All interviewed teacher participants, to varying degrees, reported significant emotional and behavioural challenges in their classrooms. Likewise, five of the six principals stated that social, emotional, and behavioural issues were a major source of concern to them; these were perceived to be a significant problem within most schools. This finding is supported by the baseline quantitative analyses carried out as part of the RCT (and within which this process evaluation is situated) (Hyland et al., in press). In fact, children in this trial displayed generally poorer outcomes than the GUI study sample (Williams et al., 2009) across a number of variables relating to socio-emotional outcomes (Hyland et al., in press). Highly statistically significant
differences were found in terms of emotional symptoms, hyperactivity, peer problems, pro-social behaviour, and total difficulties16.
In the current study, the qualitative analysis revealed a recurring pattern in the types of emotional and behavioural problems identified. These included: hyperactivity (e.g., inattentive behaviours, inability to remain seated or remain quiet in class, non- compliance with teacher requests), emotional difficulties (e.g., attention-seeking, immaturity), and destructive behaviours (e.g., physical violence towards people or objects). Each of these is discussed, in turn, below.
Hyperactive behaviours (including inattention and non-compliance) were among the most frequently reported difficulties occurring in the classroom, with all but one teacher reporting this as a major problem. Although hyperactive behaviours were not regarded as aggressive or dangerous per se, they did necessitate a great deal of time and effort on the teachers’ part, and tended to interrupt the ‘flow’ of the class, in particular, class transitions (i.e., movement from one subject to another). Daily schemes were frequently disrupted by hyperactive and inattentive behaviours in the classroom. Thus, these off-task behaviours were regarded as a chronic annoyance and an unwanted distraction from teaching the curriculum.
“You’d be in the middle of teaching and the next thing he’d just start shouting out like, just silly things. Or just making noises just for the sake of it.” (T3)
“She couldn’t sit down, and she would run around the classroom, and she would scream, and she would shout.” (T4)
“(He) is fidgety, very easily distracted, certainly trying to move around, do anything for a laugh, to get a bit of attention and moves away easily from what’s going on in the classroom.” (T22)
16 However, these differences must be interpreted with caution as the GUI study involved a sample of
nine-year olds, who had been in school for a number of years, and who thus were unlikely to experience the same range of adjustment issues as younger children.
Three teachers alluded to children getting up from their desks and moving around the classroom; in these classes, children (of both junior and senior infant classes) frequently and persistently left their seats without permission, and had to be directed back to their place. This was seen as an ongoing and time-consuming challenge for teachers; it is one which may impede a child’s educational development, since learning typically requires the maintenance of concentration and motivation.
Hyperactive behaviours, such as those mentioned above, tend to be more instantly observable in the classroom than emotional difficulties (Bowers, 2005; Davis et al., 2011). However, 7 of the 10 teachers interviewed at baseline, and all but one of the principals, indicated that emotional problems in children were a greater challenge. For example, one teacher described how a child had been hiding her uneaten lunch inside a desk for weeks, unnoticed. Although this child was known to be highly anxious, school staff could not determine the reason for this behaviour. Thus, there may be children who experience worrying internalised emotional difficulties which may not be easy to identify or indeed target for improvement. Although not disruptive per se, this type of internal emotional difficulty can be a cause of concern for teachers and principals alike. Moreover, certain children may, without warning, display extreme emotional outbursts, with this unpredictability leading to high levels of discomfort in the classroom. For example, in one case, a teacher felt lucky when morning classes took place without incident. However, she acknowledged that invariably this signified an outburst in the afternoon. It was a question of when rather than if this would occur on any given day.
“It was like an explosion. We were waiting for a bomb to go off all the time... It was just when during the day it was going to happen.” (T10)
The nature and extent of emotional problems varied from class to class, but in many cases (n = 7), these problems were evident in children who continuously sought attention and who displayed general over-dependence on the teacher. For example, some children were regarded as exceptionally clingy and emotional. Providing children with almost constant attention is, of course, unrealistic in a class of more than 20 children with competing needs. The louder (more aggressively demanding) children were seen to take up a lot of time in class - time
that could be spent more usefully with children who needed academic support from the teacher.
