Beginning secondary school teachers’ perceptions of pupil misbehaviour in Spain

Abstract

This study used a questionnaire to identify the perceptions of pupil misbehaviour held by a sample of 176 secondary school student teachers attending a one‐year initial teacher training course in Spain. The main factor accounting for secondary school pupils’ misbehaviour in lessons was reported to be ‘parents who do not instil pro‐school values in their children’. The most frequently reported form of misbehaviour in a typical secondary school lesson was reported to be ‘talking out of turn’. The most effective disciplinary strategy reported was ‘have a conversation with the pupil after the lesson’. The findings are broadly in line with similar research conducted in the UK, although there are some notable differences. In addition, over a quarter of the sample reported being ‘a bit confident’ or ‘not at all confident’ in ‘keeping pupils engaged’, and this figure rose to over a half of the sample in ‘dealing swiftly with misbehaviour’.