How Does Having Sanctions In Place

Introduction:

In most primary schools, parents and educators are becoming increasingly concerned about the incidence of problematic behaviours (Department for Education, 2011). The purpose of this essay is to research and examine how sanctions correlate with children’s learning at a primary school so that this issue can be combatted with appropriate education dissertation help. I have specifically chosen this topic to explore the different behaviour management techniques that can be used to improve children’s learning and where sanctions lie on the scale in reference to producing the most positive impact on the learning of children. This is as a result of when children understand the repercussions of their actions, disruptive behaviour can be reduced or even eliminated (Stoesz et al., 2016). My trainee teaching experience exposed to me how the level of disruptive behaviour has a significant impact on the quality of learning by the children in the class. Such as, ‘calling out’ and any excessive challenging behaviour causes the child, their peers and the teachers disengaging focus from the lesson when a sanction is given so creates a distraction to all. There are supporting arguments on both positive and negative impacts that I also have first-hand experienced that will be analysed in further detail to expand on the most effective use of sanctions to create the output desired of maximum attention to retain the learning information to meet the success criteria’s in line with the targets for the individuals. My personal experience of working with different children at different levels I have observed many teachers use different behaviour management styles including positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement and extinction. Following on, I witnessed the diverse responses from the children so this will help me develop my plan of action if or when using sanctions to improve learning. My examples included in my essay are from a setting in Newham, one of the most deprived boroughs in London (Trust London, 2020). This exposes a demographic of students that have underlying personal issues external to the classroom that can impact there learning in the classroom. This is significant as schools also experience a lack of funding so cannot afford the optimum environment and resources to create the most effective learning. This is supported by literature which proposes a good working environment leading towards a better quality of learning (Steer, 2009).

My reading evoked my passion in teaching as I investigated the complexity in understanding the needs of different children which is a problem solving task that interests me to find the most effective combination of different behaviour management strategies that lead to the maximum effectiveness of improving a child’s learning. Numerous studies show that classroom management has a significant impact on students' ability to teach (Horner et al., 2009). A recent study, for instance, found that classroom management was the most critical element influencing student learning (Steer, 2009). Class management was shown to be the most important factor influencing student learning. Teachers who give effective instruction also use effective classroom management tactics. This statement clarifies the significance of effective classroom management. Effective classroom management is vital for the growth of learning because it prepares the classroom for effective instruction (Simeon & Nnaa, 2020). I have realised behaviour management strategies when used correctly and the use of appropriate sanctions is the core of a good lesson. My placement is in Key stage 2 in a year 3 classroom. Another key aspect I have acknowledged is the quality of the lesson that is being delivered when disruptive behaviour takes place. This is the reason for why I have chosen sanctions and the relationship it has with children, as I believe it is necessary to understand this to become an outstanding teacher.

Literature Review:

To ensure a safe learning and positive environment, teachers are required to manage behaviour effectively (Department for Education, 2011); placing significant emphasis on the role of a teacher. A conducive learning environment can be achieved through intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. This ensures that students are motivated and their behaviour is managed. Reports have indicated that although there is evidence of improved school behaviour based on teacher surveys, learning time is still being affected by low-level, but persistent disruptive behaviour (Bennett, 2017).

Behaviour management in the classroom can be either controlled or manipulated. (Maguire, Ball and Braun 2010) advocated that failure to have good classroom management as a teacher can indicate an 'inability to teach or that the school itself is failing. This shows that there are many debates and controversies around behaviour management. For instance, (Yassine, Tipton‐Fisler and Katic, 2020) argue that effective behaviour management allows teachers to build a good relationship with their students. However, behaviourists such as (Pavlov 1902) and (Skinner 1954) cited in (Pritchard 2008) might argue that the use of sanctions and rewards used in schools is a way of conditioning children to behave and act in a certain way.

Extrinsic motivation is sparked by rewards received from outside the individual (Ryan & Deci, 2020). It refers to behaviours taken in order to accomplish a specific goal or reward, such as completing a task. Moreover, it encourages a performer to reach their full potential whilst outperforming their peers in order to win the competition. For example, a student might show positive behaviour when they are rewarded for it. The use of positive reinforcement has resulted in effective outcomes in classroom management. For example, Hasazi and Hasazi (1972) found that students who had trouble with digit reversal when solving math problems reduced the number of reversals in their work when teachers systematically focused positive attention on correctly written responses. This highlighted the effective impact of positive reinforcement on children’s learning and academic performance.

