines are fuzzy, and the construction of the discipline lacks driving force from daily research practices. The process of to build a guoxue discipline can contribute to reflect on the existing discipline governance system in mainland China.     

Teachers’, Students’ and Parents’ Attitudes Towards Disruptive Behaviour Problems in High School: a case study

The present study maps the attitudes towards students’ disruptive behaviour as part of the school discipline. Research studies on the subject usually examine the attitudes of one or two groups of relevant subjects, that is, teachers, parents or students. As teachers, students and parents do share a common milieu, the relationship of their attitudes towards student misbehaviour is important in the crystallisation of such discipline. The present study is innovative in that all three groups were examined simultaneously in one school. A standardised questionnaire was designed for all three groups which identified typical disruptive behaviour by adolescent students. The study was conducted in a centre for technological education in Central Israel which caters, especially, for low‐achieving students. Findings reveal large gaps among the three groups. While teachers seem to agree among themselves as to the severity of most of the disruptive behaviour problems at school, students and parents were found to disagree among themselves on the severity of most of the examined issues. Differences among the groups indicate a possible source for the emergence of student disruptive behaviour problems. Findings also suggest that there is a need for increased involvement of both parents and students in discipline‐related issues in the school.     

Storylines in the physics teaching content of an upper secondary school classroom

ABSTRACT

Background: Physics is often seen as a discipline with difficult content, and one that is difficult to identify with. Socialisation processes at the upper secondary school level are of particular interest as these may be linked to the subsequent low and uneven participation in university physics. Focusing on how norms are construed in physics classrooms in upper secondary school is therefore relevant.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify discursive patterns in teacher–student interactions in physics classrooms.

Design and methods: Three different physics lessons with one class of students taught by three different teachers in upper secondary school were video-recorded. Positioning theory was used to analyse classroom interaction with a specific focus on how physics was positioned.

Results: We identified seven different storylines. Four of them (‘reaching a solution to textbook problems’, ‘discussing physics concepts in order to gain better understanding’, ‘doing empirical enquiry’ and ‘preparing for the upcoming exam’) represent what teaching physics in an upper secondary school classroom can be. The last three storylines (‘mastering physics’, ‘appreciating physics’ and ‘having a feeling for physics’) all concern how students are supposed to relate to physics and, thus, become ‘insiders’ in the discipline.

Conclusions: The identification and analysis of storylines raises awareness of the choices teachers make in physics education and their potential consequences for students. For example, in the storyline of mastering physics a good physics student is associated with ‘smartness’, which might make the classroom a less secure place in general. Variation and diversity in the storylines construed in teaching can potentially contribute to a more inclusive physics education.     

Screening for harsh punishment in a pediatric primary care clinic

ObjectivesTo determine: (1) the prevalence of harsh punishment among parents in a pediatric clinic, and (2) the sensitivity, specificity, predictive values, and stability of a brief screening measure.MethodsA subset of families involved in a study of child maltreatment prevention were recruited for this study. Two items in a parent screening questionnaire (PSQ) were related to child punishment. Comparisons were made between parents’ responses on the PSQ and on the Parent-Child Conflict Tactic Scale (CTSPC).ResultsOn the PSQ, 7% of parents of infants and 32% of parents of toddlers/preschoolers reported that their child was difficult to take care of or needed to be hit or spanked. On the CTSPC, 14% of the infants had experienced physical assault and 21% psychological aggression. For older children, subscales were modified to exclude common discipline measures, resulting in 20% experiencing physical assault and 19% psychological aggression. Sensitivities for the PSQ were relatively poor for infants, but moderate for older children. Specificities were good. Stability was adequate.ConclusionsHarsh punishment experienced by older children was similar to that in published studies. Punishment of infants is concerning. The PSQ can be used to screen out parents who are not using harsh discipline measures.Practice implicationsThe PSQ has variable utility in determining which families are using harsh punishment. Until the measure can be further refined, universal counseling is needed.     

Discipline‐based educational development

Abstract

This paper grows out of my academic journey from a long period teaching and researching geography to recently taking on the role of an educational developer. For most staff, their primary allegiance is to their discipline. In my experience, educational developers often fail to recognize and value staff's focus on their discipline ‐ or see it as an obstacle to improving the quality of their teaching. My central argument is that, to have a significant impact on the broad mass of staff, educational developers should work with these discipline‐based concerns. I detail how this can be achieved, drawing on much good practice from the UK, Australia and North America. Approaches include recognizing particular curricular and pedagogic concerns of the disciplines; helping staff to develop as scholars in the teaching of their discipline; for some staff to develop careers in the teaching of their discipline; and for educational developers to work with disciplinary organizations to promote discipline‐based teaching initiatives.     

Training psychology students to think critically: Revisiting psychology as science

Abstract

This article argues that South African psychology lecturers do not place sufficient emphasis in their teaching on critical thinking skills and on the application of these skills in the discipline of psychology. Students therefore often commit various errors in thinking such as hindsight bias, confirmation bias, the availability heuristic, the notion of “post hoc ergo propter hoc”, the idea that correlation equals causation, a reliance on an intuitive sense, reversed burden of proof, and over-reliance on testimonial and anecdotal evidence. Also, little emphasis is placed on scepticism, considering alternative explanations for phenomena, and demanding evidence for claims about human behaviour, creating conditions for unscientific and pseudoscientific beliefs to have credibility among psychology graduates. It is proposed that critical skills need to be taught in psychology courses, including rooting out gullibility and replacing it with skepticism, the principle of falsification, demanding evidence to support a claim, understanding the hierarchy of evidence, and engaging in probabilistic thinking.