Evolution of Kuwait's Education System

Chapter 1: Introduction

1.1 Education system in Kuwait

In 1911, the establishment of education system occurred in Kuwait where only the primary education was available and it provided only basic education required by the children in Kuwait. In the succeeding year, gradual improvement in the education system occurred so that it can become at par with the new stages of learning process gradually developing over the world. In 1942, Kuwait established its secondary form of education. However, in Kuwait even after the presence of primary as well as secondary form of education yet the system was found to be muddled as the number of year students are to take in each session to complete both form of education was subjected to frequent changes that lead to development of confusion among many (Aldhafeeri and Male, 2016). In order to dissolve this confusion, the Council of Education became active and they established kindergarten stage for boys as well as girls who are below the age of six years. The first two kindergartens namely "Al-Muhallab” and “Tareq” were established in 1954 in “Qibla” and “Sharq” respectively. In between 1954-1955, it is found that the Kuwaiti authorities changed the structure of the educational system. During the Kindergarten stage, one of the advantages was that irrespective of any gender the students were able to attend school at the same time (MOE, 2016). In 1961, independence in Kuwait was announced and at this step, the Ministry of Education of Kuwait involved them to develop an indigenous education system so that they can develop such an educational scenario which meets the increasing requirement in the changing world. The education system that was structured in 1956 was used in similar way till 2004 and according to the system, the students are required to take two years study at the kindergarten, four years at the intermediate and secondary stage of education. On commencement of the 2004-2005 academic year, the setup of the system was altered and the students were required to undergo 2 years kindergarten which is followed by 4 years at the intermediate stage and 3years at the secondary stage (MOU, 2015).

1.2 Statement of the Problem

During the researcher’s career, it was noticed that some students have been developing negative behaviours and this has become a prominent phenomenon in schools. Accordingly, there is an urgent need to deal with this issue and to attempt to figure out its implications. Further, many research studies on children's behavioural problems in Kuwaiti kindergartens have been created.

1.3 Behaviour of the Children

The children are found to have effective amount of energy and education system are to be developed in such a way so that the energy is properly used to accomplish activities and tasks within the education system. However, in the process, the interests of the students must be encouraged to execute activities that would assist them to avoid showing hindered behaviour and purposely use their extra energy. The children if nit is engaged in proper playful activities then they are often found to be lazy and idle in nature which leads them to develop different nature of hindered behaviour. It is essential that some of the physical activities are initiated at the home for the children and few other activities are initiated in the school so that proper behaviour and practices of the children are managed. The management of disturbed behaviour of the children assists them to release extra energy that helps them to keep their mind and body healthy. Thus, it indicates that disturbed behaviour of the children is to be properly managed so that their energy can be used productively. In case, too much of energy is kept insider the body it leads the children have mood swings, anger and develop frustration that negatively affects their overall development and growth (Hagen and Ogden, 2017).

1.4 Purpose of the Study

Studying the management of problematic behaviours is significant for both educators and preschool students. Educators (e.g. school principals, heads of department and teachers) need to be aware of the best practices for managing and dealing with problematic behaviours in order to be able to combat them in the early stages. Teachers’ management skills and style are significant for improving the negative behaviours among children of pre-school stage (Plueck et al., 2015). The current study aimed to discover the management practices implemented by school staff when dealing with preschool students with problematic behaviours. The overall goals of this project are: Firstly, to explore children’s problematic behaviours in three Kuwaiti kindergartens; secondly, to discover the management practices implemented by principals, heads of department and teachers when dealing with preschool students with problematic behaviours; thirdly, to increase awareness of the more effective interventions to deal with problematic behaviours; and finally, to identify the possibility of a relationship between school activities and trips in promoting positive behaviours and reducing problematic behaviours.

1.5 Research Questions

(1) What kinds of behaviours are perceived to be problematic in the three case study schools?

(2) What interventions or response strategies are used by school leadership and staff to encourage positive behaviours and reduce negative problematic behaviours among students?

(3) What interventions or response strategies are considered to be effective?

(4) Are there any relationships between participating in school activities, going on trips out of school and reductions in problematic behaviour?

