A whole school approach is one of the most effective ways of managing antisocial behaviour in educational institutions, particularly in schools. It is known that really aggressiveness at some schools have already reached certain critical point and some change is definitely needed (Safran & Oswald, 2003). The importance of applying whole school approaches is evident: first, any teacher has to provide his or her students with skills that will be helpful in the future; secondly, teachers must reduce the negative impact of external environment to a minimum: in the majority of cases, students may be involved with delinquent (antisocial) activities, just because they copy the behaviour of their coevals.
There is a widely held opinion among many educators that many schools fail to provide their students with the knowledge, which will enable them to solve real life problems (Sprague et al, 2001). It is necessary to explain such notions as “responsibility” and “respect” to students and teach them to apply these principles properly in every day life. One of the most difficult tasks, which school administration must cope with, is the question of responsibility: who should take major part in the development of each whole school approach. Warren, Edmonson, Griggs, et all (2003) underline that school systems are not really accountable for the information students learn. They concentrate on the importance of determining certain people on certain positions in order to develop and implement whole school approaches. In this respect, we need to stress the importance of partnership: the development of whole school approach should involve not only teachers, students and their parents but the community as well. In this case, it will be a really effective way to support and help student develop their skills. This development of personal skills will certainly make students spend less time outside and behave indecently, but concentrate on self-training and widen their horizons.
Another very important aspect that we cannot disregard is the education of students with disabilities or some mental disturbance. They require special approach because sometimes their disability may prevent them from achieving appropriate academic results, thus it is necessary make necessary accommodations for them. Occasionally, school administration must tailor special curriculum for them. Children with emotional disturbances may behave more or less adequately. In this case, teachers do not need to isolate them from other students, yet they should pay extra attention to them. It is quite probable that positive social experience will help emotionally disturbed students to adjust themselves to the school community. (Safran & Oswald, 2003). Nonetheless, co-education is not always possible, under some circumstances, students with disabilities should be separated from other children: as a rule, teaches have to resort to such measures due to several reasons: these children may constitute danger to others or they may not be able to meet educational standards. Usually, such students are transferred to special educational centres, which offer necessary facilities for them. However, it is of the crucial importance to adapt these children to the social life.
The main purpose of whole school approach is to develop such set skills and knowledge that will enable students to become full members of society, such as for example, the abilities to think logically and creatively, accept and analyze information, and react to the changes in the community. The thing is that very often students can
Effective Behavioural Support (also known as EBS) is an extensive school system of various processes, which aims at preventing and analyzing problematic behaviours in order to increase more socially appropriate manners. This educative system allows teachers to educate, re-educate, recognize, and analyze the positive side of life. Such education helps students achieve social success and enlarge their knowledge about living and surviving in this world. EBS is grounded on the principle that each type of behaviour is associated with certain community with specific purposes. In other words, the conduct of a person depends on the influence of people, who surround him or her, if this influence is adverse, the educators must minimize it. Strout (2005) says that successfully organized work in classrooms is usually based on the ways of how students comprehend the behaviour that is expected from them. They should be taught how to analyze the material and form their own conclusions. Effective Behavioural Support is just the needed programme to introduce the general basics to students and explain them their significance.
The application of Effective Behavioural Support is really obligatory in all states and school districts because this program enables educators to solve the problem of anti-social behaviour. As it has been mentioned above, the various approaches need to be unified in order not to create a gap between the students of different schools. Effective behavioural support is an attempt to create such universal approach.
It is of the crucial importance for us to analyze the concept of EBS and its components. Sugai et al (2000) tell that it was created in order to change the aversive actions of the students with certain disabilities. They use aggression and even self-injury to make the others notice them. Without any doubts, such students are present in any state, and not all teachers may easily find the necessary approach to comprehend such disable student and help him/her explain his/her ideas in a clear and safe way. This is why Positive Behavioural Support is divided into several categories, such as behavioural science, social values, systems perspectives, and practical interventions.
