Approaches to Reduce Bullying

Assertive Discipline

Much has been said about Assertive Discipline. Any search engine reveals a vast number of references to Assertive Discipline on the Internet. These include examples of good practice and discussions about the theory and practice of Assertive Discipline in schools around the world.

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Assertive Discipline was devised by Lee and Marlene Canter in the US in the 1970s. The style of that original programme was generally unpalatable for English audiences and it was not until the early 1990s when the whole concept and presentation of Assertive Discipline was revised that it became more widely used in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

Assertive Discipline has strong links with the Elton Report of 1989. Although some years old the Elton Report is as relevant today as it was in the late 1980s. The Elton Report undertook extensive research among teachers in primary and secondary schools and made substantial recommendations. Regrettably few were implemented at the time. The main findings of the Elton Report are worth reviewing but the most significant findings were that teachers were most concerned about the cumulative effect of disruption to their lessons caused by relatively trivial but persistent misbehaviour. It was these relatively trivial and persistent incidents that most concerned teachers because it made it harder for teachers to teach and pupils to learn. Among the most prevalent classroom behaviour that got in the way of teaching and learning were:

• Talking out of turn
• Avoiding work
• Hindering other children
• Making unnecessary noise
• Persistently breaking rules

The Elton Report went on to describe the characteristics of good teachers. Among the most important characteristics of a successful teacher were leadership, confidence and assertiveness. Such teachers were vigilant and responded decisively but calmly to off-task and potentially disruptive behaviour. Furthermore, good teachers understood that the only route to effective classroom management was the positive acknowledgement and open recognition of pupils who were acting in a way that supported effective teaching and learning. All of this is consistent with Assertive Discipline.

Assertive Discipline is not a series of techniques with the sole aim of controlling pupils. Nor is it a route to finding ever more punitive styles of management. It is a framework underpinned by a philosophy for the positive and successful management of pupils.

The essential focus of Assertive Discipline is that the core task of schools is teaching and learning. It seeks to maximise the time available for teaching and learning and emphasises that learning is more effective in a positive environment. Assertive Discipline promotes the view that this environment can be created by the teacher increasing his or her ability to influence and teach pupils to behave appropriately in spite of any beliefs that the teacher may hold about the nature of the pupils and their lives outside school.

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Assertive Discipline has core features

• Only positive recognition and the consistent use of high levels of praise for behaviour will motivate and teach pupils to behaviour more appropriately.
• It is the right and the responsibility of teachers to establish rules and routines in the classroom that clearly define the limits of acceptable pupil behaviour and to teach pupils to follow rules throughout the school day.

While Assertive Discipline emphasises that teachers in classroom have rights and responsibilities, it also emphasises the rights and responsibilities of pupils themselves. In the implementation of Assertive Discipline there is an emphasis on pupils making informed choices. It assumes that misbehaviour is an active choice by pupils and that if the consequences of their choice are fully understood and are explicit then it is the task of teachers to help pupils to make more appropriate choices. This emphasis on guiding choices of pupils helps teachers to feel less personally targeted and can be a significant reducer of teacher stress in classrooms.

There is ample evidence of the impact of Assertive Discipline. There is a great deal of research evidence as well as more anecdotal evidence from those schools who have successfully implemented Assertive Discipline. In Leicestershire there are a number of schools who are using a system based on Assertive Discipline. Some of these schools have run this programme for some years and have found that it builds a positive and forward looking ethos in the school where issues of behaviour and discipline become secondary to those of teaching and learning.

Assertive Discipline has been mentioned in many Ofsted Reports where it has invariably led to a significant improvement in classroom behaviour and achievement. It is also recommended in `Excellence in Schools` DFES 1997 and again in `Excellence for all Children` DFES 1997.

Courses in Assertive Discipline

All courses for schools in Assertive Discipline are or should be undertaken by registered and trained course leaders. Leicestershire`s Educational Psychology Service has a number of staff who are trained course leaders and who have substantial experience of presenting the programme to school staff. For enquiries telephone the Educational Psychology Service on 0116 284 5100. You can have an informal discussion or can ask for a preview for staff or governors to inform your thinking and planning.

Trevor Holme,
Principal Educational Psychologist.

('Guidance File on Behaviour Issues, Good Practice Guide' Leicestershire County Council, Education Department, pp.146-149).