1.6 Summary of the chapter

This chapter presented an explanation of the education system in Kuwait and the background of the problem, statement of the problem, children’s behaviour, purpose of the study, and research questions. The current study intended to answer the questions above using the case study approach, which enables the studying of complex phenomena within their contexts. The paper comprises five chapters: the first includes the introduction and study background, while the second deals with the literature review; the third chapter includes the methodology, while the fourth chapter presents results, analysis and discussion, and the final chapter includes conclusions and recommendations.

Chapter 2: Literature Review

2.1 Introduction

There are many studies executed by different scholars on the topic related to children and the issues they face which makes them develop problematic behaviour in school and irrespective of such studies still children are found to continue problematic behaviour in school. The existing hindered behaviour of the children even after so many researches and implication of strategies has lead teachers to become upset. As mentioned by Berk (2006: 28), the disorganised household is found to be key source for the children to show bad behaviour. The worst condition is that the influence of the badly-behaved children over the children who are well-disciplined. This is because badly-behaved children always try to have support of others to execute their activities and on this condition leads them to easily influence the properly behaved children to support them making the good children engage in unruly activities. The solution for the issues which leads children to be badly behaved is still not been identified through researches. However, teachers are still trying to identify ways in which the irresponsible behaviour of the children can be managed. The children with problematic behaviour are seen to have a low interest to remain in disciplined education environment and they try to be in schools where there is less time spent on being disciplined. There are enough gaps present in the research field regarding the way teachers can be able to manage and deal with bad behaviour of children (Berk, 2006). Education scholars and practitioners, e.g. Cohen et al. (2010), Mathieson and Price (2002), and Riding and Burton (1998) alike recognise that behaviour management is crucial to achieve effective instruction and learning, and that is challenging. They also agree on defining factors which are important to achieve effective behaviour management. However, they never agree regarding how effective behaviour management can be achieved. A review of a great deal of literature, dealing with behaviour management, offers varied approaches as to how student behaviour can be managed effectively. These approaches even contradict each other. Nevertheless, the differences between, and justifications of, these approaches help manage students’ behaviours.

2.1.1 Behaviour Management in Schools

Just like any other problem, it is important to first define behaviour management before attempting to find the best approach we could use. Defining behaviour management will set the boundaries and will determine the direction of our actions. Literature reviewed defines behaviour management in two ways: what it is and what it is not. Hamre and Pianta (2010) described what behaviour management is: a term that is frequently useful to a wide range of classroom management schemes, including teachers’ capabilities to attract students and teach them how to use their time constructively. They further explained that as a practical guide to classroom management, behaviour management informs that practices helps in promoting positive behaviour and control misbehaviour in classroom (Hamre and Pianta, 2010: 31). Conversely, Phelan stated that behaviour management is not synonymous with classroom management. Behaviour management makes classroom management a lot easier, while classroom management necessitates behaviour management. Related to this, Walters and Frei (2007) clarified that classroom management and discipline are not the same. The former constitutes everything teachers do – procedures, routines, and structures – to bring about effective classroom learning (Daniels et al., 2010, cited in Walters and Frei, 2007).

2.2 Causes of Misbehaviour of Children

2.2.1 Models for explanation of anti-social behaviour among children

The researchers have developed models that can be implemented to discuss the anti-social chanter among children. The models are seen to be based on aspects of the society and individual features that are key determinants for the development of character in a child. This is evident as the initial development of the children occurs in the family setting and this influences their emotional character. The child while remaining with the family are exposed to different adverse situations which make them develop anger, fear, hopelessness, violence and anxiety. In studies, it is indicated that presence of too much poverty is one of the reasons behind children developing anxiety. This is because children feel threatened by those who due to better financial status can afford things which they lack but yearn to possess. During self-defence, it is usual that a child is going to act in violent manner. This is evident from situation where a child is being brought up by divorced parents and has suffered hindrances as a condition. Since love is the key influence which makes a child show proper behaviour, the lack of it among divorced parents affects the children in a negative manner (Baltes et al., 2014).