It seems to me that Effective Behavioural Support should be available to the vast majority of institutions all over the country. These programmes help to find common themes for conversation between different people with different level of education. In many schools, students prefer to be separated into several groups according to their interests and preferences. Of course, such communications allow students enlarge their knowledge, but only in one concrete sphere. With the help of EBS, students from different classes and of different ages get opportunities to learn more about the school they study at, about teachers, and educational programs. Mostly, senior students help freshmen to get a clear understanding about certain places and people. But also, it is necessary to admit that such kind of information is usually rather subjective. This is why, according to Effective Positive Behavioural Support, teachers may combine the classes with students of different age in order to teach them communicate and be able to develop according to the rules of this every day life. Surely, age categories should be chosen properly.
In order to influence the development of a child in a positive way, educators should explain to the students feel that they are not forgotten by the school community, on the contrary, many people pay extra attention to the work of students, their success, and the reasons of their failures. Such analysis will certainly help to improve education and students’ life outside the school. Children need support that will help them develop an idea of social responsibility; they need to feel that they belong to some community and are really necessary. This is why schools should have school communities, which will analyze the behaviour of children at schools. As Minke and Anderson (2005) mention, school communities have to develop their own programs taking into consideration the specific circumstances, which are inherent to each school.
It is rather imprudent to expect that educators are able to eliminate aggression on their own. They need some assistance from parents, who exercise immense influence over their children. Any person starts comprehending this life from his or her parents’ words and experiences. For many children, their parents are the best models, and children always try to follow their examples. Parent involvement into school communities is important due to several reasons. It should be pointed out that occasionally students may not trust educators because they regard them with uncertainty or even apprehension, and parents should bridge the chasm that may sometimes exist between students and teachers. Secondly, if there are some troubles in families, school communities may subsequently help parents manage the behaviour of their children. Third, it is quite possible that parents badly influence their children’s behaviour. In such case, school communities may protect a child from their parents and provide with the necessary support and advice.
Overall, we may say that this EBS does not focus only on the child and his needs; it can also have profound effect on the life of any particular family. Wider communities, such as churches, councils, and private partnerships, make a certain impact on the development of school communities. They provide its members with a broad outlook of the events, which take place in the world. They also provide good financial support and enlarge children’s knowledge in different spheres. With the help of such support, even students with some disabilities can find help and understanding from these school communities. Religious aspects, social issues, and interpersonal relations – this is what helps a student to achieve certain position in society and more importantly not to deviate from adopted within the community.
When children learn, they pass through a process of self-definition. Schools play a vital role in students’ self-development, and this is why teachers and parents should do everything possible to help students develop their skills and feel their necessity. In order to do it, educators should develop such tasks that are based on real life problems but not on some rather abstract situation. We may take such an example: certain students believe that knowledge of literature is unnecessary for them, thus educators should give them the assignment, proving that literary works help us avoid many mistakes.
Another point is that lots of teachers care about themselves more than they should care about the students. They usually say that students’ behaviour prevent them teaching in a proper way, that they cannot work when students do not listen. Gossen (2001) offers changing such kind of policy to more polite and caring attitude. Instead of underlining teacher’s perplexity, it is better to ask students for some suggestion, and evaluate their own points of view to solve the problem.
There are several whole school approaches to behaviour management, which need to be analyzed: leadership models, management models, and nondirective models. Management models help to control and direct children’s behaviour. From time to time, children have to be guided by more experienced people, such as parents and teachers. However, the adults must guide children very tactfully, children must not perceive this guidance as order or threat, if it happens they will resent both parents and teachers.
Most of leadership models concentrate on children’s personal abilities to control their actions and be responsible for them. However, McGarrell (2001) says that the number of shooting and homicide has considerably increased during several years, and young offenders do not care about their responsibility and consequences. This is why nondirective models are considered to be one of the most effective whole school approaches both for students, teachers and their families. For example, the Ginnott’s behaviour model implies the communication between a student and an experienced person, teacher or parent. In such case, children get a chance to take into consideration personal standpoints and listen to a wise suggestion in order not to make a mistake.