On the other hand, even with positive outcomes and progress, the common references to positive reinforcement are extrinsic and fail to report the perceptive aspects of motivation in education. Also, to (Landrum and James, 2006) the behaviourist methods undermine the worth of intrinsic motivation.

On the other hand, motivation that comes from within a person and motivates them to attain personal goals is known as intrinsic motivation (Ryan & Deci, 2020), thus associating it with reinforcement. According to the Behaviourist Theory, human behaviour can be referred to as conditioning, implying the controlling effects of this approach to behaviour management (Skinner 1954).

For example, a teacher rewards certain learners or the whole class at the end of the week for good behaviour demonstrated throughout the week. This is an example of positive reinforcement which promotes behaviour control (Nagowah & Nagowah, 2009). On the other hand, students can be sanctioned thus creating a negative reinforcement. A negative reinforcement occurs when an aversive stimulus is removed after a good behaviour is exhibited. Therefore, sanctions involve presentation of aversive (Landrum & Kauffman, 2013).

Moreover, according to Landrum and Kauffman (2013) contingently applied stimuli that occur after behaviour are referred to as positive reinforcement. There are a variety of contingent stimuli that can be used to encourage a desired action and a social gesture (positive acknowledgment or words of praise). Classroom management with children of all ages, abilities, academic and social skills, and in a variety of settings has been found to benefit from the use of positive reinforcement.

Students' positive academic and social behaviour can be encouraged by rewarding them with attention or praise from their teachers, if they meet certain criteria’s. Teachers pay attention to pupils who are engaged in desirable, suitable task-related or social conduct, and this strategy's base is straightforward (Landrum & Kauffman, 2013).

Success in practice needs a reasonable degree of precision in application. Positive attention is only given when and only if the desired behaviour is observed.

Similarly, to control students’ behaviour, Cognitive theory is very critical. The approach explains human behaviour by understanding pupils thought processes (Overskeid, 1995). Therefore, to promote good behaviour in the classroom, the teacher guides the students through the problem-solving process, while allowing them to use their own initiative to make decisions. However, regardless of enabling individuals to make decisions, it is also notable that much learning about behaviour happens through observation of the world around us which leads us initially to assimilate the rules that underpin this and eventually accommodate them to fit our own personal schema. According to Bandura and Hall (2018), behaviour is learnt by observing and imitating the behaviour of others. Bandura (1993) explores the importance of a child’s self-determination and self-esteem as a key factor in determining children’s academic performance. Bandura (1993) defines self-efficacy as a person’s belief in their ability to effectively perform the behaviour required for a positive outcome on a task. Sanctions are therefore considered as less impactful than having an internal self-belief that drives and motivates students in their learning. The impact of self-efficacy as opposed to sanctions and punishments leads to a sense of agency in learning (Merolla 2017). Furthermore, while examining classroom behaviour control, humanistic approach is very critical. This approach to classroom management focuses on instilling a sense of responsibility within individuals. According to DeRobertis and Bland (2020) humanistic psychologists suggest that an individual's behaviour is related to their inner self-image and feelings. Therefore, this approach considers the conscious choices, current occurrences and internal needs which are critical in shaping human behaviour. At the same time, the approach stresses that human beings are inherently good, and that basic needs are vital to human behaviours. The humanistic model takes account of individual strengths and celebrates them (Overskeid, 1995). The importance of a student's self-esteem is highlighted, and as a result, positive interactions and connections between peers and the teacher are fostered. Explanation and reasoning are crucial parts of discipline in this model, according to the humanistic viewpoint.

Other than reinforcement, extinction is also critical in behaviour control. Extinction is the gradual weakening of a conditioned response thus creating a behaviour disappearance or decrease (Berg et al., 2011). Extinction is often useful in the classroom context in decreasing negative behaviours. This raises concerns about the effect of teachers merely coercing or bribing students to behave in ways that the teacher chooses (Landrum and Kuffman 2013), rather than influencing the children’s learning and knowledge intake.