2.2.1.1 Genetic factors

There are huge numbers of factors which influences the children to behave badly but the understanding of such factors by the parents and teachers is going to help them to make children develop positive behaviour. The behaviour which is considered negative is the use of improper languages or slag for the fellow students or teachers, violent behaviour against the teacher, destruction of property, assuming ownership of individuals without any permission, uncooperative behaviour in school, telling lies and others. The showcasing of the negative behaviour by the children can be unintentional or deliberate. A child may behave badly due to inheritance of such behaviour from the parent who in their early stage has behaved in hindered manner in school during their times. This nature of condition is worst and it is quite difficult for the person to deal with it. This is because such behaviour of the children is inborn and it requires long time to create change as the child fails to properly understand the reason behind punishment provided for the mistake as well as fails to determine their mistakes (Snyder et al., 2005). The manifestation of hindered behaviour is related to genes present in children that are seen to prove responsive to the environmental factors influencing the child’s development. In this case, simply punishing any children do not create any change in behaviour (Williamson et al., 1982).

2.2.1.2 Drug Abuse

The parents who are involved in substance abuse or drug abuse are seen to have a negative influence on the behavioural development of the children. In some cases, the children are found not to be violent from birth but because of the environment where they live and grow (Ramchandani and Psychogiou, 2009). This indicates that growing in a family involved in drug abuse results the child to get exposed to violence as violence is materialised as a consequence of increased consumption of alcohol or drugs (Suchman et al., 2007). The child being afraid of harm from the family in case they reveal the family problems makes them lie to teachers and social workers which create difficulty in guiding the child develop proper behaviour. In order to execute effective intervention, the teachers are required to have detailed information about the parental background of the child. This is because understanding the parenting style helps the teachers and social workers identify the specific approach to be implemented for dealing with the peculiar behaviour of the children. Therefore, without knowing the right parenting style if strategies are implemented it would be wrong and ineffective to change the disturbed behaviour of the children (Forester and Harwin, 2011). The parents who are involved in drug abuse negatively affect their child’s ability to differentiate between right or wrong as they are unable to deliver proper guidance to the children.

2.2.1.3 Knowledge

The hindered behaviour expressed by the children may be due to their lack of knowledge regarding the way to behave in society according to situations. In addition, it results children unable to understand the impact of their bad behaviour on others. The implication of increased and strict rules is able to create anger issues among children as the children feel they are bound tightly and has low scope to be free. The inability to be free creates anger is a common condition found among all nature of humans (Williamson et al., 1982). The defiance is also seen to rise as a result of unfair treatment of children. This unfair treatment creates anger as well as frustration among the children. The adults are seen to play a key role in influencing negative perception among children mainly when they are feeling stressed. The teachers or parents are found at time to become hostile for some children in comparison to others as a result of external factors. The children often feel being unfairly treated when hostile behaviour from the teachers or parents are seen and this makes them tend to become disobedient as well as angry (Basarab-Horwath, 2001).

2.2.1.4 External factors

The teachers are required to understand that their personal behaviour of being hostile towards any child is able to generate negative response among other children. Therefore, it is the duty of the teachers that they avoid being influenced by any external factors while managing the children. The lack of time for socialising and resting is able to make children feel being overburdened with tasks and this means they are eventually going to fail to accomplish tasks. Therefore, it is essential to make sure them the tasks allocated to the children are easy so that it can be accomplished by them with ease (Marin-Avellan, 2004). The school is a place where children from different cultural and family background meet. Therefore, it is required that root cause of the bad behaviour of any child is to be identified before punishing them. This is because it is found that punishment, if not provided properly to the children, tends to create side effects on the children. The most common punishment used for children is corporal punishment. This is because it is assumed pain created by using canning act as severe reminder for the children to not execute the negative behaviour for which the individual is provided such punishment (Kroll and Taylor, 2001).

2.2.1.5 Punishment

In some cases, it is seen that providing punishment to the children escalates them to show bad behaviour. This is evident as they tend to sneak out from school for avoiding punishment that eventually leads them towards truancy. It makes the children become unable to take responsibility for their actions (Martin, 1993, cited in Avellan, 2004). In case children become used to punishment, they are seen as not being able to perform well in condition where there is no punishment. Thus, according to such cases, punishment is seen to fail in improving the behaviour of the children and rather encourages them to become irresponsible and develop hiding behaviour. The teachers are often seen to be frustrated when they realise that the children had been misbehaving in their lack of presence. It explains why it is necessary that the children become able to appreciate the importance of good behaviour in the absence of adults rather than inappropriately punishing them (Marin-Avellan, 2004).

