Why do young people misbehave at school?

Adolescents’ behaviour in the class may differ in relation to their cognitive, physical, socio-

emotional and biological development. According to Zirpoli (2008) behaviours displayed in

the class will have a life- long impact on students’ lives. Recognising the factors which lead

students to inappropriate behaviours would help overcome other school related issues such as

disengagement, low academic success and safety (Alter, Walker, Landers, 2013). Practices

established with consideration of the reasons behind students’ misbehaviour generate positive

outcomes academically and socially. Approaches that are founded on research and

comprehensive studies have the potential to transform student behaviour from negative to

positive. In light of this understanding, this report study is going to illuminate the reasons of

students’ misbehaviour with consideration of a literature review of McGrath and Van Berger

(2014) and interview results with six different people from diverse backgrounds. Additionally

a comparison of research and interview findings will be undertaken and an analysis of

personal understandings of misbehaviour and unacceptable practices will be provided.

There are various types of misbehaviours that are identified through perceptions developed

over time including talking without permission, lack of listening and difficulty with

maintaining attention (Alter, Walker and Landers, 2013). More recent literature reviews have

added to these perspectives with conceptualisations of misconducts including

inappropriateness of conversation, orientated actions, disengagement and disobedience. In

depth, the study by McGrath and Van Bergen (2014) in the field put forward various reasons

of troublesome behaviours in the class with a focus on teacher-student relationship. They

analyse three theories titled attachment theory, self-determination and ecological system

theory.
The attachment theory is based on the need of transmitting parental attachment to the teacher

in order to establish a secure relationship (McGrath, Van Bergen, 2014). McGrath and Van

Bergen (2014) state that children are seen as psychological subjects in this relationship,

which affects and influences the caregivers’ actions. It is also evaluated in their study, based

on the attachment theory that achievement of relationships’ definition is gauged by

involvements of Pianta’s closeness, clashes and dependency. Sabol and Pianta (2012) point

out a strong intercourse between positive student-teacher relationship and high closeness, less

clashes and dependency with positive outcomes including less incidents of misconduct, high

academic success and well engaged classroom atmosphere. Self-determination theory

describes students’ motivation as depending on universal and psychological needs such as

competence, relatedness and autonomy. Relatedness or sense of belonging relates to teacher-

student relationships possessing reliable and pleasing interactions with effective engagement

and success of students. Ecological system theory explains human nature by its dependency

to contextual dynamics with influences of it to relationships. It is seen key to understanding

developmental changes with regards to adolescents and their caregivers. They also relate peer

acceptance to the student’s observations of teacher-student interactions. In the study it is

stated that students who already had negative relationships with their teacher benefited from

positive student-teacher relationships and this did not only influence school based outcomes

but even their future life. In the results part of the research it is found that enhancement of

students’ social, emotional and academic outcomes related to developing healthy relationship

with students and to accomplish this teachers need to provide and scaffold social

opportunities which are fruitful. These can be developed by implementing classroom

dynamics and encouraging students to be reliable for continuance of peer relationships.

It was discussed earlier that according to academic studies students’ development is

significantly affected by misbehaviours in the school setting. In this part of report different

perspectives about misbehaviours of young people will be analysed through a discussion of

the findings from interviews of six people. These six individuals included 2 teachers, a school

principle, a parent, a preservice teacher and a non-teaching participant. Person A is a female

HSIE teacher who has 6 years of teaching experiences. The other participants’ profiles are as

follows: Person B is a female Mathematics teacher with 4 years of experience, Person C is a

male high school principle with 10 years teaching and 6 years administrating proficiency,

Person D is a male, parent of 4 and occupied with software testing engineering, Person E is a

female, studying the last year of a psychology degree and Person F is a female preservice

teacher who is studying in her first year second semester. The interviews were conducted at

separate times and different places face to face. The technique used in the process of the

interview was oral question asking and note taking. Questions that were asked to participants

were elaborated upon during the interview according to answers to gain a deeper

understanding of contestants’ concept of misbehaviour.

At the beginning of interviews, participants had been informed about the ethics protocol and

content of the interview and requested to sign the participant consent form. Despite

participants’ diverse backgrounds, themes that emerged from the interviews have significant

similarities in terms of reasons of misconducts of young people, identified as seeking

attention, disengagement and finding content irrelevant. In depth, person A stated multiple

causes of misbehaviour such as individual characteristics of the adolescent, family

environment and interactions with teaching practices. Moreover, it was state that the
perception of content as irrelevant to life makes students reluctant to attend class. Person B

emphasised the same reason also adding that there was a general lack interest in educational

pursuits amongst the youth. Person C explicitly included high expectations of parents in

terms of academic outcomes and teachers’ lack of effective teaching methods as reasons

leading to student disengagement. Person D pointed out seeking attention which was lacking

at home and influences of social media and their peers as reasons. Person E advocated that

reasons such as falling behind the class due to a lack of understanding of the context beside

health problems that may be caused by sleep deprivation from working hard were significant

causes. Finally, Person F suggested that students do not have the right mechanisms to cope

with not having friends and problem associated with this which leads to aggression and

frustration. As a whole, it is evident that there are different perceptions of misbehaviour

amongst professionals with experience as well as others in the field of education and as such

this is a diverse and dynamic issue which requires regular consideration and development of

comprehensive and updated practices.