Sanction and Behaviour Reinforcement:

Poor behaviour is described as behaviour that interferes with learning for both the student and their classmates (Mintrop, 2003). According to Steinberg and Lacoe (2017), good behaviour benefits all kids in a school. Parents and carers have a vital role in helping children feel safe and learn well by setting high behavioural expectations. As a result, the Government recommends schools should focus on fostering positive behaviour and helping students develop self-discipline and respect for the learning of others.

Communication between home and school is essential, and parents are encouraged to collaborate with school staff (referred to as "parental involvement). Minor incidents can be quickly resolved with an open and honest relationship. This strategy ensures that there’s effective learning in the classroom. Even while current educational practices show that parental involvement is widely supported by policymakers, it’s not always clear what this means in practice (Horner et al., (2009). Home involvement by parents can take several forms: talking to their children about school; helping them with their homework; and reading aloud to them. Attending school plays and sporting events, volunteering in the classroom, and participating in seminars are all instances of parental involvement in the classroom. Parents' involvement in their children's education has a favourable effect on their academic success, as well as on their attitude and behaviour. According to Agyekum (2021) parental involvement and support can have a positive impact on children's attitudes toward school, motivation levels, classroom behaviour, absences and self-esteem. High levels of motivation lead to increased pupil perseverance and cognitive processes leading to high performance.

According to Lee and Marlene Canter, assertive discipline reveal that the teacher controls their classroom in a firm but positive manner ensuring well behaved students have the right to learn in a classroom without distraction. Therefore, teacher behaviour modification approaches through sanctions are crucial to promoting positive student behaviour (Simeon & Nnaa, (2020). As part of the program, students are subjected to instructor inspections; bad behaviour is corrected, and a reward system is used in the classroom to promote adaptable behaviour. According to Simeon and Nnaa (2020), pupils will seek role models if they recognize good students and award them a trophy or prize. School administrators and instructors should encourage positive behaviour, which have been proved to be beneficial due to their ability to foster a safe and productive environment for students (Drezner, 2011).

Although reinforcement such as removing the child from the classroom suppresses a reaction, research shows that by not reinforcing this, leads to greater impact on permanently eradicating an unpleasant behaviour (Agyekum, 2021). Skinner's operant conditioning theories, sanctions and removing a child from the classroom are the two ways to reduce behaviour or response (Belisle et al., 2018). While both serve to reduce the behaviour, Skinner insisted that removing the child from the classroom has the greater impact because it’s the most permanent solution. The only way to prevent people from engaging in certain activities is to remove all associated benefits (positive reinforcement) (Agyekum, 2021). Reprimanding, on the other hand, can also be viewed as a short-term solution. Fear of being sanctioned causes students to freeze and often avoid studying but they will resume their studies once the fear is gone (Sturdy & Nicoladis, 2017). However, teachers would assume the children who freeze are not paying attention.

It appears that there’s not a single rule that can be used to guide a teacher when it comes to the usage of incentives and sanctions (Arifin & Humaedah, 2021) For example, while sanctions are useful in schools and promotes positive learning, sanctions can deter pupils from learning effectively. Therefore, there’s need for schools to review their sanction strategies and policies to ensure that they promote learning. Similarly, according to Arifin and Humaedah (2021) though motivational techniques are effective, they’re less successful over time because they’re not intrinsically linked to the learner and don’t serve to further the learner's long-term goals. According to (Ryan and Deci, 2020), motivation is a form of extrinsic motivation where individuals complete task or show certain behaviour, avoiding sanction or to receive awards. Therefore when motivating factor isn’t available, the behaviour changes and individual become demotivated. Therefore, intrinsic motivation where a person is moved to act for the fun or challenge entailed rather than because of external products is very significant for long term behaviour changes (Ryan and Deci, 2020). With intrinsic motivation, learning is promoted and performance is also increased for a long time.

