Common Learners' Disruptive Behaviors in the Classroom and Their Attributing Factors as Perceived By Grade 10 Teachers and Students of Taysan National High School

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

Secondary school teachers have repeatedly ranked disruptive behavior as one of the most serious hurdles in effective teaching-learning process, making it difficult for students to enjoy the educational process. The present study attempts to examine and understand the most common disruptive or unacceptable learners' misbehaviors and their causes in the eyes of both learners and teachers.

METHODS

This research adopted the descriptive approach to describe and explore the various disruptive learners' behavior and the explanations for their causes. It aimed to identify learners' behavior that is disruptive and their attributed causes at different levels -student, family, school, and peer. A self-developed questionnaire was employed to explore the observations and level of acceptance of teachers and students regarding types and causes of student's disruptive behavior.

RESULTS

The researchers randomly selected respondents from the Grade 10 classes they handled. All subject teachers at the same level were also surveyed to shed light on their perspective regarding learners' misbehavior. The data were analyzed according to the three guiding research questions focusing on classroom learner's misbehavior and their attributing factors as perceived by both teachers and students of Taysan National High School. Results of the survey showed that learner/teacher -respondents' most commonly observed misbehavior in the classroom were: Clowning/Making fun, Copying homework/outputs, Gossiping, Inattentiveness/Looking out of the windows, Making noise, Having a disruptive conversation, and Habitual failure in submitting assignments/outputs. On the other hand, students and teachers perceived Laziness, Lack of parental strictness and supervision, Peer influences/pressure, and Boring lessons in the classroom as the most common causes or reasons attributed to learners' misbehavior in classrooms.

DISCUSSIONS

The findings of this study underscore the importance to view student misbehavior through the lens of both teachers and students. Practically, these results will lead to better management of student behavior and enhance student learning and development by identifying students' needs and matching it with the classroom context. Moreover, the authors considered using a much bigger number of respondents in their future research initiatives to gain better and more credible results.