Outdated discipline methods make student behaviour worse, Flinders Uni researcher says

TEACHERS stressed by student behaviour are caught in a spiral where discredited discipline methods worsen pupil behaviour, causing educators to burn out. But an expert has offered a solution.

• Quarter of suspended SA students barred from school multiple times

TEACHERS stressed by student behaviour are caught in a spiral where discredited discipline methods worsen the behaviour, causing educators to burn out, research finds.

Dr David Armstrong from Flinders University reviewed behaviour studies, particularly concerning students with disabilities and mental health problems, from Australia and overseas. Dr Armstrong said teacher stress, challenging behaviours and an outdated “manage and discipline” approach “can form a destructive feedback loop for teachers”.

“As teachers become emotionally exhausted, they find it harder to respond to students’ needs and resort to using more punitive approaches,” he said.

“This in turn leads to worse student behaviour, creating further stress, emotional exhaustion and, at worst, teacher burnout.”

According to Dr Armstrong’s paper in the International Journal of Inclusive Education, suspensions and exclusions do not work.

The Advertiser previously revealed that close to 1000 public school students were suspended multiple times in a single term. “The most ineffective strategies are reactive, matching the child in a shouting match,” Dr Armstrong said.

“In many cases a punitive response often leads to a spiral of escalation, prompting suspension, exclusion or withdrawal from school.”

An expert has suggested that stressed teachers be allowed to take a break without negative consequences to their careers to ward off burnout.

Dr Armstrong said “moral panic” over behaviour resulted in ineffective crackdowns. He said policy makers should focus on evidence-based strategies such as tailoring curriculum to the different learning levels of students in the same class, to make sure they were engaged.

Helping children articulate their needs meant they wouldn’t resort to communicating through “screaming or hitting or biting or chair throwing”.

Teachers should be “encouraged to take a break without negative consequences, both for their own sake and to ensure a calm and healthy learning environment”, and to ward off burnout that leads to leaving the profession.

Overly punitive strategies destroyed students’ belief teachers cared about them, making them more likely to misbehave, he said.

An SA parliamentary inquiry was highly critical of suspensions of students with disabilities. The Labor and Liberal parties have vowed to employ more behaviour coaches.