In early childhood education, daily life becomes an instructional situation because its educational subject is "a child". Because of this, child behavior instruction is not limited to a certain situation or child and its instructional range is broad a...
In early childhood education, daily life becomes an instructional situation because its educational subject is "a child". Because of this, child behavior instruction is not limited to a certain situation or child and its instructional range is broad and varied. It is especially important that, in today's family organization, the importance and accountability of child behavior instruction is raised. At this time, for children's development of social skills and successful faculty of democratic society, the composition of both the learning environment and teacher's role that determines the atmosphere of classroom are important. So, to help a child grow as a member of society and develop positive behavioral habits, we need to better understand the role of the teacher, who determines the quality and direction of children’s behavioral instruction.
This research specifically investigates the teacher's instructional methods in molding child behaviors, and to examine the challenges faced by teachers of child behavior instruction to provide a foundation for examining the correct direction child behavior instruction should take.
For this research, I observed a teacher with two years’ teaching experience whose students are four-year-old Kindergarten attendees. The observations occurred from March to September 2007. I interviewed the teacher once or twice per week and reviewed and collected information from the teacher's journal. I then analyzed the outcomes of the collected data.
To begin, I considered how the teacher's educational content is developed, and the method by which child behavior instruction is accomplished. I observed that the teacher focuses on five areas of negative child behavior: interruption of group activities, inappropriate basic life habit, trouble with friends, dangerous situations, and violation of tacit rules. These five categorizations are further divided into two to five specific situations.
First, the interruption of group activities is divided into inattention and intrusion. Inattention occurred most often in group work; therefore, the teacher's instruction was mainly focused here. In this situation, the teacher indirectly tried to concentrate on the inattentive child by moving his or her seat or calling the child's name to insert it into the activity However, if these methods failed, the teacher’s attitude became strict; authoritative guidance consisting of ordering, scolding, and isolation were then utilized. However, in the second intrusion, the teacher ignored the child, but when the child's voice became too loud or the child repeatedly intruded, the turned to scolding or shouting at the children.
Inappropriate basic life habits, the second largest area in which guidance occurred, is divided into four situations: an unbalanced diet, bad table manners, poor tooth brushing, and running inside the classroom. To address the problem of unbalanced diet, the teacher used a helping guidance method. For poor table manners, the teacher constantly called out children who displaying poor manners or explained the right manners during the meal. The children brushed their teeth by themselves, and the teacher gently guided children who didn't brush their teeth. There is no direct guidance in tooth brushing except when there is trouble while the children are brushing. Lastly, guidance of children who run inside the classroom is the most actively utilized. In the beginning, the teacher require or just read aloud what the child did, but later, if the child didn't stop running, the teacher used strong methods of reprimand like shouting, isolation, or depriving the child of play time. Later on, the whole class discussed the situation and agreed on a rule that instead of running in the classroom, they would practice walking instead. Lastly, guidance in arrangement is accomplished mostly by asking or directly assigning arrangement parts to children. However, if the students didn't arrange themselves properly, the teacher shouted, scolded, or ordered.
Third, guidance of students having trouble with friends usually occurred when children used violence in social situations or trouble over the right of toy ownership. In trouble with ownership, the teacher gave the children an opportunity to solve the problem by themselves while playing the role of mediator to foster understanding between the children. If the trouble involved any type of violence or taking another child’s property, the teacher scolded the children more than at any other time and used deprivation of play opportunities from the children.
Fourth, guidance in dangerous situations is divided into dangerous behavior and playing soldiers. Dangerous behavior was usually not intended by the child; this time, the teacher directly instructed the child on how to change the behavior. However, if there was intention and it occurred repeatedly, the teacher let the child experience that situation in person. The playing soldier can be real fighting with children, and because of its violent characteristics, it is not harm to children, it is prohibited in the classroom. When the teacher observed children beginning to play aggressively, the teacher persuaded them children not to play soldiers not to play that way and explained the reasons why it was unacceptable. On subsequent occasions when it happened again, the teacher let them play again when they didn't play the playing soldier and sometimes the teacher isolate the children.
Lastly, behavioral guidance concerns the violation of tacit rules. There are two situations: one is to not move toys from place to place, and the other to not bring their own toys home. When these occurred, the teacher scolded, instructed, or explained why the rules were broken, and that the rules had not changed, if it happened again, the whole class talk it in public or the teacher confiscated the toy and gave stricter instructions for its use.
What makes behavioral guidance difficult for teachers? The difficulty experienced is affected by not only the guidance itself but by the surroundings that make guidance difficult. The difficulty encountered by the teacher observed in my study was categorized by the child's traits aspects, relational aspects, individual aspects, and physical environments.
First, the traits that Ms, Kim finds difficult to treat are divided into five areas: a child who display problems repeatedly, a child who disobeys the teacher's guidance, a child who displays radical behavioral changes, a child who is slow to change negative behavior, and a child who is not affectionate individually. Like children she thinks are difficult to treat, the teacher often mentioned in her journal or her interviews with me exposes more worry about her teaching direction and her own feelings toward the children.
The second aspect is divided into the teacher’s relationship with children, her relationship with the principal of the kindergarten, and her relationship with parents. Her relationships with the children are most affected by the teacher's behavioral guidance, which the teacher often mentioned. Ms. Kim constantly compares her relationships with this year's children to last year’s , and when she teaches, she more often uses a pressureless, strong guidance style that the teacher think it's injustice and tried to self control than last year's children. Because the teacher regrets and reflects on this but uses it again, and it makes her stressful, it becomes another difficulty for her to bear. On top of this, her relationship with the parents affects her curriculum development, and if there is any difference in opinion, the teacher seemed to be stricter when instructing children.
Third, the difficulty of individual aspects are divided into privacy, uncertain pedagogical faith, and stress from excessive work. Difficulty of individual aspects affects behavioral guidance both directly and indirectly, and makes behavioral guidance more difficult even if it is the same.
Finally, the difficulties she has with the physical environment include issues which affect the children's feelings and behaviors, like too large a classroom, and too much movement during activities which are led by guest lecturers. She pointed out that because the large classroom makes the children's voices too loud, it contributes to their inattentiveness; this forces her to instill especially strict guidance.
Several conclusions can be drawn from my research.
First, just after the behavior, the teacher's guidance is difference with early stage's guidance when the behavior is repeated.
Second, the guidances are limited to some kinds of specific guidances.
Third, there is lack of systematic plan of behavioral guidance.
Forth, in a situation, there are complex of guidances.
Fifth, the teacher have more difficulty in her overall life as a kindergarten teacher that the behavioral guidance itself.
Last sixth, there is no way to solve the problem ion behavioral guidance.
The research suggests some further researches according to the results.
First, research is needed that the child's reaction to the teacher's guidance, the reaction's alternation flowing, child's idea about the guidance.
Second research is needed not only difficulty of the teacher but also the alternation process of phase of teacher's behavioral guidance through effort to overcome the difficulty.
Last third, research is needed which conduct a research on teachers who have various carrier and various character.