2.2.1.6 Transition Period

The other factor which influences bad behaviour among children is transition between staying with parents and being present at school for certain amount of time. The children at times may be unable to understand the reason behind their parents is leaving them in a strange place with unknown individuals. This is mainly seen among children who have spent increased amount of their early years being with parents at home (Ramchandani and Psychogiou, 2009). In case a child is not assisted to get familiar with their new life, they develop a sense of negative attitude towards being educated in school. This is mainly instigated by strong desire of the child to return home as in the unknown place they feel uncomfortable. The parents who fail to understand the idea is seen to have child who is finding other places for hiding until the time comes for them to go home. The teachers and parents who are able to understand this idea is able to develop strategies to make their children be inclined to learning at school without showing bad behaviour (Berk, 2006).

2.3 Theories of problematic behaviour of children

Theories on Causes of Children’s Problematic Behaviour

For a long period of time, several approaches and theories have been suggested and developed to investigate and respond to problematic behaviours among children. The main features discussed are those acquired from the children’s surrounding environment and the people within it; this is called the nature debate (Kempes et al., 2005). Many psychologists implemented experiments to collect further details in this regard and understand the way children interact with others, visibly, if scholars/researchers could understand how children acquire behaviours, they would lead to understand way intervention can be made when a problem arises during the child’s maturity. Behaviourism is considered one of the most popular theories dealing with childhood development. Pavlov, cited in Woollard and Pritchard (2013), conducted experiments on animals to explore how learning happens; his studies have become very famous. Primarily, he focused on physiology experiments, it was found that dogs could be trained to respond to sounds and link them to food reward; the dogs would obey the instruction when hearing the sound even when there was no food. This process is called ‘conditioning’ and it has been the basis of behaviourism theory. Such behaviour can be noticed in classes, where programmed lack of attention to lessons prevails by the time the bell is heard (Woollard and Pritchard, 2013). Thorndike conducted further experiments, focusing on task repetition. He found that offering rewards to children to learn to accomplish a task during the education process was better than repeating the same task for them. Further, Skinner undertook experiments to find when children behave or act to achieve certain results. His experiments suggested that when children seek to achieve a result or change a behaviour, motivation or punishment could help; this is called ‘operating conditioning’ (Woollard and Pritchard, 2013). The psychodynamic approach is a second key approach that can be used in studying human behaviour apart from the behaviourist approach. The psychodynamic approach is initiated by the ideas of Freud where he believed that behaviour, as well as actions, are the result of the causes that initiate from within the individual. Freud informs that child’s behaviour is caused by their unconscious processes and he assumed that behavioural problems occur when there are unresolved conflicts present in the unconscious mind of the individual. It is theorised by Freud that emotional development of a child and the person’s experience as a baby influences their later life thus drawing links between early experiences and problematic behaviour experience later (Ellenberger, 1981). The goals are referred to as power, attention, withdrawal or revenge. The key point is to have look behind the cause of the behaviour and the find out ways for meeting the emotional need of the child through means that are less disruptive in nature. The method is designed to be used each day in the classroom as well as during intervention where a child is referred to a child psychologist. Play therapy methods must be properly targeted so that they can be used in the context by considering the psychodynamic theories.

There is a third approach where some elements of behaviourist theory are implemented along with rationalist viewpoint and this is known as cognitive-behavioural theory. The theory is developed by Bandura where he viewed that normal growth of a child from their birth year till school leaving age is characterised by different stages and if the child does not successfully find solutions for their disturbed behaviour during this stages then they are going to develop bad behaviour. For instance, Piaget mentioned four stages of development and his approach was seen mainly to focus on the mental as well as physical abilities of the child and it shows the way advancing capabilities are able to make a child acquire better skills. The theory by Piaget emphasises about the way a child is required to interact with the environment so that they develop proper cognitive patterns and schemes that would help them to learn regarding the world as well as operate in a successful manner in it (Piaget, 1954). There are different factors which influence the behaviour of a child and some of the factors come from the environment while other factors initiate from within the child. The important aspect is that these elements are able to interact among one another resulting to reinforce certain behaviour in certain social context. Bandura proposes that child have inherent ability for modifying their personal behaviour which is known as “Self-efficacy”. The self-efficacy occurs without any need of punishment or the promise to reward the child. Bandura mentions response methods that are used for managing negative behaviour of the children as it empowers the child learn coping skills in making their own choices to show proper behaviour (Evans, 1989). The work of Bandura is middle between the behaviourism and cognitive theories as well as it considers the social environment. The cognitive-behavioural responses developed for problematic behaviours like behaviour management programs is seen to incline more toward the behavioural end of the spectrum. A system is proposed by Rogers that embeds behaviour management in different aspects of school life (Rogers, 2011: 159). It is found that creating an increase in the contemporary discussion of problematic behaviour of children develops an eclectic approach which means attracting different theories that are able to fit under the umbrella of cognitive theories.