In comparison with separate programmes such literacy or students attendance, whole school approach seems to be more effective. For example, it helps students improve their literacy, and helps teachers to know more on how to explain a theme in the way that is more comprehensible. A whole school approach to curriculum provides students with a plan of their studying. Without any doubts, such programmes provide students with a chance to study better and achieve high results. But, unfortunately, they do not concentrate on students’ personal qualities and attitudes to education and life.
As it has been noted before, one of the most effective models for schools, children, and their families is a nondirective model developed by Ginott. According to this model, student should feel their importance and acceptance by society even when they make mistakes and are not right. Open communications help to analyze students’ actions and learn the material more effectively. When a school implements such kind of model, it is necessary to choose those teachers who may really take care of students, may listen, and comprehend. Specially, if children have some mental disabilities or other problems with health, teachers should find more time to analyze and support them.
Joseph and Brown (2001) introduce three types of consequences, which may be inherent to whole school approaches: natural, punitive, and logical. Their essence lies in the following, comprehensive approach will impart the sense of responsibility to students, as a result the level of aggressiveness or delinquency may drop that there will be not need for punitive measures. These three outcomes are closely interwoven with one another. We have just tried to present them in a very concise way.
It actually does not matter whether you are a student of an Australian school or an American one, the whole school approaches should remain the same. All children have the right to get proper education and necessary support to develop their skills, abilities, and communication.
Parents and teachers are the most important people in any student’s life. School communities and whole school approaches give students with powerful stimuli to cooperate with these people during their education and comprehending the world. The way of how the student realizes his/her place in this world and how the worlds accepts the person is really significant to students either ordinary or with some disabilities.
References
Gossen, D., (2001). Restitution Restructuring 60 Most Frequent Questions.
Joseph, J., & Brown, K., (2001). Student Behaviour Management, Using the Emotional Rooms. An excert from Starting Out — The Beginning Teacher’s Companion. Focus Education. Web.
Minke, K. & Anderson. K. (2005). Family School Collaboration and Positive Behaviour Support. Journal of Positive Behaviour Interventions 7, 181-186.
Safran, S. P. & Oswald, K. (2003). Positive Behavior Supports: Can Schools Reshape Disciplinary Practices. Exceptional Children, 69, 361-373.
Smith-Bird. E., & Turnbull, A. P. (2005). Linking Positive Behaviour Support to Family Quality-of-Life Outcomes. Journal of Positive Behaviour Interventions, 7(3). 174-180.
Sprague, J., Walker, H., Golly, A., White, K., Myers, D. R., & Shannon, T., (2001) Translating Research into Effective Practice: The Effects of a Universal Staff and Student Intervention on Indicators of Discipline and Student Intervention on Indicators of Discipline and School Safety. Education and Treatment of Children 24, 495-511.
Strout, M., (2005) Positive Behavioral Support at the Classroom Level: Considerations and Strategies Beyond Behaviour, 14(2), 3-8.
Sugai, G., Homer, R. H., Dunlap, G. Hieneman, M., Lewis, T. J., Nelson, C. M., Scott, T., Liaupsin, C., Sailor, W., Turnbull, A. P., Turnbull, H. R., Ill, Wickham, D. Reuf, M., & Wilcox, B. (2000). Applying positive behavioral support and functional behavioral assessment in schools. Journal of Positive Behavioral Intervention, 2, 131-143
Turnbull, H. R., Ill, Wickham, D. Reuf, M., & Wilcox, B. (2000). Applying Positive Behavioral Support and Functional Behavioral Interventions, 2, 131-143.
Warren, J., Edmonson, H., Griggs, P., Lassen, S., McCart, A., Turnbull, A., Sailor,W. (2003) Urban Applications of School-Wide Positive Behavior Support Critical Issues and Lessons Learned. Journal of Positive Behaviour Interventions, 80-91.Page