Educational Psychology & Special Needs Education

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Browsing Educational Psychology & Special Needs Education by Subject "Academic achievement -- schools"

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    The effect of discipline on academic achievement in Secondary School
    (2009) Khuluse, Nkululeko Liberty; Vos, M.S.
    The aim of this study was to pursue an investigation into the effect of discipline on academic achievement in secondary schools. From the literature study it became clear that classroom management is a necessary condition for effective student learning. The school climate established by the educator can have a major impact on learners’ motivation and attitude towards learning. As such, the skills involved in establishing a positive classroom climate are of immense importance. Clearly, learners need order in the classroom if the activities, which take place, are to facilitate effective learning. The most important point to bear in mind in considering discipline, is that creating the necessary order is more to do with the skills involved in effective teaching in general than it is to with how one deals with learner behaviour itself. If the learning activities are well-planned and prepared, if the presentation elicits and maintains learners’ attention, interest and involvement, and if the activities are challenging and offer realistic opportunities for success, then the necessary order will be established as part of these qualities. In essence, skilful teaching lies at the heart of establishing discipline. Most learner misbehaviour is quite trivial. The types of learner behaviour most frequently cited by educators are:  excessive talk or talking out of turn,  being noisy (both verbal, such as shouting at another learner across the room, and non-verbal, such as letting a disk lid slam shut),  not paying attention to the educator,  not getting on with the work required,  being out of their seats without good cause,  hindering other learners, and  arriving late for lessons. To a large extent, such problems can be minimized by skilful teaching in general, and by developing conventions and routines for behaviour, which are followed. The discipline which prevails in a classroom will not only be influenced by the educators’ behaviour and expectations, but also by the expectations learners bring with them, and, importantly, by the prevailing ethos in the school. Nevertheless, a well-managed lesson coupled with a relationship based on mutual respect and rapport will do much to minimize pupil misbehaviour. In schools where it is recognized that there are a number of learners with marked emotional or academic difficulties, skilful teaching can ensure that good discipline in lessons will be the norm. Learners misbehave at school for a variety of reasons, e.g. boredom, inability to do the work, low academic self-esteem, emotional difficulties, poor attitudes, etc. The key to establishing good discipline at school lies in learners accepting the educator’s authority to manage their behaviour and their progress in learning. Learning activities cannot take place effectively in a classroom of thirty learners or more, unless one is given authority to control, manage and direct what is going on as, when and how appropriate. Much of the authority as an educator derives from the status he has in that role, and the respect and esteem for educators generally held in society; this is particularly conveyed to learners by their parents and other sources of influence. Educators will have some degree of status because of this, most notably with younger learners where they may be perceived as a parent figure to some extent. In order to exercise managerial control, learners’ behaviour needs to be rule-governed. Such school rules may be explicitly stated by educators or simply inferred from the educator’s actions. In conclusion a summary was presented on the findings of the literature and empirical study, and the following are some of the recommendations that were made:  All schools should draw up a code of conduct and implement it.  Rules related content should be incorporated in the academic curriculum.  Further research should be conducted concerning disruptive behaviour in the classroom in order to provide an overview of the problem.
University of Zululand