Response to problematic behaviour in children

Most of the theories and theorists who have cited the causes of problematic behaviour in children have proposed solutions for said behaviour. According to attachment theory, one of the effective methods of responding to problematic behaviours in children is offering them therapeutic counselling. This will make them more attached to their parents and caretakers and make them feel accepted in society. In addition, parents are advised to spend more time with their children and teach those acceptable behaviours rather than leaving them to learn on their own (Arnold, 2010). Vygotsky, in his theory of social situational development, asserted that parents have the substantial role of interacting with their children and changing the societal situation to actualise better conditions for learning purposes. He added that parents and caretakers need to be there in all of their children’s transitional periods to teach them new traits of the new system, which eases the transition process (Wertsch, 1985). Chesnay (2011) outlined some helpful tips for minimising problematic behaviours in children, which he asserted must be implemented from the very beginning. The first tip is to develop a helping and trusting relationship between the guardians and the children. This will enable the children to freely air their problems, which would have turned chaotic had they continued harbouring them. In addition, On the other hand, Bronfenbrenner’s theory (Bronfenbrenner, 2005) insists that children must be integrated into the broader environment if they are to develop good behaviours and each system of the environment determines the behaviours of children. It is thus important to bring up children in systems that do not encourage unwarranted behaviours. Teaching children emotional control is another interventional method of dealing with problematic behaviours. Basic tips of teaching the emotional control include demonstrating empathy, explaining what growing up is, soothing them and teaching them the coping strategies (Porter, 2002). He also, asserted that positive parenting helps in shaping the behaviours of children. Using specific rewards encourages the children to continue with their positive behaviours. Parents need to set up limits to deal with aggressive and disruptive behaviours. They should ensure that children comply with their commands no matter how defiant the children may be (Douglas, 2002).

Behaviourist theory as the researcher believes that it is possibly the most incorporated of the dissimilar theories on behaviour. Behaviours that are irritating, rude, or troublesome to the child or to others are obviously undesirable and improper. The dilemma for numerous teachers is to get rid of these improper behaviours in a way that will be advantageous for the children and others. Researchers and clinical practitioners have reported extensively that corporal punishment is evidently ineffective for most children and particularly not for those with problematic behaviours (Southall, 2007). Nevertheless, according to Munden and Arcelus (1999), numerous techniques do function effectively, such as ‘mild punishments’. Teachers usually have the same opinion on the behaviours that have to be addressed. Too much attention has been paid to addressing problematic behaviour, while little attention has been given to which behaviours teachers prefer or desire (Papatheodorou, 2000). Punishment does not communicate to the child what is ‘appropriate’ – only what is ‘inappropriate’. Hence, positive reinforcement is vital for the success of children with problematic behaviour. Knowing the factors that trigger the students’ misbehaviour in class will enable the school teachers to have a better idea of how to effectively improve the students’ learning attitude in class. As a result, it is expected that improvements will be noticed in the overall educational performance among primary and secondary school students (Hein et al., 2015). In order to improve children’s behaviour, teaching staff must be trained in strategies for managing behaviour. According to Brooke et al. (2015: 8), students are expected that they behave in a sensible as well as disciplined way in the class and are taught way to be self-disciplined. Duckworth and Seligman (2005) highlighted that self-disciplined students outperformed their peers in different fields of educational assessment. Therefore, it is critical to the successful management of behaviour that the sensible and disciplined way of gaining ‘self-discipline’ is defined. Similarly, the types and patterns of bad behaviour should also be narrated in the policy. Brooke (2015)emphasised that instead of deterring anti-social behaviour, this policy was created to encourage positive behaviour. In a way forward to the same aim, it is considered essential that points-based reward systems be developed after standardising the good (acceptable) and anti-social (unacceptable) behaviour and types of strategies for dealing with each of these types. This would allow teachers to effectively deal with problematic behaviour in a standardised fashion.

