Contemporary Approaches to Behaviour and Mental Health in the Classroom

Weaving Together Theory, Practice, Policy and Educational Discourse

Emma Clarke

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2021
• eBook ISBN:
  9781000476941
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

Based on latest research in the field, this book links theory and practice with key agendas and policies on behaviour, children's mental health and well-being. It considers how policy and research influence each other and provides a range of whole-school and individual-teacher actions to support all children, but particularly for those whose behaviour is seen as challenging.

Emma Clarke provides guidance on how practitioners can most effectively support children and manage pupils' behaviour and tracks how theory and policy has had a meaningful impact on what we do in the classroom. The book is divided into three distinct parts, each with its own set of reflective activities and thinking points as well as suggestions for further reading. Chapters in Part I include a focus on what informs the actions taken to support and manage behaviour in the classroom. In Part II, the chapters move on to consider specific approaches and delve into the theories and research which underpin them. Part III shares ethos-focused approaches to supporting behaviour, including the use of philosophical inquiry by Dr Aimee Quickfall, a timely and highly important review of the 'eternal verities' by Professor John Visser, and an overview of Finnish perspectives on behaviour in schools, as Finland is often, and rightly, held up as a beacon on good practice.

The book presents a range of research, policy and practice and, as such, aims to be of use to a range of readers. It can support and develop practitioners in the classroom, from early career teachers to those with a wealth of experience, as well as senior leaders and those working in wider contexts with children. It will also be useful for students and researchers due to the balance of theory and practice presented.

Part I Framing the actions we take

DOI: 10.4324/9781003035527-2

As already discussed, this book is divided into three distinct yet related sections, each dealing with a specific set of elements, or ‘pieces’. Together, these sections begin to build an understanding of the ‘jigsaw’ of behaviours that challenge and show how many different pieces need to be joined together to see the ‘whole picture’. This perspective of arranging pieces together, of a multiplicative and multifaceted understanding of behaviours, moves from the reductive narrative often heard focusing on teacher control and discipline which can give the impression working with children to support behaviour is simply a matter of being authoritative enough or strict enough, and so on. This simplifies supporting behaviours to a unidirectional, consistent approach that could work with any child at any time and in any context, whereas the reality – at least in my experience – was anything but. For me and for the children I worked with, managing behaviour was a two-way street, a reciprocal relationship, with the children influencing what I did and my actions influencing them (although not always positively!).

These parts in the book mirror my own positionality and are a commentary from my perspective, with the chapters in each part leaning towards a relational focus. For me, relationships were, and remain, the cornerstone of my personal and professional development in this area. The relationships that have shaped my own understanding include those with the children I taught, my fellow teachers and peers in schools, my academic colleagues within and beyond my own institution and leading researchers in the field. The chapters in Part I centre on how external influences, including language, policy and current drives such as developing well-being in schools, influence the understanding of the causes of behaviours that challenge and, as a result, guide the formation of relationships with children and the actions taken with them.

1 Behaviour, well-being and mental health

DOI: 10.4324/9781003035527-3

This chapter follows on from some of the issues discussed in the Introduction and examines in greater depth the issues surrounding mental health, well-being and behaviours that challenge. Throughout this book, I will use the term ‘behaviour that challenges’, because there is no clear definition of the more commonly used term ‘challenging behaviour’. The use of the term ‘challenging behaviour’ seems to imply a globally accepted and agreed meaning – yet this is not the case. We all have behaviours we find challenging that other staff seem to be able to take in their stride. For example, despite a fairly long and happy career in the classroom, I never identified strategies that successfully managed the ‘anonymous hummer’, that child who is unidentifiable yet audibly humming. This for me was a behaviour that challenged, as I did not have any successful strategies for dealing with it. Behaviours that are challenging for a newly or recently qualified teacher, someone with a broader experience, might be able to deal with quickly and straightforwardly and so on. As a result, I am using the term ‘behaviours that challenge’ to acknowledge that we all actually – no matter our experience or confidence – have a range of behaviours we find difficult to manage positively, if at all, and that these might vary depending on experience, training and confidence, or even the day of the week, or the weather.

The language used when talking about behaviour is a recurring theme in this part of the book, and it has been shown to have a powerful impact on the actions we take, as will be discussed in Chapters 2 and 3. The new Code of Practice for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) revised the terminology used in reference to behaviour difficulties, from the previous ‘Behavioural, Social and Emotional Needs’ to that of ‘Social, Emotional and Mental Health Difficulties’ (DfE & DoH, 2015). The ambiguity, specifically in these general terms related to behaviours that challenge, have been noted as a site of difficulty. Norwich and Eaton (2015) argued that the DfE/DoH reclassification in the Code of Practice did nothing to improve the vagueness inherent in the previous term, an issue highlighted when ‘specifying thresholds for identifying difficulties’, for example in multi-agency working. In fact, it was even suggested that the revision in language used in the Code in reference to behaviour was simply to cut the numbers of pupils identified as having SEND, which ‘Ofsted happened to endorse’ (Norwich & Eaton, 2015), rather than to support greater understanding. Following on from this, the chapter aims to:

• Examine the links between behaviour and mental health and well-being
• Investigate what well-being is and why it is a key focus
• Consider policy in England in relation to this
• Discuss how considering some behaviours as a mental health need might influence the way in which we engage with children

Foundations

The term ‘well-being’ is now common currency in many professions as well as in the popular psyche. In education, developing well-being has been a big policy drive for children and teachers, specifically in primary schools in England (Pollard & Lee, 2003). The Department for Education in England recently highlighted their focus on ensuring schools ‘have a clear offer to promote pupils’ mental health and wellbeing’ (DfE, 2018), and from 2020 that teaching children to look after their mental health and well-being is mandatory (DfE and the Rt. Hon. Damien Hinds MP, 2019). A range of research has pointed to either a rise in the number of cases of – or possibly a greater readiness to share and talk about – mental health problems (Danby & Hamilton, 2016; House of Commons Education and Health Committees, 2017; Roffey, 2016). It has been noted that between 10% and 20% of children and young people suffer from mental health problems (McPherson et al., 2014) and that 1 in 10 have a ‘diagnosable mental disorder’ (Glazzard & Bostwick, 2018; Marshall, Wishart, Allison & Smith, 2017). These statistics equate to around three children in each class throughout the school struggling with mental health and well-being-related issues at some level. Mental health and well-being issues have also been highlighted in relation to behaviour, where it has been noted that schools ‘need to be alert to how mental health problems can underpin behaviour issues’ (DfE & DoH, 2015). Glazzard and Bostwick (2018) have also shown a range of research that identifies the increased risk for children identified having a SEND in developing mental health issues. This can ultimately result in the removal of these children from full-time education, impacting on their attainment. A vicious cycle can then occur for children whose behaviour challenges, with the DfE (2012) highlighting the link between pupils identified as having a SEND with ‘higher levels of self-reported or observed misbehaviour’ and significantly higher rates of both fixed-term (nine times more likely) and permanent (eight times more likely) exclusions. This suggests, then, that schools are experiencing a range of issues in relation to children’s mental health and well-being, and that children whose behaviour challenges are more likely to experience problems with their well-being puts them at risk of being taken out of mainstream schooling and compounding their problems even further.

The impact of schools and schooling on mental health and well-being cannot be underestimated. However, data collected from the ‘Good Childhood’ reports conducted by the Children’s Society (2015, 2019) showed that only children in South Korea rated ‘life satisfaction’ lower than children in England, and that English children’s ratings for ‘liking going to school’ were in the bottom third of all countries participating. Even worse, children in England ranked 14th out of 15 for positive relationships with their teachers (Roffey, 2016).

Thinking stop 1

Reflect on the children in your class or your school more widely and use the table (Figure 1.1) to collate your ideas:

• Do these statistics reflect what you have seen?
• Are there any other issues you would add on here?
• How many of the ‘in-school’ factors related to the issues can you change of amend?

Figure 1.1 Table to collect ideas of factors related to children’s disaffection.

When this is considered in the context of the total time children spend at school – approximately 7,800 hours (Cowburn & Blow, 2017) – the role of the school in supporting children becomes clear. Indeed, schools have been described as having a ‘front line role in promoting and protecting children’s mental health and well-being’ (House of Commons Education and Health Committees, 2017). The World Health Organisation (2001, p. 1, in UNICEF, 2009) defined a ‘child friendly school’ as one which was

a supportive and nurturing environment, providing education which responds to the reality of the children’s lives … promotes self-esteem and self-confidence.

This definition from the WHO mirrors the recent focus in policy, as well as in a range of research (Cowburn & Blow, 2017; DfES, 2001; Hornby & Atkinson, 2003; Roffey, 2016) on children’s well-being in school. The message from all of these is that there is ‘overwhelming evidence that pupils learn more effectively if they are happy in their work, believe in themselves, like their teachers and feel school is supporting them’ (Weare, 2000).

Despite being regularly used, the term ‘well-being’ is not always clearly defined, yet the prevalence of the term can sometimes lead to the assumption that it is easily defined and systematically understood by all who use it. However, as will be discussed in Chapter 2, semantics and the language used when discussing these aspects is key in understanding how we frame our actions. As Weare (2000), in line with others, has noted, summing up well-being or mental health in a single sentence is often simplistic and inappropriate, and that reducing this multifaceted and complex concept to a simple definition is impossible. It has also been argued that in trying to do so, our own ‘values, preconceptions and assumptions’ are side-lined (Weare, 2000), despite the fact that concepts such as mental health and well-being are influenced by our own personal views of what is usual or desirable, what behaviours are ‘normal’ and so on. Carr (2000, in Gott, 2003) asserted that concepts such as self-esteem(s) and well-being were not ‘value neutral’ but were always influenced by a range of factors and contexts, and as a result, any definitions provided are usually influenced by the ‘professions, communities, societies and cultures’ that devise them. This means that definitions of well-being used in other contexts might not automatically transfer to schools, and what constitutes a definition of well-being or mental health for one group might not be the same for another group. Weare (2000) noted that the term ‘mental health’ was often not associated with ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Series Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Introduction: New perspectives on classroom behaviour?
• Part I Framing the actions we take
• Part II Introduction Attitudes, beliefs and perspectives
• Part III Beyond strategies to embedded ethos
• Index