Results of individual interviews varied from one another and have some similarities as well

as various differences with the literature covered above. In the research paper, all interactions

of young people were acknowledged as relating to their psychology, involving attitudes,

emotions, characteristics and nature (McGrath and Van Bergen 2014). Findings of four

interviewees showed that misbehaviours of adolescents are caused mainly by individual

characteristics, nature, involvement of feelings such as aggression and frustration triggered

by various factors, and lack of motivation towards education. These points are also covered

to some extent in the literature which highlights the individual student’s background and

attributes as an important aspect of the issue. Moreover, three of the interview participants
regarded family problems as an influential element and suggested that behaviours which

involved misconduct were at times inspired by families or peers. A similar point is covered

under the attachment and ecological system theories which state that students tend to copy

characteristics and behaviours of their caregivers (McGrath and Van Bergen, 2014).

Additionally, three participants highlighted that external effects also make a contribution to

students’ behaviour in relation to their temperament by influencing them psychologically or

personally. This idea was also put forward in research studies with suggestions that

misconduct forms as a consequence of contextual influences on human development

(McGrath and Van Bergen, 2012). Moreover, disobedience, distracting other students in the

class and disengagement pointed out by four participants as common inappropriate behaviour

in the class are described by McGrath and Van Bergen (2014) as part of self-determination

theory. They suggest that students’ motivation in school settings depended on whether their

needs including relatedness, autonomy and abilities were met. In the literature, behavioural

outcomes, social outcomes and academic outcomes are strongly linked with student teacher

interaction. At a higher level, it is suggested that all outcomes are contingent upon this

relationship whether they be positive or negative (McGrath and Van Berger, 2014). On the

contrary, none of the interviewees emphasised the significance of such a relationship. In

addition and as contrary to the literature studies, three participants highlighted irrelevant

content, ineffective learning and teaching methods as the main causes behind disengagement

as they were deemed to negatively affect student attitudes. Finally, health issues such as

sleeping less and learning disabilities or difficulties which lead students to behave in a

disruptive way, were underlined as noteworthy reasons by two attendants although the

research paper lacked any mention of them. However, various research studies have also

referred to this issue as an important consideration like in the study of Lin and Yi (2014)

where sleeping practices were linked to conduct issues in educational settings. While there
were distinct variations between the causes identified in the interviews and discovered in the

research findings, there were many common elements which underline the correlation

between the theory and actual experience concerning student behaviour.

According to research conducted by Little (2010), a significant amount of teachers face

behaviour issues in their classrooms and moreover they spend an extensive amount of time

managing it. Based on the interview results and personal interactions with young people,

family issues and teachers’ expectations are the major reasons behind this misconduct. A

major reason for the problematic behaviour of young people is family issues. According to

Bourdeaudhuij and Oast (2007) in modified research findings, misbehaving adolescents

usually come from a problematic family environment including but not limited to separated

parents. Furthermore, it was also stated by Damnet and Van Houtte (2012), in their social

control theory that in order to behave appropriately, adolescents must have solid ties to the

school, and their parents and peers. A second significant reason behind misbehaviour at

school is the expectations of teachers. Rosenthal (2002) believes that differentiated

expectations of teachers from individual students give rise to inappropriate conduct by

students as once students are labelled as ‘low ability’ by teachers they are treated with this

perception in mind and thus receive less attention. This leads to lower student confidence and

creates a perception in students’ minds that they do not have to perform well as this is not

expected of them. On the other hand, effective teaching practices would lessen misbehaviour

in the classroom settings. Despite students’ family issues, it is seen essential that establishing

positive relationships with those students and responding to their requirement of attachment

which is lacking in their home environment can be detrimental in allowing them to consider

their conduct and make improvements in their character. Development of strong bonds with
students is possible by utilising knowledge of classroom practices via scaffolded and

enhanced social opportunities (Hughes, 2011). Providing cooperative learning environments

will eliminate low expectations and enhance collaborative learning in the class. It is stressed

by Borich (2007) that with cooperative learning activities positive peer intercourse will be

provided and various education and social outcomes will be achieved. Cooperative learning

allows students to express their capabilities in various areas which will give rise to self-

determination. Overall, if student behaviours are well observed in light of these findings and

relevant techniques are utilised, this can lead to positive outcomes for all learners.

In a nutshell, behaviours of young people can be influenced by a number of factors. It is

significant to observe students to understand their short comings and to develop fruitful

teacher- student relationship which will impact their current experiences and future lives.

According to Crwashaw (2015), inappropriate behaviours of students in class which are not

corrected will affect the life opportunities of students as well as teachers’ professionalism.

This paper provided a synthesis based on existing literature and undertaken research

regarding misbehaviour of young people in classrooms. While there is ongoing research and

discussion on this issue, it is certain that there are various established factors which form the

basis of such behaviour and which need to be acknowledged and targeted by teachers to

achieve effective teaching.

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