{"id":2799,"date":"2014-09-17T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-09-16T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stonebridge-blog.positive-dedicated.net2\/teaching-assistants-and-education\/teaching-assistants-our-role-in-reducing-aggression-in-the-classroom-2"},"modified":"2020-11-26T12:25:20","modified_gmt":"2020-11-26T12:25:20","slug":"teaching-assistants-our-role-in-reducing-aggression-in-the-classroom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stonebridge.uk.com\/blog\/teaching-assistant\/teaching-assistants-our-role-in-reducing-aggression-in-the-classroom\/","title":{"rendered":"Teaching Assistants – Our role in reducing aggression in the classroom"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Guardian reports that in a recent poll of 1500 teachers by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL), more than half reported experiencing aggression from pupils and a quarter from parents and carers. In addition to verbal insults, threats and intimidation, the aggression often takes the form of pushing, shoving, kicking punching or even attacking with furniture.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Despite the Department for Education and Ofsted reports that behaviour is at least satisfactory in 99.7% of English schools, ATL general secretary, Mary Bousted, admits that . . .<\/p>\n

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\u201cPoor behaviour is now a daily reality for most staff.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Whilst some feel that the problem stems from poor teaching and inadequate discipline, the causes are actually far more complex and deep rooted.<\/p>\n

Bousted said:<\/p>\n

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 \u201cMany students have chaotic home lives that would cause most adults to lose their temper occasionally. As well as having to be experts in their own subject, teachers also need to be psychologists and behavioural experts.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In addition 80% of teachers taking part in the survey felt that:<\/p>\n

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\u201cPupil\u2019s behaviour had also been influenced negatively because \u2018society has become less respectful to people in front-line jobs\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

(Ward L 2014)<\/i><\/p>\n

The role of society in reducing child aggression <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

So how we as parents, or even as anonymous adults interact with others, sets an example or role model that in turn is moulding the way children and young people view those responsible for educating them. A sobering thought which should modify our interactions.<\/p>\n

Research conducted in the U.S. following levels of aggression in 4,179 children aged between 5 and 8 revealed 2 more factors which interact and interrelate with each other:,2.  the \u2018quality of classroom climate\u2019 specifically influenced by the teacher-pupil interactions.<\/p>\n

1.       <\/span>Combined level of aggression of classroom peers. It was found that being in a class with a large number of aggressive peers promotes aggression by presenting it as a social norm <\/b>\u2013 in this atmosphere, aggressive children are more likely to be accepted than rejected and actually model \u2018aggressive responding\u2019 therefore reinforcing this behaviour.<\/p>\n

2.       <\/span>The \u2018quality of classroom climate\u2019 specifically influenced by the teacher-pupil interactions. Teachers who worked hard to be sensitive and respond to pupil\u2019s needs and were \u2018positive and supportive in their interactions\u2019 helped to reduce pupil aggression<\/b> by modelling self-regulation and conflict management.<\/p>\n

Sadly the research revealed that positive classroom management was not enough to \u2018completely counteract the negative effects of a class containing many aggressive\u2019 pupils as the stronger factor amongst the children was the peer influence or \u2018contagion\u2019. (Thomas, D et al 2011)<\/p>\n

This research\u2019 supports psychologist Albert Bandura\u2019s Social Learning Theory. That is:<\/p>\n

Children learn social behaviour such as aggression through the process of observation learning – through watching the behaviour of another person.\u2019 <\/b><\/p>\n

He demonstrated this by his famous Bobo doll experiment in 1961:<\/b><\/p>\n

The Bobo Doll experiment <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Three sets of 24 children were shown individually into 1 of 3 different rooms with similar toys. <\/b><\/p>\n