Factors Affecting Classroom Discipline of Grade 5 Pupils: An Observational Study

I. Abstract

This basic research employed the descriptive observational design in

determining the prevailing discipline of the grade 5 pupils, and involved all of the

32 Grade 5 pupils of the teacher researcher composed of 14 boys and 18 girls.

The primary instrument for data collection was the observation checklist of

common misbehaviors of the pupils. The anecdotal records of the pupils was also

used as secondary data gathering tool.

Among the identified misbehaviors, rank 1 is Nakikipagkwentuhan habang

may klase. When the teacher-researcher is discussing the lessons, many pupils

tend to start conversations with their seatmates. Rank 2 is Malikot sa klase at

malimit na tumatayo o palakad-lakad habang may leksiyon. Many pupils display

naughtiness or playfulness in class even when the teacher is discussing the

lesson, and more frequently when they are given activities. These pupils show

signs of hyperactivity which at times disrupt the on-going activities. Rank 3 is

Naglalaro o gumuguhit ng mga larawan sa papel imbes na makinig sa guro.

Many pupils tend to doodle on their notebooks or play games in secret while the

teacher is talking in front.

With this research as basis, the researcher will be formally proposing the

Project BREAD or Behavioral Reinforcement to Encourage and Appreciate

Discipline, which is a system of behavioral modification and reinforcement

gestures and activities that the teacher performs to encourage good classroom

behavior among pupils. The project also intensifies home visits and dialogs with

the pupils’ parents as an intervention to address classroom misbehaviors,

habitual tardiness and truancy

II. Acknowledgement

The researcher expresses her sincerest gratitude to the following who helped

her in the conduct of this action research:

Her school head, for the approval and encouragement in the conduct of this

research,

Her pupils, for the willingness to be part of the study,

The parents, for their consent in allowing the pupils to be involved in the

research,

Her kids, who are her inspiration in life

Her husband, who is always supportive of her, especially in pursuing

professional growth, and

The Almighty Father, for the grace of wisdom and strength to persevere

amidst the challenges in the practice of her profession, and in life in general.

III. Introduction of the Research

The task of providing quality education to all children of the world entails

many problems and contributory factors in and out of school. Reports of

problematic behaviors are on the rise not only in the classroom but in society.

Students engage in problematic behaviors because of health problems, personal

or family problems, adjustment or developmental issues (e.g., “immaturity” or

self-esteem issues), or general academic difficulties. These factors are not

controllable, but teachers who feel those are issues are at play can certainly refer

students to the appropriate support services on campus. Many problems in any

school system are student related and that the immediate source of discipline is

the faculty. Since teachers are in constant contact with students, they are

primarily involved in the task of implementing the school policies and rules and

regulations inside, and to an extent, even outside the school premises.

 The Supreme Court of Florida demands that:

“As to mental training, moral and physical discipline and welfare of

the public, college authorities stand in loco parents and their
discretion may make any regulations for their government which a
parent could make for the same purposes so long as such
regulations do not violate divine or human laws...”

It has to be stressed that disciplining students does not take the nature of a

punishment, this should be clear to students, teachers and school heads alike.

There are penalties and sanctions that are embodied in schools for violations of

the policies, rules and regulation set by the school but they are not punishments.

Moreover, the purpose of imposing discipline in school is to make the students

realize that there are norms for conduct in every learning institution. With

discipline inside the school starting in the classroom, quality education can be

achieved.

Article XIV, Sec 3 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution states that:

“All educational institutions shall inculcate patriotism and

Nationalism, foster love of the humanity, respect for human right,
appreciation of the role of national heroes in historical
development of the country, teach the rights and duties of
citizenry, struggle ethical and spiritual values develop moral
character and personal discipline, encourage critical and creative
thinking, broaden scientific and technological knowledge and
promote vocational efficiency.”

This broad mandate requires the government to promulgate implementing

laws, policies and programs toward the realization of this constitutional provision.

Part of the mandate is the development of moral character and personal

discipline among learners. Likewise, the Department of Education (DepEd) in its

jurisdiction has disseminated pertinent administrative issuances directing schools

to pursue their educational purposes.

 With the implementation, and in many cases, misinterpretation of DepEd

Order No. 40 s. 2012, known as the “Policy and Guidelines on Protecting

Children in School from Abuse, Violence, Exploitation, Discrimination, Bullying

and Other Forms of Abuse”, and other relevant mandates, teachers have

become cautious and disinclined to impose strict disciplinary measures in

classrooms for fear of legal complaints. A handful of cases were already

interpreted as extortions, where parents and relatives go after monetary

arrangements to settle “child abuse” complaints. More than ever, behavior

problems in school interfere with learning — for all students in the classroom.

