EDU3043

DISCIPLINE PROBLEMS AND

PROBLEMATIC BEHAVIOR
IN THE CLASSROOM
Dr. Mary Wong Siew Lian
Jabatan PIPK
IPG KBL

Types of Discipline Problems

Physical abuse

Physical assault on teacher

Physical assault on students
Physical assault on other school staff

Verbal abuse

Verbal abuse towards the teacher

Verbal abuse towards fellow students
Verbal abuse towards other school staff

Vandalism

Vandalism to own property

Vandalism to school property
Vandalism to others property

School premises

Leaving school without permission

Entering after school hours to steal/
vandalize
Truancy/absent from school

CONTENTS

Types of discipline problems

Common behavioural problems in
the classroom

Reasons for discipline problems and
problematic behaviour

Bullying

Name calling
Extortion
Intimidation/threatening others
Spreading rumors about other students
Insults to fellow students family
Exclusion of student(s)

Theft

Theft of teachers property

Theft of fellow students property
Theft of school property

Suggest other types of discipline problems

commonly encountered in Malaysian schools

Types of Misbehavior in the Classroom

Misbehavior
Explanation
AttentionInvolves attention getting mechanisms:
seeking
Active - pencil tapping, showing off, calling out,
asking irrelevant questions
Passive dawdle (waste time), lag behind, slow to
comply
PowerShowing they cannot be controlled by the teacher:
seeking
mutter replies, disregard instructions, comply
insolently, directly challenge the teacher
Active temper tantrums, back talk, disrespect,
defiance
Passive quiet noncompliance with teacher
requests

marywsl/ipgkbl/jan 2015

Misbehavior
Explanation
RevengeStudents who suffer real/imagined hurt, they
seeking
retaliate against teachers/classmates
Verbal attacks You really stink as a teacher!
Destruction of materials/room environment/
physical attacks on teacher or other students
Avoidanceof-failure

Many students dread failure; they withdraw, quit

trying, appear lazy, to cover up their inability to
succeed

Off-task Behaviors
Behaviors
Descriptors
Chatting
Talking with others
Disruptive Making noises, teasing others, roaming around the
behavior
classroom
Personal
needs

Sharpening pencils, being excused to go to the

bathroom, getting a drink of water

Uninvolved Not listening or taking part in classroom activities,

and are daydreaming, staring
Waiting

Not standing in line/raising their hands/waiting on the

teacher

Sleeping

Heads on their desks, eyes closed

What are task-oriented behaviors like?

Common Behavioural Problems

in the Primary Classroom
Inattention

Daydreaming, doodling, looking out the window,

thinking about things irrelevant to the lesson
Disinclination to participate, sulking, not caring,
being afraid of failure (learned helplessness), not
wanting to try or do well

Apathy; no
interest,
concern or
emotion
Needless talk Chatting when teacher is talking about unrelated
things
Moving about Getting up and moving about the room without
the room
permission, congregating in parts of the room

Annoying
others

Provoking, teasing, picking at others, calling

names

Sexual
harassment

Disruption

Shouting out during instruction, talking and

laughing inappropriately, causing accidents

Aggression & Showing hostility towards others, threatening them,

fighting
shoving, pinching, wrestling, hitting, bullying

Lying

Falsifying to avoid accepting responsibility or

admitting wrongdoing, or to get others into trouble

Malicious
mischief

Doing intentional damage to school property or the

belongings of others, playing tricks on others

Stealing

Taking things that belong to others

Cheating

Making false representations or wrongly taking

advantage of others for personal benefit

Defiance of
authority

Talking back to the teacher, hostilely refusing to do

as the teacher requests, disobedient

Lack of
punctuality

Late for school or class; hand in work late

Reasons for Disciplinary Problems

REASON
School design factors:
Not enough physical space in the school
Lack of toilet facilities
Not enough recreational facilities
Lack of resources and facilities:
Insufficient books, equipment, materials
Large classes
Lack of chair and tables
Lack of in-service/pre-service training on:
School discipline/behavior
Curriculum issues

marywsl/ipgkbl/jan 2015

EXPLANATION

Explain how
these reasons
could have led
to discipline
problems

Making others uncomfortable through touching or

using sex related language

What are other behavior problems commonly

encountered in our Malaysian classrooms?

REASON
Teacher issues:
Teachers not well prepared for lessons
Lack of consistency among the teaching
staff in relation to discipline
Poor classroom management skills
Poor teacher-student relationship
Homes issues:
Lack of parental support
Lack of parental involvement in matters
of discipline
Lack of discipline in students homes
Students are from poor/disadvantaged
homes

EXPLANATION

Explain how these

reasons could have
led to discipline
problems

REASON
School policy issues:
Lack of school policy on discipline
Lack of support from the principal
Student issues:
Lack of self-discipline among students
Children with special needs
Substance (drugs, alcohol, tobacco)
abuse among students

EXPLANATION

Explain how these

reasons could have
led to discipline
problems

Student support services:

Lack of effective sanctions/ enforcement
of school rules
Lack of access to school counselors
Influence of TV, videos, the internet

REASON
EXPLANATION
Boredom:
Learning tasks are too easy
Teaching and learning activities are
boring, not attractive/interesting
Students are not actively engaged in
Explain how these
T-L tasks
reasons could have
led to misbehavior in
Social issues:
the classroom
Problems connecting with peers and
the teacher
Teacher shows no care and interest in
students
Conflict with peers and the teacher
Lack of social skills

marywsl/ipgkbl/jan 2015

Reasons for Misbehavior in the Classroom

REASON
Overwhelming experiences:
Class is too noisy
Class is overcrowded
Too large class size
Classmates are boisterous/naughty
Undetected Challenges:
Learning tasks are too challenging
Coping with physical disabilities
Coping with reading and
comprehension difficulties
Learned helplessness

REASON

EXPLANATION

Explain how these

reasons could have
led to misbehavior in
the classroom

EXPLANATION

Parent involvement/home environment:

Lack of parental attention to the childs
learning progress
Explain how these
Lack of parental support for the childs
reasons could have
educational endeavors
led to misbehavior in
Home environment that is not
the classroom
conducive for learning
Disadvantaged homes/low SES
Lack of communication between
parents and teachers