Text 3: Dealing with children with aggressive
behavior patterns in early education
Pre-reading discussion
1 What are some challenges that teachers face when dealing with students?
2 Which professionals can help a teacher deal with challenging student
behavior? Who else can play a role in resolving student behavior problems?
Dealing with children with aggressive behavior patterns
in early education
1 Promoting children’s healthy social development – the establishment
of friendships and development of competence in social interaction – has
traditionally been a central purpose of early childhood education. This book
describes methods of support and intervention that teachers can use to help
create social inclusion in preschool and the primary grades. Principles and
approaches are shown through many illustrations based upon observations in
preschool and primary classrooms.
*
2 Young children may behave in aggressive ways for different reasons.
Expressive aggression is a term used to describe the aggression in which
children engage for the purpose of seeking sensory stimulation or release: the
child’s intention is not to cause harm, though harm may result. Instrumental
aggression is common in the preschool years. The child’s primary purpose
again is not to cause harm, but simply to get what he or she wants: a toy, a
turn, attention. Hostile aggression becomes more predominant in the primary
grades. Hostile aggression is carried out with the primary intention of causing
physical or emotional hurt.
3 When an individual child exhibits severe or persistent aggression
at school, educators have a responsibility to help that child learn more
Part 5: Th e teachers’ perspective | 195
acceptable behavior and at the same time have a responsibility to protect
the other children in the class and provide a psychologically safe classroom
environment. Children with high levels of aggressive behavior are at risk
of peer rejection. Early aggressive behavior is a strong predictor of later
antisocial behavior, violence, and serious adjustment problems.
4 Childhood aggression is difficult to treat. Virtually all intervention
programs that have been successful for early childhood aggression have been
those that include traditional behavior management practices, which often
involve directly instructing children in social skills and using intentional
alteration of social situations to influence behavior. Successful implementation
of these intervention programs and strategies requires the combined expertise
both of the general classroom teacher and of other professionals who
possess knowledge and skills in behavior analysis, prompting, and effective
use of reinforcement (such as a special education teacher or behavioral
psychologist), and will thus generally grow out of collaboration among a
team of professionals.
5 The example below is designed to illustrate how a teacher may initiate
collaboration and engage in reflection for the purpose of addressing the
social needs of a child entering a classroom mid-year. In this case, the teacher
is challenged to intervene quickly, knowing that a more comprehensive plan
for intervention will need to be worked out soon after, with the support of
colleagues.
[Re-read the text “Integrating a new student”: Part 3, Text 1]
6 This example illustrates some of the challenges involved in teacher
decision making in real-life situations. It would have been helpful if Mrs.
Bowen had known in advance that Javier would be joining her class. She
could have learned something about him, let him know something about her
and about the class he would be joining, and could have made plans with
his mother about facilitating his transition. Instead, Javier simply showed
up at her door one Monday morning at 8 a.m. with an office assistant who
announced: “This is Javier Sanchez. He will be in your class.”
7 In the real world of public elementary schools (and many private
programs as well), this unfortunately is often the way a teacher and a “new
child” are introduced. Mrs. Bowen knows virtually nothing about Javier at 8
a.m. By day’s end, she has tentatively surmised that he has difficulty sharing,
taking turns, and verbally communicating his needs. He uses physically
aggressive tactics in an effort to get his needs met. He likes power rangers. He
wants to engage other children. He seems angry, defensive, and scared. Mrs.
Bowen needs to know more about this little boy.
8 That evening Mrs. Bowen calls the Sanchez phone number three times
but gets no answer. Nonetheless, she knows that she needs to have a plan in
place by tomorrow morning: not a comprehensive plan, not the final plan,
196 | ENGLISH FOR STUDENTS OF PSYCHOLOGY AND EDUCATION
but a plan of action to help Javier during the next day, and a plan for how to
begin to create a larger intervention plan.
9 In this situation, Mrs. Bowen is faced with a serious dilemma. It will
take time to get to know Javier, observe his behavior with peers, and gain
the trust and cooperation of his mother. Mrs. Bowen, however, does not feel
that she has time: Javier physically hurt five children during his first day at
school. Though none was seriously injured, Mrs. Bowen noted that Javier’s
aggressiveness increased over the course of the day. She is concerned for the
physical and psychological safety of the other children in her class. She knows
that if Javier’s reputation as an aggressor is allowed to solidify in the next
couple of days, it will be difficult to overcome. Mrs. Bowen also recognizes
that there are a couple of children in the class who may be positively
“impressed” by physically aggressive behavior.
10 In thinking about tomorrow, Mrs. Bowen draws the following
conclusions. She needs to begin to establish a relationship of trust with Javier,
and needs to learn more about his interests and aptitudes so that she can build
upon them. In addition, she thinks that a system of tangible reinforcement
may help to curb Javier’s aggressive behavior in the short term and enable
him to have at least a couple of successful experiences with peers.
11 Mrs. Bowen picks up the phone at 9 p.m. and calls Mrs. Janowitz, the
school’s behavior specialist. She quickly describes Javier and the day’s events,
and her own thinking about how to approach tomorrow. Together, they
sketch out a plan and agree to meet at 7:15 tomorrow morning to finalize
what they will do.
