Student misbehaviour in secondary education: Greek teachers' views and attitudes

Abstract

The present paper examines Greek secondary education teachers' views on and attitudes towards in-classroom students' misbehaviour. Eight hundred and sixty-nine participants provided information, firstly, on the frequency and the forms of in-class misbehaviour incidents, secondly, on their beliefs about the origins of students' misbehaviour, and, thirdly, on the feelings they experience whenever they face behavioural problems in their classroom. Finally, they put forward their suggestions regarding ways of successfully addressing misbehaviour. The research showed that Greek teachers attribute misbehaviour mainly to students while they themselves, due to strict and inflexible curricula which underrate social and affective orientations of learning, are neither given specialized training on classroom management nor a free hand to establish relationships of trust and respect with their students.