Impact of Sanctions on Learning of Children at Primary School:

Sanctions have been proved to harm academic performance and school authorities are concerned about it (Costică, 2014). Sanctions make pupils nervous, especially while studying or teaching (Brzoska, 2015). Rather than acquire skills and knowledge that will help them flourish, children learn to please their teachers rather than help themselves (Brzoska, 2015). Furthermore, a student's motivation to learn is distorted by fear-based sanctions (Sadik, 2018). The fear caused by sanction makes learners lose concentration and create poor academic performance. This means that student performance will suffer if their school becomes an anxious environment, according to (Costică, 2014). When children receive sanctions, they link their fear to their action, the person who delivers it, and the environment. Teachers excessively incorporating this can lead to students losing interest in the subject and developing negative views about the teachers and classes they supervise; as a result, students get poor grades (Lawrent, 2012).

Moreover, a student's motivation to learn is distorted by fear-based punishment (Sadik, 2018). A loss of concentration and poor academic performance are common symptoms in students who have been subjected to physical or mental abuse. Student performance will suffer if their school becomes an anxious environment (Costică, 2014). Punishment-using teachers lead to students losing interest in the subject and developing negative views about the teachers and classes they supervise; as a result, the students get poor grades (Lawrent, 2012). This means that a students learning is negatively affected. Costică (2014) also reveal that sanction makes learners to simply please the teacher and not to acquire knowledge and skills for their own development thus negative impact to learning.

Learners with low self-esteem have less motivation to learn and often have less motivation to take risk and be innovative for fear of sanction. On the other hand, promotion of positive self-esteem promotes school success (Kaltenbach et al., 2018). Besides, students with low self-esteem are less engaged in learning and refuse to contribute anything throughout the learning and teaching processes (Kaltenbach et al., 2018). Therefore, sanctions affect a student’s ability to be involved actively in learning and personal development.

Students who are sufficiently conscious of their inadequacies can benefit from sanctions by helping them enhance their responsibilities and social skills (Ngussa and Mdalingwa, 2017). In the classroom and at school, sanctions can be considered as a preventative and reformer of misconduct since children who have experienced it will want to avoid misbehaving, learn good behaviour, and develop responsibilities in the long run (Kotera et al., 2021). Besides, students are less likely to engage in disruptive behaviour if they know that misbehaviour would result in punishment, according to (Ngussa and Mdalingwa 2017). In this aspect, sanctions appear to be an effective deterrent. The deterrent impact of sanction can be explained by Operant Conditioning theory which reveal that behaviour change are the result of an individual's response to events (stimuli) that occur in the environment (Black et al., 2021). The stimulus response is a belief that behaviour manifests due to interplay between stimulus and response. Therefore based on the operant conditioning, behaviour manifests due to perceived stimulus. Similarly, the conditioning theory seem to support the behaviourism theory which reveal that students learn from the environment and that inherited factors have very little influence on behaviour (Krishnamoorthy et al., 2021). Skinner's Radical Behaviourism, which rejects the use of internal events to explain behaviour, explains the influence of the environment on apparent conduct. When it comes to explaining activities, thoughts and feelings are involved.

According to a radical behaviourist (Skinner, 1954), learning is the transformation of behaviour as a result of experience. Experiential learning occurs when an organism's immediate environment is taught how to respond in a specific way. Experience and the link between diverse stimuli and certain responses, whether rewarding or not, teach new reactions. A teacher's role in education is to motivate pupils to develop their communication skills by providing suitable reinforcement. It is the teacher's role to establish an organized learning environment that is supported by the use of several senses and well-structured practices in the cognitive way of teaching. For example, when a learner observe fellow learner being rewarded from good behaviour, they might adopt such behaviour, therefore, the stimuli in learning the behaviour being the reward.

Personal Reflection:

This section of my essay will depict the importance of self-reflective analysis to breakdown the correlation from different viewpoints on how sanctions play a role in the learning of children. Brookfield proposes a reflective model of lenses that can be engaged by teachers in a process of critical reflection: (1) the students' eyes, (2) our colleagues' perception, (3) personal experience. These enhance a teacher’s practice and create conducive learning environments by self-reflecting on the teaching methods used (Brookfield, 1998). To meet confidentiality and ethical standards, I have picked the children and school which have remained anonymous.

