| How can we manage young children’s misbehaviour effectively? |
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Research taster
Behaviour management tends to be more effective if you find ways to support young children in rationalising and talking through their conflicts. Following up their misbehaviour also seems to be more effective than simply distracting the children or telling them to stop misbehaving  . In this example, a teacher helped in a situation where one boy had hit another:BOY 1 points to BOY 2: "He hit me." TEACHER: "Well you say to him … you ask him, why did he do it? Say, don't hit me." TEACHER: " BOY 2, come here. Can you hear what BOY 1 is saying? He doesn't like that. Only play it with children who want to play that game.”
Your evidence
After an episode where a child or children misbehaved, you might like to write a diary type account of it, including how you handled the situation and how the children responded. You could ask yourself for example: • Did I react calmly? • Did I ask the child/children about the cause of the incident? • Did I talk the children through an appropriate action? • Did I explain why the action was appropriate? • Did I minimise the disturbance? If you can anticipate occasions when misbehaviour is likely to occur for a particular child you, or a colleague, could make a note of what happens to add some detail to your reflections and help you dig under the surface. Moving forward Having examined your actions and the children’s responses to the event, you could reflect on what you might do differently next time. You might want to discuss your experiences and reflections with a colleague or mentor. Find out more  You can find out more about effective early years practices on the TLRP Effective Pre-School and Primary Education (EPPE) project website at: http://www.tlrp.org/proj/phase111/AssocEPPE.htmThe GTC’s Research of the Month summary ‘Researching effective pedagogy in the early years’, available at: http://www.gtce.org.uk/research/romtopics/rom_curriculum/pedagogy/ The GTC’s Research of the Month summary ‘What makes the difference in the early years of children’s schooling?’ Available at: http://www.gtce.org.uk/research/romtopics/rom_curriculum/childrens_schooling/ The Research Informed Practice Site on the DfES Standards website at: http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/research/themes/early_years/ |
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