Categories: NewsEducation

Group punishment doesn’t fix behaviour, just makes kids hate school

<h2>Classroom management is <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;ro&period;ecu&period;edu&period;au&sol;cgi&sol;viewcontent&period;cgi&quest;article&equals;2293&amp&semi;context&equals;ajte">consistently seen<&sol;a> as a source of stress for beginning teachers&period; It’s also one of the main <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;psycnet&period;apa&period;org&sol;record&sol;2000-15231-005">reasons cited<&sol;a> for teachers leaving the profession&period;<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p>So&comma; it’s no surprise teachers try to use classroom management strategies that appear to be effective at changing problematic student behaviour&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Group&comma; or collective&comma; punishment is one such approach&period; Collective punishment in schools is when a group of students&comma; for example a whole class or a whole grade&comma; is punished for the actions of a few&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Common examples include minutes being taken off recess or lunch break if a class is noisy&comma; or the whole school being banned from using the playground if it’s too messy&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>While group punishment is used in Australian schools&comma; it is unfair and unlikely to improve behaviour – so <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;theage&period;com&period;au&sol;national&sol;victoria&sol;the-push-to-ban-unfair-group-punishment-in-schools-20190710-p525xk&period;html">why is it still acceptable<&sol;a> in most education department policies&quest;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2>Why do people use collective punishment&quest;<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p>Collective punishment appears to be immediately effective in promoting compliance&period; For instance&comma; making the whole grade pick up rubbish instead of having free time is likely to result in a clean yard&comma; and probably less rubbish the next day&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>All punishments rely on the idea the experience imposed by the teacher will be unpleasant enough to condition the students to modify their behaviour in the future&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Behaviourists first <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;research&period;avondale&period;edu&period;au&sol;admin&lowbar;books&sol;2&sol;">used this technique<&sol;a> successfully with rats and other animals in the 1960s&period; Behaviour modification strategies were then adopted into classrooms in various forms and are still used extensively today&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>As well as the idea of punishment modifying behaviour for individuals&comma; collective punishment may be seen to be even more effective due to peer pressure&period; Collective punishments take some of the heavy lifting from the teacher and place it on the peers to impose social sanctions&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>No one likes the kid who takes away their lunchtime&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"align-center zoomable"><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;images&period;theconversation&period;com&sol;files&sol;283794&sol;original&sol;file-20190712-173347-1c865x3&period;jpg&quest;ixlib&equals;rb-1&period;1&period;0&amp&semi;q&equals;45&amp&semi;auto&equals;format&amp&semi;w&equals;1000&amp&semi;fit&equals;clip"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;images&period;theconversation&period;com&sol;files&sol;283794&sol;original&sol;file-20190712-173347-1c865x3&period;jpg&quest;ixlib&equals;rb-1&period;1&period;0&amp&semi;q&equals;45&amp&semi;auto&equals;format&amp&semi;w&equals;754&amp&semi;fit&equals;clip" sizes&equals;"&lpar;min-width&colon; 1466px&rpar; 754px&comma; &lpar;max-width&colon; 599px&rpar; 100vw&comma; &lpar;min-width&colon; 600px&rpar; 600px&comma; 237px" srcset&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;images&period;theconversation&period;com&sol;files&sol;283794&sol;original&sol;file-20190712-173347-1c865x3&period;jpg&quest;ixlib&equals;rb-1&period;1&period;0&amp&semi;q&equals;45&amp&semi;auto&equals;format&amp&semi;w&equals;600&amp&semi;h&equals;415&amp&semi;fit&equals;crop&amp&semi;dpr&equals;1 600w&comma; https&colon;&sol;&sol;images&period;theconversation&period;com&sol;files&sol;283794&sol;original&sol;file-20190712-173347-1c865x3&period;jpg&quest;ixlib&equals;rb-1&period;1&period;0&amp&semi;q&equals;30&amp&semi;auto&equals;format&amp&semi;w&equals;600&amp&semi;h&equals;415&amp&semi;fit&equals;crop&amp&semi;dpr&equals;2 