“She (child with developmental delay) does not get the time or the attention that she needs, you know, because it’s the children with the more, the louder children take up the time and the attention.” (T10)
Crying in class might be expected from some very young children, but it is worth noting that two teachers specifically believed that some children engage in ‘fake crying’ to gain attention from the teacher or their peers. As highlighted earlier in chapter 4, when teachers believe that a child can exert control over their own behaviour, they display a greater level of negative emotional and behavioural response towards the child (Ho, 2004). Whilst such instances were generally perceived as manageable in relative isolation, a recurring pattern of such behaviour (e.g., on a daily basis) was seen as more problematic in the extent to which it interfered with the learning of other children in the class.
“There are some behaviours that you can ignore but if a child is crying incessantly or if a child is screaming, it is something that you have to deal with because you can't teach in that kind of environment.” (T7)
Three of the six principals and three teachers specifically mentioned child opposition to authority. Children, unused to the structural regulations of school, can try to push the boundaries of permissible behaviour, resulting in conflict with teachers. Destruction of school or peer property (e.g., writing on tables, textbooks, pencil cases and interactive white boards; breaking blackboard chalks and classroom toys; throwing objects such as chairs, crayons, and bags) was also reported by two principals and two teachers. These behaviours could not be ignored due to the disruption to class activities. Attempts to resolve the problem (as outlined in the case below) could exacerbate the situation and lead to extremes of physical and verbal aggression, directed mainly at school staff, but also towards the student’s peers. Although less frequent in occurrence than attention-seeking behaviours, six teachers and five principals reported physical aggression (i.e., kicking, punching, biting) to be a problem in their classroom/school.
“She couldn’t sit down and she would run around the classroom, and she would scream and she would shout. And she would push children out of the way and she would hit children. And if you tried to remove her, she would scream and she would kick.” (T10)
“He was just gone into senior infants. We had our concerns, but he overturned a table which was very frightening for everybody and could have caused a lot of hurt. Could’ve hurt the teacher, could’ve hurt himself and other children… they were only five years of age.” (P2) “(He) would physically and emotionally bully and abuse children. Your priority as a classroom teacher is to 31 children, and not to 1.” (T12) “He has thrown things behind his head and hit children with them. And he has even been violent towards adults as well…, children and adults. Numerous teachers I’d say at this stage have gotten kicked and punched when he lashes out.” (T9)
Teachers in this study realised that their primary responsibility was toward the health and safety of the larger class group; indeed, this has also been observed in other research (e.g., Moen, 2008). Although the children involved were of a very young age and therefore small in stature, their physical aggression towards teachers, peers, and school property was not taken lightly by participants in this study. In fact, teachers occasionally needed to physically remove a child from the room due to the occurrence of behaviours considered dangerous to the child themselves and to other children in the class. The frequency of behavioural difficulties reported by teachers in baseline interviews was seen to vary considerably, not only between schools, but between classrooms, and over time. Whilst some classrooms had high levels of SEBD, three teachers stated that the occurrence of unwanted classroom behaviours was less than they had encountered in their previous experience. In these classrooms, the occurrence of extremely disruptive class behaviour was regarded as exceptional with more low level but consistent problems (e.g., attention difficulties) evident on a daily basis. However, other classrooms experienced a frequent incidence of disruptive behaviours. Four teachers interviewed at baseline reported that the emotional and behavioural difficulties experienced by children in their class occurred on a daily basis. One remarked that from October (until late January, when the
interview was conducted), a successive series of incidents of particularly disruptive behaviours had occurred with one specific child. There was not always a clear pattern of behaviour, with daily and weekly fluctuations evident. Likewise, another teacher noted how one day a child could play happily with his peers - the next, he could physically attack them.
Whilst in some cases, improvements in behaviour could be seen from time to time, these were short-lived and the behaviour recurred. During the early education years, as children engage in an ongoing process of transition and social development, it is normal for them to have fluid relationships with their peers, and to display some difficulties in adjusting to school (McClelland et al., 2006). However, early difficulties can also signal later problems. One, albeit extreme case, was cited by a principal who recognised progression from problem behaviours in the early school years, to very serious outcomes in the ‘senior’ classrooms.
“We had to suspend some children for example for leaving school and going off drinking, on a school day.” (P6).