Teacher and Students' Perceptions towards

Disruptive Behavior in Managing The Class at

College Level
 Abstract
The current research in education is focusing on exploring various reforming ideas
about classroom management. Therefore, dealing with disruptive and challenging
behavior in the classroom is of significant concern to teachers. The behaviors generally
identified in this research ,as of most concern to college teachers include non-
compliance ,not -listening ,poor concentration ,inattention ,constant talking with
classmates, disturbing others and arguing when reprimand and coming late is the most
frequent student misbehavior type reported by teachers, using cell phones in the class,
and preventing others from engaging in classroom activities. Teachers have also
identified students' lack of motivation and task avoidance as frequent misbehavior.
These behaviors can obviously interfere with lecture delivery and reduce student-
learning opportunities. Moreover, disruptive behaviors are common in higher education
classrooms. When they occur, teachers have options for dealing with each situation in
the process of teaching and learning. Ultimately, the preferred goals of the educators
and teachers are to end the distraction and to have the disruptive students continue
their civil participation and progress in class.
 Key words

Disruptive behavior definitions, Types and causes of disruptive

behavior, strategies to reduce disruptive behavior.
The Aim
The main purpose of this research is to make a comparison between
the perceptions of university teachers and students about the causes of
students’ disruptive behavior, and investigating the current practice of
behavior modification techniques in classroom by the university
teachers.
 The research Questions :

The goal was to find answers to the following questions about

the causes of disruptive classroom behavior:
• 1. What are the perceptions of university students about the
causes of disruptive behavior?
• 2. What are the perceptions of university teachers about the
causes of disruptive behavior?
• 3. Is there any difference between the perceptions of
teachers and students about the causes of students’ disruptive
behavior
What is meant by Disruptive Behavior ?
• Hernandez &Fister (2001) define disruptive behavior as being
intentionally rebellious, defiant, disrespectful or antagonistic in
nature. Meanwhile, (Clark 2008; Fledmann (2001) define classroom
disruptive behavior as any action that interferes with a harmonious
and cooperative learning atmosphere in the classroom. Nilson and
Jackson (2004) extent this definition to incorporate unacceptable
student behavior that may occur both inside and outside of the class.
 Types of Disruptive behavior:
Disruptive behaviors are widespread in higher education classrooms.
For Meyers (2032), Albert (2003) , and Scrivener (2012) disruptive
behavior implies learner behavior that impedes achievement of the
teacher’s purposes. Young (2003) climes that disruptive behavior is any
behavior that significantly and /or constantly interferes with the
learning process, the rights , safety and security of those in the
teaching-learning atmosphere .Thus, Scrivener(2012)and Young(2003)
classify disruptive behavior into five basic categories and low level of
disruptive behavior :
• 1- Behavior that interferes with the teaching and learning process (e.g. a learner
who distracts other learners during lesson time, who rejects to follow directions,
or demonstrates aggressive behavior .
• 2- Behavior that interferes with the rights of other learners to involve into the
process of learning (e.g. a learner who continually talks out while the teacher is
presenting the lesson.
• 3- Behavior that is psychologically or physically is insecure (e.g. bending on the
back legs of a chair, unsafe use of tools or class equipment, threats to other
learners, and steady abusing and harassment of classmates .
• 4- Behavior that causes the destruction of property (e.g. vandalism in the classroo.
• 5- Behavior that causes inappropriate atmosphere for learning by using mobile
phone and music player in class.
Causes of Student’ Disruptive Behavior
• Clayton(2000)and Marzano et al.(2003) Anderson (1991) clime that ,
although disruptive, rude, and troublesome behavior has become
increasingly prevalent in the college classroom, knowledge of the
causes of inappropriate behavior is important for changing it into
appropriate one.
• According to Seidman (2005) large classes lead to misbehavior .Thus,
effective classroom teachers can respond appropriately to
misbehavior if they understand why students misbehave. He also
affirms that students may disturb the classroom because they
disagree with something said or done by the teacher or another
student during the class.
• According to Cruickshank, Jenkins, and Metcalf (2012) there are
three causes of disruptive behavior
• physical problems
• emotional challenges, and
• environmental factors.
Strategies to reduce Students’ Disruptive
Behavior
• Using Intervention in the Classroom
• 1- Proactive (antecedent ) strategies .
• 2- “ planned ignoring” is a type of extinction strategies.
• 3- mild desists
• 4- , Scrivener (2012) climes that subtle verbal desists are also effective,
which teachers show their speaking rate, pronouncing things more
distinctly, speaking more softly, or pausing briefly and looking around are
all nonintrusive ways of conveying to students that they need to adjust
their behavior.
• 5-
• Gable et al. (2009), refer to two other types of strategy that are
reprimands and time-out. Hence, Verbal reprimands such as ‘Stop
Talking NOW’ are widely used in classrooms by teachers for not
listening, breaking class rules, or making noise. Thus, verbal
reprimands usually bring about an immediate change in behavior, but
the change is temporary. Although they seem effective, reprimands
give the misbehaving student attention “Time-out on the other hand,
refers to more serious misbehavior.
 Methodology
• Sample:
• The real sample of the present research are university teachers and senior
students at different departments such as; English, Mathematics, General
Science, Social Science, and Kurdish departments in the College of Basic
Education /Salahaddin University. As it is assumed that university teachers
and students can provide the most reliable information about the causes
of disruptive classroom behavior as they have a direct relation with the
aspect of classroom disruption and student's disruptive behaviors inside
the classroom. Also, university teachers are directly concerned with the
use of behavior modification strategies in classroom, in this respect, 50
teachers and 100 students have been selected randomly.
 The Instrument of the Research
• The Instrument of the Research Two different questionnaires are used
as a research tool to find out the causes of students’ disruptive
behavior. The first one is for students that includes 39 items. The
other one, is for university teachers, which consists of two parts; the
first part is a questionnaire about the causes of disruptive classroom
behavior, it contains 29 items, and the second part is a questionnaire
about behavior modification strategies in classroom by the teachers
which includes 17 items. Both questionnaires are simplified with
reference to its language and content, and developed in five point
Likert type format. It is categorized as; always 5, often4, sometimes 3,
rarely 2, and never 1 respectively
 Results
Statistical Package for Social Sciences SPSS was used for the analysis of the
collected data respectively. Statistically, the below three tables display the
frequency, mean, and st.deviation in each item. The results represent that
the students’ questionnaire which included 39 items, and was given to 100
students for knowing students’ perceptions regarding classroom disruptive
behavior, the mean is 3.133333, this output is positively acknowledged
and the std.deviation is 1.045538462, so the data are widely spread
around the mean, and the concentration is weak. On the contrary, table
(3) which reveals teachers’ perceptions about classroom disruptive
behavior, contained 29 items, and was handed out to 50 lecturers,
represents that mean is 2.602759, this output is negatively acknowledged
• and the std.deviation is 0.8922759 so the data are slightly spread
around the mean, and the attitudes are somehow far from each
other. The last table which is about the statistics of university
teachers' attitude in using behavior modification strategies in the
classroom, the mean is 3.26,this output is positively acknowledged
and the std.deviation is 1.012375, so the data are widely spread
around the mean, and the concentration is weak
3.5

2.5

1.5

0.5