Conclusion

In this chapter, various theories which explain the bad behaviour among children are being discussed. The most common causes of such behaviour are domestic violence, poor parenting, horrid social circumstances, poor attachment and others. In order to manage the situation, it is found that theories have developed certain remedies that involve increased interaction with parents, positive parenting and therapeutic counselling. The hindered behaviour among the children needs teachers as well as parents to determine the risk factors which are creating threat for the children to learn positive behaviour by ignoring negative behaviour. The parents need to consider that punishment is not the only way make the children behave properly. The exposure of the children in different environment, genetic factors, external factors, improper handling at school and others are responsible to cause children show hindered or bad behaviour. The literature review shows that managing negative behaviours among children in preschool stage contributes significantly to alleviation of such behaviours. Accordingly, the current study investigated the role of school’s principals and staff in managing negative behaviours among children from a managerial perspective.

Chapter 3: Methodology

The chapter informs in details the different approaches that are used by the researcher in executing the study. This chapter mentions the type of research design, data collection techniques and sampling methods used as well as way data management and reliability and validity of the study is ensured. The current research aimed to inspect the status and practices of managing problematic behaviours in preschool; indeed, the researcher presents a qualitative case study of principal and staff perspectives in three Kuwaiti kindergarten schools. To achieve the research purposes, the researcher attempted to answer the main questions:

(1) What kinds of behaviours are perceived to be problematic in the three case study schools?

(2) What interventions or response strategies are used by school leadership and staff to encourage positive behaviour and reduce negative problematic behaviours among students?

(3) What interventions or response strategies are considered to be effective?

(4) Are there any relationships between participating in school activities, going on trips out of school and reductions in problematic behaviours?

To answer these questions, the researcher followed the case study approach. According to Yin and Campbell (2018), there are four case study strategies which can be employed: single, multiple, holistic and embedded. It is also vital to note that these four strategies are based on two main dimensions, which groups them as single vs. multiple and holistic vs. embedded. A single case involves research on a single case at a time. It is suitable for certain research situations. However, multiple case study is the most popular choice. It involves studying multiple cases at a time by comparing and developing patterns to explain a phenomenon (Swanborn, 2010). A holistic approach to research means that one is using a single unit of analysis during the study. On the contrary, an embedded approach involves the use of many units of analysis during the study. The type of approach to be adopted by a researcher hinge on the research questions, the phenomenon being studied, and availability of time (Yin and Campbell, 2018). The type of strategy used in a case study is instrumental in determining the final results of the study. A good case study research is defined by factors like the research questions, design, propositions, form of analysis, ability to link data to the propositions and the criteria employed to interpret findings from the research (Ellet, 2007). While case study research is among the most popular methods used in qualitative research, it has some disadvantages. For example, gaining access to study a particular company can be difficult and time consuming (Yin and Campbell, 2018). Another disadvantage is that a researcher does not have control of the research situation. In addition, the issue of generalisability puts a question mark over the reliability and validity of information obtained from case study research. Case study research is guided by a number of ethics guidelines, which are meant to protect all stakeholders in the research business. Ethics refers to an accepted code of conduct in a given situation. Research ethics guidelines are scattered under legal acts such as the data protection act, human rights and so on. These values ensure that researchers produce valid data, treat their employees well, and only conduct research that does not harm anybody participating (Yin and Campbell, 2018). Research ethics advises against plagiarism and production of unreliable information. For the current research, and given the number of targeted kindergartens, the researcher applied the single case study with three units of analysis. The researcher used semi-structured interviews because of the environment of the study and the number of participants assessed. Besides, the researcher utilised the case study approach to support the findings of the semi-structured interviews.

Conceptual research design

The research design is referred to the glue that helps the researcher in keeping all the components together. It provides conceptual structural indication to the researcher regarding the way entire research is to be developed. The research design creates a blueprint for the researcher to understand the way measurement, data collection and analysis is to be executed in the study (Bell et al., 2018). For the current research, semi-structured interviews were held with nine participants from three kindergartens. Each interview took around 35 minutes.

