Schools face many challenges today, and student behaviour is certainly one of them. One Western Australia school has made a conscious shift to rewarding positive behaviour and is seeing significant improvements in student conduct and classroom engagement.
Since implementing Positive Behaviour Learning at Australian Christian College Darling Downs, teachers have reported that students are more motivated, respectful and eager to participate in their lessons.
Deputy Principal Jade Baker says the atmosphere in classrooms has become more conducive to learning, with students embracing and exemplifying the school’s values of courage, humility, respect, integrity, self-control and trust in their interactions.
“We’re actually part of a national network of schools, so this gives us so many advantages that wouldn’t necessarily be available to smaller schools,” she told EducationDaily about the flow-on results that have happened since implementing the unique program.
“One of our Victorian schools actually pioneered the program and experienced really fantastic success, so we worked closely with them in our early stage of implementation.”
Baker says they know from all of the research into student and classroom behaviour that rewarding positive behaviour is a powerful motivator for all people – not just young people”.
“I know that I feel really encouraged when I’ve given praise or acknowledgement and our children really thrive on the same kind of affirmation,” she says.
“We also know that it’s really important to explicitly teach behaviours that we expect to see in students.”
Values-led behaviour creates kinder students
In the classrooms at Australian Christian College, Baker says this explicit teaching approach to rewarding positive behaviour involves having everyone in the school community – from the principal to school support staff and students – all having the same expectations of what positive interactions and behaviour look like in everywhere from the classroom to the playground, and the online space away from school.
“There’s been a definite distinction between before and after implementing the program,” Baker told EducationDaily, with students excited to be rewarded for positive behaviour and then encouraging their student peers to demonstrate positive behaviour too.
“They really enjoy getting their certificates and love being able to show parents their certificates, so it’s been really beneficial for staff and students,” she says.
“On a daily basis, we might observe a student helping out one of their friends with an academic task, or holding a door open for a teacher, or showing some of those really polite, respectful or encouraging behaviours that we love to see celebrated at school.”