Student eyes:

Sanctions are a method that can lead to a negative impact on a child’s learning due to its cause of demotivation. Ryan and Decis (2020) conclusions illustrate that a lack of motivation is a consequence of a sanction or, removal of receiving a reward. During an observation of an experienced practitioner in a year 3 classrooms, child A didn’t make a good attempt to complete their work so was sanctioned via being instructed to stay back during playtime to complete the Maths work. This led to his group of friends playing a game that he was not apart off causing him to feel left out. The next lesson was about Shakespeare which included group work. This is a subject where child A really excels and feels confident to share his ideas amongst his peers. However, in this instance it was visible to me that Child A felt disassociated from his group and didn’t work well with his classmates to contribute to the discussion. His body language changed to being reserved with his classmates as well as the teacher. This presents how child A had a negative impact on his learning from the use of sanctions.

Positive reinforcement refers to the impact achieved when a stimulus is provided as a condition for behaviour to be strengthened (Landrum & Kauffman, 2013). Contingent stimuli can be anything from a physical object (e.g., a sticker or certificate) to the desired activity. For example, in my school, we use ‘track it lights’. The Track it lights system can be used for positive reinforcement where it uses four colours green, amber, yellow and red. Green being the most positive and red being a Behaviour lead intervention. For instance, it was used to award a child Z a point for her effort and being on task. This was evident when my mentor awarded the point she started to smile and engaged herself in a lesson. This shows that this behaviour Management system can positively impact children’s learning. I observed that if teachers provide positive reinforcement the children will learn to perform the expected behaviour on their own by modelling what was done to gain the points. I think that the Track it Lights system has a positive impact on children however, it has limitations as it can be argued that it is not a fair system due to it not considering all aspects of children’s learning and doesn't work for everyone. It also slows down the pace of the lesson and can have a reverse effect on children that are usually well behaved. This is a strategy that can be used with sanctions to enhance the overall success on the children’s learning in the classroom.

Colleague’s perception:

After team teaching a lesson with my mentor at the end of the day, we had a discussion where we reflected on the sanctions that were used in the lesson and whether the learning was impacted positively. My mentor’s perspective enlightened me to have a better understanding on how negative reinforcement can be more effective to reduce sanctions and cause a more positive effect on the children’s focus to learn. After speaking to my mentor, he explained his reasoning behind his decision to reduce the set homework that was originally planned. He stated how the children in the class worked really well and achieved the learning outcomes set therefore; he decided to reduce the homework load over the holiday period. This was extremely successful as I witnessed the children completing more work than planned in class as their learning rate was significantly higher. By eliminating this potentially unpleasant task (homework) it boosted students' accuracy and productivity in their classwork which is an example of negative reinforcement taking place. However, not all homework is averse, and not all children dislike it, nor should it be regularly used as part of a management strategy (Kaplan, 2018). Negative reinforcement may be at play when students engage in disruptive or negative behaviour to avoid unpleasant tasks (Landrum & Kauffman, 2013). By removing the unpleasant task, the children refrain from acting out and showcase better behaviour. Furthermore, it will overall lead to possibly less sanctions for instance in our above example the children’s negative behaviour outbursts such as moaning and complaining about the homework workload will not take place that could have led to sanctions. This will allow more focus time in the lesson where the children will be more engaged and will not be deterred by the negative tasks that would have been on their mind. Thus, a reduction in the time to deliver sanctions and will cause positive extrinsic motivation and overall, more efficient learning in the lesson (Ryan and Deci 2020).

Personal experiences:

The classic examples of this were when I was teaching and Child K was talking too loudly and making irrelevant comments during the lesson. Whilst any off tasks comments that were made by the student I overlooked them to not give any attention to this negative behaviour. Additionally, I ensured students who made acceptable, task-related comments were praised to role model the behaviour that is expected from them and adheres to the schools behaviour policy. By overlooking those behaviours I experienced a decrease or disappearance of this negative behaviour which is in line with the conclusions in (Berg et al, 2011) work.

From my teaching experience, it's more common for students to struggle with the extinction of behaviours that their peers value (Landrum & Kauffman, 2013). To further emphasise the importance of the teacher’s response to this negative behaviour I observed that Child K would continue its theatrics and misbehaviour to draw the attention of his peers and the teacher. The conduct would have been likely to continue if child K gained the attention he was seeking. In this case, my decision to disregard the misconduct will lead to a reduction in similar future incidents occurring that would of resulted in sanctions. Teachers who use extinction must be prepared to exercise the same disregard of this behaviour in the foreseeable future. Removing the source of reinforcement will likely result in a drop in the frequency of a behaviour that has been reinforced somehow (Kaplan, 2018). Extinction is the phenomenon of behaviour’s rate of occurrence or frequency of occurrence decreasing when the incentive that has kept it running has been withdrawn; teachers can use exclusion as an effective management tactic, frequently referred to as intentional ignoring in psych-educational behavioural management texts. Negative behaviours which are reinforced can be reduced in the classroom via extinction (Kaplan, 2018).