Children’s impulsivity, aggression, inattention, or hyperactivity gets them in

trouble with the teacher and classmates.

In order to achieve effective and productive teaching-learning process, the

teacher should consider his or her classroom management style as one of the

vital factors to be given extra attention. Premised on the given ideas and insights,

the researcher is motivated to conduct an investigation to assess the classroom

discipline of her Grade 5 pupils.

IV. Literature Review

Students will misbehave in class. Teachers must anticipate the misbehaviors

of pupils and have an array of strategies to react to and address them. The

efforts for ideal daily learning logs or lesson plans go to waste when students

become disruptive in class. Teachers must be effective not only in lesson delivery

but also in managing a class of individually unique learners who are

psychologically expected to display disruptive behaviors.

Good and Brophy (2002) defined Classroom management as a

term teachers use to describe the process of ensuring that classroom lessons run

smoothly despite disruptive behavior by students. The term also implies the

prevention of disruptive behavior. It encompasses the administration or direction

of activities with special reference to such problems as discipline, democratic

techniques, use and care of supplies and reference materials, the physical

features of the classroom, general house-keeping, and the social relationships of

learners.

According to Adeyemo (2012) “Good classroom management can help to

ensure protection of students from physical attacks by other students, dangerous

environmental conditions such as playing around electrical equipment, and from

psychological abuse from peers or adults”. It is therefore imperative that

classroom teachers make use of a classroom management style that is most

effective for a particular class.

Stoughton (2007) asserted that to avoid discipline problems, teachers need to

acquire and employ classroom management strategies. These management

strategies should cater to the individual students. A teacher should therefore

continue to update himself not only with teaching strategies, but also

management strategies to be used inside the classroom to address different

class groups and the individual students.

It is important to understand there are many contextual factors that influence

student behavior. At the classroom level, teachers make many decisions that

impact on student behavior. For example, decisions about the physical layout of

the classroom routines, class content and teacher actions all affect student

behavior. At the school level, staff beliefs about children can strongly guide what

is considered “acceptable” ways of treating students. The school policies, the

community and the architecture of the school can all impact on student behavior.
These factors may adversely influence a child to act or react contradictory to

what is conventionally described as good behavior.

Rogel (2012) stated in her paper that a classroom teacher should be alert to

catch the distinguishable behaviors after displayed by the pupils such as acts of

aggression namely: noisiness, teasing, unnecessary talking, quarrelling,

disorderliness, outbursts, being domineering, critical of others, resentful of

criticism; acts of delinquency such as being untruthful, destructiveness, cutting

classes, taking articles that belong to others, and disobedience; withdrawing

behavior consisting of shyness, neglect of school work, unsociable behaviors;

non-compliant behaviors such as untidiness and ignoring simple school rules.

Kelly (n.d.) stressed that teachers might not be able to stop all forms of

misbehavior before they start, however, they have complete control over their

own reactions to student behavioral issues. Teachers must therefore choose their

responses wisely, making sure that they are appropriate and logical. The old

adage, "the punishment must fit the crime," is especially true in a classroom

setting. Students will learn less the teacher chooses something illogical, than if

her response directly relates to the situation, or they might miss out on important

information being taught in class that day. It is therefore critical for the classroom

teacher to adopt a classroom management approach that she deems most

appropriate for her class.

Katipunan (2000) explained in his book the purpose of imposing discipline in

schools is to make them realize that there is a norm of conduct in every learning

situation. Personal discipline in a democracy demands self-respect, self-direction,

and self-control. Students should be assisted in earning experiences for social

living. The problems of young children are rooted in the home and their

immediate environment.

Imposing discipline helps children learn how to behave – as well as how not

to behave. Discipline works best when it’s firm but fair and when the teacher has

a warm and loving relationship with the children. Discipline does not necessarily

mean punishment. Punishment by itself does not guide children towards what

they should do – it teaches children only what they should not do. Punishment

does not mean physical punishment. Physical punishments only hurt children but

do not teach them how to behave.

Henry (2002) asserted in his article that effective teachers continue to

reinforce positive behaviors and attitudes and introduce new procedures and

management strategies to further strengthen a well-organized classroom setting.

Children need to be taught so that they understand and follow social rules. But it

is not necessary, and can be quite damaging, to hit and otherwise abuse a

student. Evidence shows that girls and boys respond better to positive

approaches including negotiation and systems of rewards, rather than

punishment through verbal, physical, or emotional abuse.

