An introduction to student behaviour management
Behaviour can be defined as the way a person acts or conducts themselves, especially towards others.
Understanding the reasons behind challenging situations is essential for effective student behavioural management plans and strategies.
If your students feel connected and know people care, they are more likely to behave in ways that ensure positive learning outcomes.
This article will help you understand your board's role in creating school environments that reduce occurrences of challenging behaviours.
Why do some behaviours occur?
Challenging or unwanted behaviour is often a response to a particular situation or stimulus.
The culture of your school strongly influences how your students behave.
Boards that promote inclusive practices based on student voice and parent involvement have better success at supporting staff to create positive school environments for learning.
What is student behaviour management?
There are two parts to any effective student behaviour management plan: school culture and staff response.
Student behaviour management is the deliberate way your board policies provide a positive and inclusive school environment that reduces negative stimuli and ensures staff respond effectively in challenging situations.
While each school (and student) is different, every board should have plans and strategies in place that support staff to effectively and consistently manage student behaviour.
Why is student behaviour management important?
Effective management of student behaviour is key to educational success.
Section 127 of the Education and Training Act 2020open_in_new sets out that the paramount (highest priority) objective for school boards is to raise educational achievement.
Supportive objectives include ensuring your school:
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Is safe and inclusive
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Achieves equitable outcomes for Māori students
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Reflects New Zealand’s cultural diversity.
Student behaviour cannot be separated from learning and wellbeing.
What does good student behaviour management look like?
Effectively supporting students to manage their behaviour relies on the consistent application of your school's behaviour management plan and strategies.
These strategies could include:
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Early intervention.
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Ensuring age-appropriate behaviour management approaches.
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Employing a range of behaviour interventions and wrap-around support.
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Being sensitive to individual circumstances, differences, and experiences.
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Actively managing learning differences or conditions.
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Fostering quality teacher-student relationships that involve and work closely with whānau.
Practising cultural responsiveness draws on students' identities to enhance engagement and achievement.
You can read more about student behaviour and learningopen_in_new on the Ministry of Education’s website.
What is your board's role in student behaviour management?
Your principal should be reporting on trends and patterns around student engagement and behaviour, including student stand-downs, suspensions, exclusions or expulsions, and any use of physical restraint at every board meeting.
This information helps you monitor what is happening in your school and act at a governance level, if required.
Consider any opportunities, risks, incidents, and trends highlighted by this reporting.
Then, check these against your policies.
Resulting actions could be policy changes, such as extra resourcing and professional learning and development for staff.
Confirm with your principal that staff have the resources and tools to support students to manage their behaviour effectively.
You must also have a policy on reducing student distress and use of physical restraint.
You can learn more about this in our article Minimising the use of physical restraint.
Your board will only become directly involved in student behaviour management if your principal suspends a student.
Questions your board could ask:
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Are we monitoring our school culture to ensure it reflects our school community’s vision and values?
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Are we assured that our school is an emotionally and physically safe environment for all, and that it is inclusive of and catering for students with differing needs?
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Have we developed our school's behaviour management plan and strategies in consultation with our school community?
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Do our students, parents, caregivers, and their whānau know these plans and strategies?
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Are all our staff effectively trained and employing these plans and strategies consistently?
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Are these plans and strategies effective? How do we know?
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Are we receiving student behaviour management data in our principal's report at every board meeting?
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Are there any trends that indicate we might need to act at a governance level?
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