Attention can be reinforced if I was to do something. In practice, extinction is often employed as part of a larger reinforcement strategy. As in differential reinforcement, reinforcement is offered in exchange for the desired reaction and is withheld when the desired response does not occur (Landrum & Kauffman, 2013). While off-task comments were overlooked in the previous examples.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, this essay has abled me to identify how the importance of using sanctions appropriately affects the learning of children in both a positive and negative manner. The positive affect is seen when children due to the fear of sanctions avoid this consequence by improving their behaviour and engagement in lesson resulting in a better attitude towards learning. Alternatively, my findings exposed the negative response that can be experienced by the use of sanctions where a child becomes demotivated. This is because if children feel they were not treated fairly they disengage and show a poor performance in the lesson.

The most significant finding that highlighted the underlying development of sanctions to affect the learning of children is best explained by the exploration of how sanctions can lead to extrinsic motivation for pupils and its impact on pupil’s learning.

According to the Behaviourist Theory, setting sanctions and managing human behaviour is referred to as conditioning. For example, through sanctions and managing behaviour, a teacher rewards certain learners or the whole class at the end of the week for good behaviour demonstrated throughout the week. This is an example of positive reinforcement, which promotes behaviour control (Nagowah & Nagowah, 2009). On the other hand, students can be sanctioned thus creating a negative reinforcement. A negative reinforcement result when an aversive stimulus is removed after a good behaviour is exhibited. Therefore, sanction involves presentation of aversive (Landrum & Kauffman, 2013).

Similar to negative reinforcement whereby sanctions include the removal of incentives, sanctions are also categorised into response cost punishment, which consists of a previously which earned reinforcement being removed depending upon the occurrence of a targeted undesirable behaviour (Walker et al, 2004). These kinds of sanctions along with ‘extinction’ measures (Kazdin, 1978) raise concerns about the effect of teachers becoming controlling and to behave in ways that the teacher chooses (Landrum and Kuffman 2013), rather than influencing the children’s learning and knowledge intake.

Moreover, Psychologists argue that sanctions alone are inefficient in reinforcing good behaviour in youngsters and instead advocates for positive reinforcement (Agyekum, 2021, Landrum and Kauffman 2013) rather than the use of retribution type approaches. This is due to the lack of motivation sanctions can cause.

This suggests that the impact of applying sanctions that require a reciprocal condition such as positive and negative reinforcement, is stimulus dependant and leads to conditioning pupils behaviour through a transaction methodology, rather than encouraging an inherent motivation for learning that would be sustained with or without the extrinsic motivating factors.

Overall, my research has changed my viewpoint on sanctions usage and my practice to now use sanctions as a last resort with a focus on using alternative strategies to motivate children or to be used alongside to have the most effective and efficient learning. I will continue to use sanctions to keep children on track during the lesson as it is an effective method where the fear of sanction causes children to meet their learning objectives. For example, from my above scenario of Child K who was sanctioned to missing playtime could have been dealt with differently from the start where by offering to reward them with free choosing time it would be a better alternative to motivate them to finish on time which will be more affective. This is due to the prolonged adverse effects by the sanction which disconnected the child from their learning for the entirety of the day. To summarise, sanctions are an important method that can have positive impacts on the children’s learning when used appropriately however, it does not have the same impact on all children so children will need to be sanctioned on a personal basis. On the other hand, based on my research and understanding of the reading I did for the research, I have come to the conclusion that being part of an all-inclusive school, it is the norm to sanction kids without showing leniency to merit the children’s different abilities when learning. I will implement form my research and findings different sanctions to meet children’s different needs and abilities whilst also taking into consideration the range of abilities and backgrounds of the children.

Continue your journey with our comprehensive guide to How can Educators Use Social Media App Clubhouse to enhance learning.