There is no simple resolution for problematic behavior, and it is not possible

to apply a blanket approach to all circumstances. This makes discipline in

schools very complex. Schools obviously need to be engaging and safe for

students to learn. However, there is often a great focus on what happens in the

classroom. This means teachers are often left to work with students in isolation

and manage student behavior issues by themselves.

 When an issue becomes difficult to manage, the school is often left with little

choice but to remove the offending student from the learning environment. A

more helpful and sustainable approach is for all the teachers who teach a specific

student who is misbehaving or disengaged to discuss the best ways to approach

the issue. The means that teachers are working together, rather than being left

alone to deal with a problem that they are struggling to manage. This paper could

hopefully be of help in addressing the behavior problems of Grade 5 pupils in

Rawis Elementary School.

V. Research Questions

This paper seeks to assess the discipline of her Grade 5 pupils and

specifically answer the following questions:

1. What are the common misbehaviors of the grade 5 pupils?

2. What controllable factors trigger these misbehaviors?

3. What intervention or project may be proposed to address the issue?

VI. Scope and Limitation

This research will only focus on determining the general or established

discipline of the grade 5 pupils the teacher researcher is handling. This will

identify the common misbehaviors of the pupils, as well as the controllable factors

on which the teacher can work to address the issue.

This study does not involve pupils from other grade levels. The behaviors of

the pupils outside the classroom are no longer a point for discussion in this

paper. Furthermore, the manipulation of identified controllable factors and the

extent of their effectiveness are no longer discussed in this study which only

aimed at identifying disciplinary problems as basis of intervention.

VII. Research Methodology

This basic research takes the descriptive observational design in

determining the prevailing discipline of the grade 5 pupils.

a. Sampling

This study involves all of the 32 Grade 5 pupils of the teacher researcher

composed of 14 boys and 18 girls.

b. Data Collection

The primary instrument for data collection is the observation checklist of

common misbehaviors of the pupils. The anecdotal records of the pupils will

also be used as secondary data gathering tool.

VIII. Discussion of Results and Recommendations

The following findings are revealed by the data gathering conducted by the

researcher:

Misbehaviors/Disciplinary Problems f r
Naglalaro o gumuguhit ng mga larawan sa papel imbes na
makinig sa guro. 28 3
Hindi gumagamit ng po at opo kapag kinakausap ang guro at
mga bisitang
nkatatanda. 19 6
Sumisigaw at nag-iingay sa klase. 18 7
Nakikipag-away sa kamag-aral. 2 13
Malimit lumabas ng silid-aralan. 26 5
Lumalabas sa klase ng hindi nagpapaalam sa guro. 1 15
Nangunguha ng pagkain at gamit ng kapwa mag-aaral. 2 13
Madalas nahuhuli sa klase. 17 9
Madalas lumiliban sa klase. 18 7
Nakikipagkwentuhan habang may klase. 32 1
Nagmumura kapag nagagalit o nakikipag-usap sa kamag-aral. 0 17
Sumasagot ng pabalang sa guro. 0 17
Naninira ng gamit ng kamag-aral at paaralan. 1 15
Nagsusulat sa mga upuan, mesa at dingding ng silid-aralan. 0 17
Nagsisinungaling kapag kinakausap. 0 17
Malikot sa klase at malimit na tumatayo o palakad-lakad habang
may leksiyon. 30 2
Hindi sumasagot sa mga gawaing ibinigay ng guro. 27 4
Nambubully ng kamag-aral. 13 11
Nagkakalat sa loob ng silid-aralan. 15 10
Tumatakas o umiiwas sa mga gawaing binigay ng guro. 3 12
 Among the identified misbehaviors, rank 1 is Nakikipagkwentuhan habang

may klase. When the teacher-researcher is discussing the lessons, many pupils

tend to start conversations with their seatmates. Rank 2 is Malikot sa klase at

malimit na tumatayo o palakad-lakad habang may leksiyon. Many pupils display

naughtiness or playfulness in class even when the teacher is discussing the

lesson, and more frequently when they are given activities. These pupils show

signs of hyperactivity which at times disrupt the on-going activities. Rank 3 is

Naglalaro o gumuguhit ng mga larawan sa papel imbes na makinig sa guro.

Many pupils tend to doodle on their notebooks or play games in secret while the

teacher is talking in front.

