{"id":48633,"date":"2019-07-12T02:40:40","date_gmt":"2019-07-12T09:40:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/world.edu\/?p=48633"},"modified":"2019-07-12T02:40:40","modified_gmt":"2019-07-12T09:40:40","slug":"group-punishment-doesnt-fix-behaviour-it-just-makes-kids-hate-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/group-punishment-doesnt-fix-behaviour-it-just-makes-kids-hate-school\/","title":{"rendered":"Group punishment doesn\u2019t fix behaviour – it just makes kids hate school"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Classroom management is\u00a0consistently seen<\/a>\u00a0as a source of stress for beginning teachers. It\u2019s also one of the main\u00a0reasons cited<\/a>\u00a0for teachers leaving the profession.<\/p>\n

So, it\u2019s no surprise teachers try to use classroom management strategies that appear to be effective at changing problematic student behaviour.<\/p>\n

Group, or collective, punishment is one such approach. Collective punishment in schools is when a group of students, for example a whole class or a whole grade, is punished for the actions of a few.<\/p>\n

Common examples include minutes being taken off recess or lunch break if a class is noisy, or the whole school being banned from using the playground if it\u2019s too messy.<\/p>\n

While group punishment is used in Australian schools, it is unfair and unlikely to improve behaviour \u2013 so\u00a0why is it still acceptable<\/a>\u00a0in most education department policies?<\/p>\n

Why do people use collective punishment?<\/h4>\n

Collective punishment appears to be immediately effective in promoting compliance. For instance, making the whole grade pick up rubbish instead of having free time is likely to result in a clean yard, and probably less rubbish the next day.<\/p>\n

All punishments rely on the idea the experience imposed by the teacher will be unpleasant enough to condition the students to modify their behaviour in the future.<\/p>\n

Behaviourists first\u00a0used this technique<\/a>\u00a0successfully with rats and other animals in the 1960s. Behaviour modification strategies were then adopted into classrooms in various forms and are still used extensively today.<\/p>\n

As well as the idea of punishment modifying behaviour for individuals, collective punishment may be seen to be even more effective due to peer pressure. Collective punishments take some of the heavy lifting from the teacher and place it on the peers to impose social sanctions.<\/p>\n

No one likes the kid who takes away their lunchtime.<\/p>\n

Another reason teachers might use collective punishment is, ironically, to promote a\u00a0stronger sense of cohesion<\/a>\u00a0in the class. The idea is that by the whole group taking responsibility for each individual\u2019s actions, the group will be brought closer together.<\/p>\n

This is a\u00a0common strategy<\/a>\u00a0in sports and the military. In a classroom situation, the theory is that the whole class may bond and will accordingly act more responsibly in the future.<\/p>\n

Why is collective punishment a bad idea?<\/h4>\n

While we might see initial compliance from collective punishment, there are two main reasons why this strategy should be dropped. First, it\u2019s morally questionable and second, it\u2019s unlikely to produce more positive behaviour in the long run.<\/p>\n

The idea a group should be responsible for the actions of an individual is\u00a0fundamentally at odds<\/a>\u00a0with the theories of individual responsibility in western, liberal societies. Legally and morally, each individual has ownership for their own actions and must bear the consequences of those actions individually.<\/p>\n

On a more basic level, it is not fair or reasonable to punish one child for the actions of another. Both of these moral concerns would not be acceptable in wider society, so why would they be acceptable in a school environment?<\/p>\n

\n

Picked the kid up from school. Substitute shot him down in class and didn\u2019t let him read out his letter about collective punishment. So I took it to his principal after school, who said she thought it was a great letter and she\u2019d bring it to the substitute\u2019s attention pic.twitter.com\/zvFRTUT2wM<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Asher Wolf (@Asher_Wolf) June 12, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n