June 2012
Featured in this insight: Education
Poll of UK teachers finds improvement in pupil behaviour: According to a new government study which surveyed 1,600 teachers in the UK, pupil behaviour has improved compared to four years ago.
A majority of three in four teachers (76%) now rate pupil behaviour as good or very good, representing a 6% rise when compared to research in 2008.
The survey, which was commissioned by the Department for Education, showed that many teachers are more positive about pupil behaviour, particularly in primary schools.
Some 91% of those polled said they praised pupils for good conduct and 82% said they used a reward system. Other popular methods of classroom control included displaying behaviour rules in the classroom (65%), using a seating plan (65%) and giving feedback to parents.
Nevertheless, a quarter of teachers still say behaviour of children at school is not good – 5% said it is poor or very poor in primary schools and this rose to 8% of teachers in secondary schools. A further three fifths said this is causing some teachers to quit.
The research also showed however that the majority (85%) of teachers said they felt well equipped to deal with unruly behaviour and half of those polled said appropriate training was available to teachers who struggled to manage difficult pupils.
Meanwhile, the government has introduced measures to deal with poorly behaved pupils, such as doing away with the 24-hour notice period for detentions and giving teachers more powers to search students.
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