On the other end, Nagmumura kapag nagagalit o nakikipag-usap sa kamag-

aral, Sumasagot ng pabalang sa guro, Nagsusulat sa mga upuan, mesa at

dingding ng silid-aralan, and Nagsisinungaling kapag kinakausap, whihc may be

oncsidered grave misbehaviors or misconducts, have not been observed among

the pupils.

Katipunan explained in his book that the purpose of imposing discipline in

schools is to make students realize that there is a norm of conduct in every

learning institution. Personal discipline in a democracy demands self-respect,

self-direction, and self-control. Students should be assisted in learning

experiences for social living. The problems of young children are rooted in the

home and their immediate environment.

With several factors contributory or influencing the pupils misbehaviors,

only two are within the control of the teacher-researcher; teaching strategies and

classroom structure. The researcher tried implementing various strategies in

teaching which somehow made them more interested in the lessons and

activities and lessened the frequency of the identified misbehaviors. The teacher-

researcher also tried changing the seating arrangement of the pupils. The

researcher do not have control of other factors like the class schedule and the

reasons why the pupils get late or commit absences from class.

Idaosos stressed in his work that the key to discipline is composed of

three fundamental factors: 1) consistency in the implementation of rules and

regulations and the disciplinary actions taken for violations; 2) fairness in the

administration of rules and consequences of breaking them; and 3) the

understanding of human nature which entails knowledge of both educational and

developmental psychology.

Based on the findings of the study, the researcher has initiated the

implementation of an intervention to reinforce discipline and encourage good

behavior among pupils. With this research as basis, the researcher will be

formally proposing the Project BREAD or Behavioral Reinforcement to

Encourage and Appreciate Discipline, which is a system of behavioral

modification and reinforcement gestures and activities that the teacher performs

to encourage good classroom behavior among pupils. The project also intensifies

home visits and dialogs with the pupils’ parents as an intervention to address

classroom misbehaviors, habitual tardiness and truancy.

Detera stated in her work that one strategy in classroom management is

the provision of instructional materials that can draw and sustain the interests of

learners. The management of a classroom includes control of physical conditions

as well as the materials of instruction. Some factors, though, are not within the

teacher’s control e.g. the size of the room and the location of the building, but an
 ingenious teacher can make the dullest room in the building attractive, cozy and

comfortable, subject of course, to the facilities available to him and within his

capabilities, and the type of students to be housed.

IX. Financial Report

Particulars Amount
Reproduction of checklist 50.00
Total P50.00
Source: personal

X. References

Adeyemo, S. A. (2012). The relationship between effective classroom

management and students’ academic achievement. European Journal of
Educational Studies, 4, 367–381.) (p. 374).

Detera, Virginia., Classroom Climate as factor Correlate of Pupils’ Academic

Performance (Unpublished Dissertation, ACBSUI, 2003), p.22

Henry, Spencer. (2002). Practical Approach to Classroom Management and

Discipline. [Link]

[Link]
philippines/the-1987-constitution-of-the-republic-of-the-philippines-article-xiv/

Idaosos, Cesar., Discipline that Works, The Philippine Journal of education, Vol.
LXXX, No. 9, (February, 1997) p. 386

Katipunan, Rocio. Fundamentals of Guidance, Revised ed. (Manila: Rex

Bookstore: 2000)

Kelly, Melissa. (n.d.) Appropriate Consequences for Student Misbehavior

Kowalski. (2003). Retrieved from

[Link]

Logical Responses for Student Behavior Problems. Retrieved from

[Link]
No Child Left Behind (n.d.). Retrieved from [Link]
legislation

Order No. 40 s. 2012, known as the “Policy and Guidelines on Protecting

Children in School from Abuse, Violence, Exploitation, Discrimination, Bullying
and Other Forms of Abuse”
Rogel, Richelle I. (October, 2012) Academic Behavior and Performance of Third
Year Students of General Emilio Aguinaldo National High School, Division of
Cavite. Distance Education Open University System, Polytechnic University of
the Philippines

Save the Children. How to Research the Physical and Emotional Punishment of
Children. Bangkok: Southeast, East Asia and pacific Region, 2004.

School age behavior: what to expect. (n.d.) Retrieved from

[Link]
school-age-behaviour

Stoughton, E. H. (2007). “How will I get them to behave?”: Pre service teachers

reflect on classroom management. Teaching and Teacher Education, 23, 1024–
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T. Good & Brophy, J. (2002). Looking in classrooms, 9th edition. Boston: Allyn &

Bacon, 2002

Teachers shouldn’t have to manage behaviour issues by themselves – schools

need to support them. (n.d.) Retrieved from [Link]
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