Research paradigm

The study by Neuman (2000) and Cresswell (2003), cited in Thanh and Thanh (2015: 3) mentions that paradigm is ontology or epistemology. The Mackenzie and Knipe (2006: 2) categorises research paradigm as positivism, post-positivist and interpretivism. The post-positivist model considers the cause and effect relationship (Creswell, 2003). However, interpretivist consider the study to be executed as per human experience. This is evident from the studies by Creswell (2003) and Yanow and Schwartz-Shea (2011), cited in Creswell (2003) where it is mentioned that interpretivism uses the opinion of the participants as well as their own practices to develop information for the study. They believe in executing the study in reality. The presentation of various viewpoints of the scholars leads the researcher to understand that in interpretivism they have to see the world through the eyes of the participants and by feeling their experiences. The researcher using interpretivism physiology uses the data collected from the study participants for seeking answers to the research problem. Therefore, interpretivism is much more comprehensive for the researcher, because it includes the experiences and different views of the participants. Therefore, a researcher could collect data for his/her study from a group of school staff who have different university degrees and years of experiences in their field, and from different school cultures, to benefit from their practices.

Sampling Method

Sampling Procedure

The research was implemented in Mubarak-Al-Kabeer governorate in Kuwait. The study by Smith (2015) informs that study population is based on all the units in total from which the samples are considered to be drawn. The sampling is referred to the process which is followed by the researcher for gathering participants for the research (Saunders et al., 2013:3). Purposive sampling’ is a selection method that is used commonly in ‘ethnobotany’. Application of this method needs further explanation, as most studies explained it inadequately. This method is also called ‘judgment sampling’, and includes selecting informants deliberately in accordance with their qualities. There is no specific number for informant selection; it is about non-random selection. In other words, the researcher is free to decide what is needed for the study and identify the criteria for sample selection, as well as the people who have the will to participate in the study and provide the information needed for the research (Bernard, 2002; Lewis and Sheppard, 2006, cited in Tongco, 2007: 147). Further, for the current research, the researcher applied the purposive sampling technique, with nine participants included in the study.

Sample Size

The study by Sanders et al. (2013) informs that selection of sample size need to consider the required accuracy, procedure of sampling, characteristics and nature of the population, financial resources, time and availability of data collection instruments. After consideration of the mentioned instruction, the sample size for the present study is nine individuals who are selected from three kindergartens present at Mubarak Al-Kabeer governorate in Kuwait. The current study included nine individuals in three kindergartens in Mubarak Al-Kabeer governorate in Kuwait. Their experience ranged from 10 to 32 years (see Figure 1).

Development of Semi-structured Interview Questions

On the basis of reviewed literature, the study is going to use semi-structured reviewed questions which are going to be reviewed with supervisors, specialists and decision-makers.

Validity and Reliability of the study

The validity and reliability are referred as essential context for the researcher which links abstract concepts with empirical determinants.

Reliability

In the mentioned study, different measures are implemented for ensuring that the results and findings are free from any nature of materialistic error. The measures implemented are pre-testing of the developed questionnaire and review of the questionnaire by the professionals and teachers who are in-charge to manage bad behaviour in schools. Apart from this, the questionnaire is to be tested on pilot sample before providing it to all the sample of the study. These measures are able to make the researcher ensure that the clarity of the questionnaire, time required, topic omitted as well as interview layout and comments.

Validity

The strategies adopted for ensuring validity are pre-testing as well as sorting of the question for measuring theoretical understanding and consistency of the language used in the question for presenting concepts. In addition, the participants are to be asked if the questions provided are clear to them or not (King and Hornberger, 2008). After the validity and reliability check, the data are to be qualitatively analysed by using thematic analysis for determining the trend in response to imploring the re3altionship or any difference in answering the research question.

Data Management and Analysis

The processing of data includes data editing, classification and coding, the meaningfulness of data, accuracy and maintaining the privacy of participants. The data analysis is executed qualitatively for understanding proper meaning of the data and for grouping similar data to ensure easier compilation. The qualitative data were edited and processed in a form that facilitated explanation building (Silverman, 2016). Qualitative data were analysed following the thematic analysis approach using NVivo software (demonstrated in Chapter 4).

