Reward the good and ignore the bad

Rewarding good conduct is a more effective way of reducing misbehaviour than punishing the miscreants. Ne research from the Institute of Education in London shows that punishment panders to misbehaving pupils by providing them with the attention they crave.

Recognising any form of behaviour, whether good or bad, increases the likelihood that it will be repeated.

The researchers said: "A better solution is to ignore poor behaviour where possible, and instead reward good ones. This will lead to their repetition, and bring about change."

They also point out that once children have been labelled "difficult", the label tends to stick. Then any misbehaviour by the "difficult child", however trivial, will be viewed seriously.

Mick Brookes, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said:" If there's trouble about, you automatically look for the usual suspects."

Source: The Times Educational Supplement, 18th April 2008

18th Apr 2008