1200w&comma; https&colon;&sol;&sol;images&period;theconversation&period;com&sol;files&sol;283794&sol;original&sol;file-20190712-173347-1c865x3&period;jpg&quest;ixlib&equals;rb-1&period;1&period;0&amp&semi;q&equals;15&amp&semi;auto&equals;format&amp&semi;w&equals;600&amp&semi;h&equals;415&amp&semi;fit&equals;crop&amp&semi;dpr&equals;3 1800w&comma; https&colon;&sol;&sol;images&period;theconversation&period;com&sol;files&sol;283794&sol;original&sol;file-20190712-173347-1c865x3&period;jpg&quest;ixlib&equals;rb-1&period;1&period;0&amp&semi;q&equals;45&amp&semi;auto&equals;format&amp&semi;w&equals;754&amp&semi;h&equals;522&amp&semi;fit&equals;crop&amp&semi;dpr&equals;1 754w&comma; https&colon;&sol;&sol;images&period;theconversation&period;com&sol;files&sol;283794&sol;original&sol;file-20190712-173347-1c865x3&period;jpg&quest;ixlib&equals;rb-1&period;1&period;0&amp&semi;q&equals;30&amp&semi;auto&equals;format&amp&semi;w&equals;754&amp&semi;h&equals;522&amp&semi;fit&equals;crop&amp&semi;dpr&equals;2 1508w&comma; https&colon;&sol;&sol;images&period;theconversation&period;com&sol;files&sol;283794&sol;original&sol;file-20190712-173347-1c865x3&period;jpg&quest;ixlib&equals;rb-1&period;1&period;0&amp&semi;q&equals;15&amp&semi;auto&equals;format&amp&semi;w&equals;754&amp&semi;h&equals;522&amp&semi;fit&equals;crop&amp&semi;dpr&equals;3 2262w" alt&equals;"" &sol;><&sol;a><figcaption><span class&equals;"caption">It makes sense to ask a group to pick up rubbish they may not be responsible for&period;<&sol;span> <span class&equals;"attribution"><span class&equals;"source">from shutterstock&period;com<&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure>&NewLine;<p>Another reason teachers might use collective punishment is&comma; ironically&comma; to promote a <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;psycnet&period;apa&period;org&sol;record&sol;2012-10874-001">stronger sense of cohesion<&sol;a> in the class&period; The idea is that by the whole group taking responsibility for each individual’s actions&comma; the group will be brought closer together&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>This is a <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;psycnet&period;apa&period;org&sol;record&sol;2012-10874-001">common strategy<&sol;a> in sports and the military&period; In a classroom situation&comma; the theory is that the whole class may bond and will accordingly act more responsibly in the future&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2>Why is collective punishment a bad idea&quest;<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p>While we might see initial compliance from collective punishment&comma; there are two main reasons why this strategy should be dropped&period; First&comma; it’s morally questionable and second&comma; it’s unlikely to produce more positive behaviour in the long run&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The idea a group should be responsible for the actions of an individual is <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;psycnet&period;apa&period;org&sol;record&sol;2012-10874-001">fundamentally at odds<&sol;a> with the theories of individual responsibility in western&comma; liberal societies&period; Legally and morally&comma; each individual has ownership for their own actions and must bear the consequences of those actions individually&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>On a more basic level&comma; it is not fair or reasonable to punish one child for the actions of another&period; Both of these moral concerns would not be acceptable in wider society&comma; so why would they be acceptable in a school environment&quest;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Second&comma; there is now <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;journals&period;sagepub&period;com&sol;doi&sol;abs&sol;10&period;3102&sol;0013189X09357618&quest;journalCode&equals;edra">clear evidence<&sol;a> <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;eric&period;ed&period;gov&sol;&quest;id&equals;EJ1086522">punishments are not effective<&sol;a> in improving problematic behaviour&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Research suggests punitive responses <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;eric&period;ed&period;gov&sol;&quest;id&equals;EJ1086522">actually increase<&sol;a> future problematic student behaviour&period; A student often misbehaves when they feel disengaged and disengagement can come from feeling excluded from peers and teachers&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The negative peer pressure associated with collective punishment compounds the likelihood of <a href&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;ecite&period;utas&period;edu&period;au&sol;132424">further social exclusion<&sol;a> exacerbating the transgressing student’s disengagement&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>One imagines this would