Ethical Procedures andConsiderations

This study took into consideration all the ethical underpinnings, which are in line with the international ethical standards, in order for it to run smoothly (Wiles, 2012). Having obtained the ethical approval form from the university, as per the ethics approval requirements of the Kuwaiti schools community, firstly, the researcher visited the Educational Research Administration in Al-Qurain District in Kuwait to obtain a paper authorising the research. After the information sheets had been read and it had been ensured that the interview questions were free from sensitive objects, the approval paper for the research was taken, and delivered to Mubarak Al-Kabeer Educational Area so that a green light could be obtained from them to conduct interviews at the three kindergartens in Mubarak Al-Kabeer governorate. Moreover, the approval was for the institutions to acknowledge their activity and engagement with the staff and leaders in the schools. Secondly, the participants were treated with utmost regard, and the researcher was the only person allowed to quiz them on the subject of this study, with no third party involved (Merriam and Grenier, 2019). In line with this, the content of the responses which the participants provided was also treated with utmost confidentiality, and in this regard, as soon as the participants had finished the interviews, the tapes were taken for data analysis, and immediately after the analysis was finished, they were discarded, so as to avoid them falling into the hands of any third party (Flick, 2018). The researcher then started the interviews by introducing herself in each of the schools to each of the participants, with the aim of explaining the purpose of the project. Furthermore, the researcher demonstrated the interview questions to the participants, attaching them to the consent forms and the information sheet. The participants were told prior to the interview that it was to be recorded, and that as soon as the research finished all the records would be destroyed, in order to preserve their privacy regarding the sensitive data information. The participants were then given ample time to make a resolution on whether they desired to partake in the study, with all of them stating they were willing and ready to participate. Thereafter, the interviews were conducted and, upon finishing, the participants were thanked for having participated in the interview and were assured that the data they had provided were to be kept safe, in order to prevent any third party accessing them. Thomson (2016: 1) stated that: ‘Researchers are expected to decide at the outset whether interviewees will have transcripts returned to them for checking’. The records were translated into English, as some of the participants communicated in their local/native language, and the transcripts were then uploaded to the researcher’s laptop and protected with a password. Finally, the researcher did not force any of the respondents to participate in this study, although if they wanted to contribute they were advised to read the research information sheets and sign the consent form. In line with this, if any participants wished to withdraw from the study having already provided some responses to the interview questions, these responses would be discarded with immediate effect (Flick, 2018). This served to enhance the anonymity and confidentiality concepts. Any private data relating to the participants was deleted during the analysis process so that their privacy was preserved; moreover, codes were used instead of their names, e.g. P1, P2, K1=H. Overall, having taken all these issues into consideration, it is evident that the researcher was able to meet all the guidelines on ethics, thereby implying that this study followed the right path, and in this regard it would be accepted for other studies. For the suggested research, the researcher adhered to the qualitative method, and the process of the research is shown in Figure 2.

Conclusion

The present chapter informs about the key techniques that are used for selecting and collecting data. It discussed the case study approach and showed that the researcher applied the single case study with three units of analysis. Semi-structured interviews were held with nine members from three kindergartens in Mubarak-Al-Kabeer District in Kuwait: three principals, three teachers, three heads of department.

Results, Data Analysis and Discussion

Introduction

The purpose of the current research was to examine the status and practices of managing problematic behaviours in preschool, and the researcher presents a qualitative case study of principal and staff perspectives in three Kuwaiti kindergartens. The chapter informs the findings which are collected by the researcher with the help of semi-structured interview that is executed for the achievement of the study goal. The chapter also helps the researcher to discuss the achieved results and later present the information in the conclusion of the study.

Background

In Kuwait, before the oil is discovered there was only limited teaching and reciting of the Holy Quran or three basic components which are writing, reading and doing arithmetic. However, the economic activity as well as Brisk trading changed the entire scenario and lead to the establishment of the first school in 1911 named as the AIMubarkiya School, which was followed by the development of AI-Ahmadiya School in 1921(stateuniversity.com, 2017). In 1936, structured form of education came into implementation with the establishment of the Council of Education. In 1956, the Kuwait government developed a key plan which leads them to divide formal education into four categories which are Kindergarten (2 years), Primary (4 academic years), Intermediate (4 academic years) and Secondary (4 academic years). All the educational institutions are subjected to be regulated by the Ministry of Higher Education and Ministry of Education (stateuniversity.com, 2017).