Conference:
ECER 2006
Format:
Paper
Session Information
Contribution
Description: International evaluation programmes like PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) and TiMMS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) (2003) report that there is much noise and disturbances in Norwegian classrooms. Actually, more than in any other country in the OECD-region. The research also reveals that Norwegian pupils often are left alone to work on their own. This corresponds to national Norwegian research also shows that many Norwegian classrooms are noisy.
It is common that Norwegian pupils attend the same school and the same class from they start school when they are six years old until they leave when they are 16 years old; from 1st to 10th grade. They often have the same teachers for many years. This paper deals with a class which showed an extremely bad behaviour during 5th and 6th grade. There was a lot of bullying, there were daily reports of episodes which involved many pupils. The pupils reported that they were unhappy with the situation. The teachers and the principle as well as the parents were desperately trying to solve the problems without succeeding. But gradually the situation changed, and when the same pupils attended the 10th grade, they reported a quite different situation. They learned a lot, they felt comfortable with their classmates and there was no more bullying.
The main aim of this study is to find out what the pupils themselves stress as the most important contributions to the change in their behaviour. The other question to be answered, is what the pupils consider to be the most important advices to give to new teachers and teacher students.
Methodology: The study was conducted by means of qualitative analysis. All pupils in the class were interviewed. The interviews were recorded and transcribed. The analysis focused on similarities and differences in the pupils opinions.
The pupils in the 10th grade were asked to describe their learning environment as they perceive it now, compared to four or five years ago. They were also asked what they perceived as the most important reasons for the changes they possibly had experienced. Further they were asked to describe their own role in the class and some questions connected to the previous bullying. The last question they were asked to answer, was what they considered to be the most important advices for new teachers and teacher students in front of a difficult class.
Conclusions: The pupils all agree that the main reason for their change in behaviour is due to their two new teachers. They experienced to be met without prejudice. They also experienced that in spite of all the years they had spent together, they did not actually know each other. They had obtained and played different roles which the new teachers provoked them to reveal. This gave the class, together with their new teachers a basis of confidence.
The pupils' first advice to a new teacher is to be "strict". But they also want the teacher to care for them, to listen to them and to know his subject well. Finally they advice the teacher to use his sense of humour and to be careful not to prejudice the pupils and the class.
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