especially be the case for students being punished for something they didn’t do&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2>What other options do teachers have&quest;<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p>Teachers <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;ro&period;ecu&period;edu&period;au&sol;cgi&sol;viewcontent&period;cgi&quest;article&equals;2356&amp&semi;context&equals;ajte">mainly use collective punishments<&sol;a> when students are disruptive such as when the class is noisy&comma; or students aren’t completing work&comma; dropping rubbish and talking out of turn&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Because such behaviour happens mostly when students are disengaged&comma; the first thing schools can do is actively promote engagement&period; Engagement includes students’ sense of belonging&comma; enjoyment in class and the value they place on education&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Ways to promote engagement include <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;ajph&period;aphapublications&period;org&sol;doi&sol;10&period;2105&sol;AJPH&period;2004&period;047399">prioritising individual student<&sol;a> well-being&comma; explicitly <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;tandfonline&period;com&sol;doi&sol;abs&sol;10&period;1080&sol;03634523&period;2012&period;731513">designing classes<&sol;a> to be interesting&comma; and creating a safe and enjoyable learning environment&period; If a student wants to be at school&comma; he or she is much more likely to behave well&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Teaching practices such as <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;journals&period;sagepub&period;com&sol;doi&sol;10&period;1177&sol;07419325070280020101">universal design for learning<&sol;a> &lpar;which includes giving students various ways to acquire knowledge&rpar;&comma; or <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;sciencedirect&period;com&sol;science&sol;article&sol;pii&sol;S1747938X15000068">inquiry based learning<&sol;a> &lpar;where students are helped to make meaning out of what they learn&rpar;&comma; and cultivating an inclusive&comma; positive school climate&comma; may result in fewer behaviours that come from disengagement&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>When disengaged behaviours do occur&comma; teachers need to implement strategies that don’t further disengage students&comma; such as rule reminders or quiet chats&period; These strategies should be tailored to the individual students to address the underlying causes for the behaviour – which may be something outside of the student’s control&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>After all&comma; it is possible the reason behind the misbehaviour was a previous collective punishment&period;<&excl;-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag&period; Please DO NOT REMOVE&period; --><img style&equals;"border&colon; none &excl;important&semi; box-shadow&colon; none &excl;important&semi; margin&colon; 0 &excl;important&semi; max-height&colon; 1px &excl;important&semi; max-width&colon; 1px &excl;important&semi; min-height&colon; 1px &excl;important&semi; min-width&colon; 1px &excl;important&semi; opacity&colon; 0 &excl;important&semi; outline&colon; none &excl;important&semi; padding&colon; 0 &excl;important&semi; text-shadow&colon; none &excl;important&semi;" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;counter&period;theconversation&period;com&sol;content&sol;120219&sol;count&period;gif&quest;distributor&equals;republish-lightbox-basic" alt&equals;"The Conversation" width&equals;"1" height&equals;"1" &sol;><&excl;-- End of code&period; If you don't see any code above&comma; please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button&period; The page counter does not collect any personal data&period; More info&colon; http&colon;&sol;&sol;theconversation&period;com&sol;republishing-guidelines --><&sol;p>&NewLine;<h6><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;theconversation&period;com&sol;profiles&sol;jeffrey-thomas-775500">Jeffrey Thomas<&sol;a>&comma; Lecturer in Behaviour Management&comma; <em><a href&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;theconversation&period;com&sol;institutions&sol;university-of-tasmania-888">University of Tasmania&period; <&sol;a><&sol;em>This article is republished from <a href&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;theconversation&period;com">The Conversation<&sol;a> under a Creative Commons license&period; Read the <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;theconversation&period;com&sol;group-punishment-doesnt-fix-behaviour-it-just-makes-kids-hate-school-120219">original article<&sol;a>&period;<&sol;h6>&NewLine;

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