Aggressive Children in the School Enviornment

Many children come to school with behavior problems that impede their learning and disrupt the learning of other children. As early as preschool as many as twenty-five percent of children demonstrate problematic behaviors which place them at risk for future negative school experiences (Conroy, Sutherland, Haydon, Stormont, Harmon, 2009). These children exhibit aggression, defiance, bullying of others, poor work habits, and acting out in class. Many teachers feel frustrated as they spend the majority of their classroom management time on the same few children each day. Researchers (Conroy, Sutherland, Haydon, Stormont, Harmon, 2009) suggest that around 70% of behavior management time is spent on the same 20% of student. Ratcliff. Jones, Costner, Savage-Davis, and Hunt (2010) found a pattern of student misbehavior followed by attempts to correct the behavior that failed, resulting in increased time and attention on misbehavior instead of instruction. Over the course of several years of negative interactions these students begin to see themselves as failures. Henricsson and Rydell (2004) have noted that self-perception is formed through interactions with others and the reduced number of positive interactions children with behavior problems experience put them at risk for low-self esteem. Henricsson and Rydell (2004) also note teacher criticism is associated with student stress, increased feelings of helplessness, and increased negative self-judgments.

Many children with severe behavior problems have significant emotional trauma, serious emotional losses, and deficits in social skills. These problems are often never officially diagnosed or professionally treated despite theeffects on the children. Kehel, Bray, and Theodore (2004...

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