Kristen Mary Kemple (2004). Let’s Be Friends: Peer Competence
and Social Inclusion in Early Childhood Programs
(abridged and slightly adapted)
behavior patterns in early education
Pre-reading discussion
1 What are some challenges that teachers face when dealing with students?
2 Which professionals can help a teacher deal with challenging student
behavior? Who else can play a role in resolving student behavior problems?
Dealing with children with aggressive behavior patterns
in early education
1 Promoting children’s healthy social development – the establishment
of friendships and development of competence in social interaction – has
traditionally been a central purpose of early childhood education. This book
describes methods of support and intervention that teachers can use to help
create social inclusion in preschool and the primary grades. Principles and
approaches are shown through many illustrations based upon observations in
preschool and primary classrooms.
*
2 Young children may behave in aggressive ways for different reasons.
Expressive aggression is a term used to describe the aggression in which
children engage for the purpose of seeking sensory stimulation or release: the
child’s intention is not to cause harm, though harm may result. Instrumental
aggression is common in the preschool years. The child’s primary purpose
again is not to cause harm, but simply to get what he or she wants: a toy, a
turn, attention. Hostile aggression becomes more predominant in the primary
grades. Hostile aggression is carried out with the primary intention of causing
physical or emotional hurt.
3 When an individual child exhibits severe or persistent aggression
at school, educators have a responsibility to help that child learn more
Part 5: Th e teachers’ perspective | 195
acceptable behavior and at the same time have a responsibility to protect
the other children in the class and provide a psychologically safe classroom
environment. Children with high levels of aggressive behavior are at risk
of peer rejection. Early aggressive behavior is a strong predictor of later
antisocial behavior, violence, and serious adjustment problems.
4 Childhood aggression is difficult to treat. Virtually all intervention
programs that have been successful for early childhood aggression have been
those that include traditional behavior management practices, which often
involve directly instructing children in social skills and using intentional
alteration of social situations to influence behavior. Successful implementation
of these intervention programs and strategies requires the combined expertise
both of the general classroom teacher and of other professionals who
possess knowledge and skills in behavior analysis, prompting, and effective
use of reinforcement (such as a special education teacher or behavioral
psychologist), and will thus generally grow out of collaboration among a
team of professionals.
5 The example below is designed to illustrate how a teacher may initiate
collaboration and engage in reflection for the purpose of addressing the
social needs of a child entering a classroom mid-year. In this case, the teacher
is challenged to intervene quickly, knowing that a more comprehensive plan
for intervention will need to be worked out soon after, with the support of
colleagues.
[Re-read the text “Integrating a new student”: Part 3, Text 1]
6 This example illustrates some of the challenges involved in teacher
decision making in real-life situations. It would have been helpful if Mrs.
Bowen had known in advance that Javier would be joining her class. She
could have learned something about him, let him know something about her
and about the class he would be joining, and could have made plans with
his mother about facilitating his transition. Instead, Javier simply showed
up at her door one Monday morning at 8 a.m. with an office assistant who
announced: “This is Javier Sanchez. He will be in your class.”
7 In the real world of public elementary schools (and many private
programs as well), this unfortunately is often the way a teacher and a “new
child” are introduced. Mrs. Bowen knows virtually nothing about Javier at 8
a.m. By day’s end, she has tentatively surmised that he has difficulty sharing,
taking turns, and verbally communicating his needs. He uses physically
aggressive tactics in an effort to get his needs met. He likes power rangers. He
wants to engage other children. He seems angry, defensive, and scared. Mrs.
Bowen needs to know more about this little boy.
8 That evening Mrs. Bowen calls the Sanchez phone number three times
but gets no answer. Nonetheless, she knows that she needs to have a plan in
place by tomorrow morning: not a comprehensive plan, not the final plan,
196 | ENGLISH FOR STUDENTS OF PSYCHOLOGY AND EDUCATION
but a plan of action to help Javier during the next day, and a plan for how to
begin to create a larger intervention plan.
9 In this situation, Mrs. Bowen is faced with a serious dilemma. It will
take time to get to know Javier, observe his behavior with peers, and gain
the trust and cooperation of his mother. Mrs. Bowen, however, does not feel
that she has time: Javier physically hurt five children during his first day at
school. Though none was seriously injured, Mrs. Bowen noted that Javier’s
aggressiveness increased over the course of the day. She is concerned for the
physical and psychological safety of the other children in her class. She knows
that if Javier’s reputation as an aggressor is allowed to solidify in the next
couple of days, it will be difficult to overcome. Mrs. Bowen also recognizes
that there are a couple of children in the class who may be positively
“impressed” by physically aggressive behavior.
10 In thinking about tomorrow, Mrs. Bowen draws the following
conclusions. She needs to begin to establish a relationship of trust with Javier,
and needs to learn more about his interests and aptitudes so that she can build
upon them. In addition, she thinks that a system of tangible reinforcement
may help to curb Javier’s aggressive behavior in the short term and enable
him to have at least a couple of successful experiences with peers.
11 Mrs. Bowen picks up the phone at 9 p.m. and calls Mrs. Janowitz, the
school’s behavior specialist. She quickly describes Javier and the day’s events,
and her own thinking about how to approach tomorrow. Together, they
sketch out a plan and agree to meet at 7:15 tomorrow morning to finalize
what they will do.
Kristen Mary Kemple (2004). Let’s Be Friends: Peer Competence
and Social Inclusion in Early Childhood Programs
(abridged and slightly adapted)
Last modified: Sunday, 15 March 2020, 11:27 PM