Browsing by Subject "käyttäytymisen haasteet"

The goal of this thesis is to examine how teacher define challenging behavior and their causal attributions for the challenging behavior. Previous research has shown that teachers tend to describe challenging behavior more as externalizing behavior problems (aggression and hyperactivity). The behavior is often attributed to causes from students’ inner reasons and family. The research was done as a qualitative study based on interviewing seven class teachers working in schools in Helsinki. The interviews were carried out via the web application Zoom. The first research question was analyzed by inductive content analysis and in the second research question by deductive content analysis based on Weiner’s (1986) attribution theory. The study found that teachers described challenging behavior, as in previous studies, with features from external behavior challenges. The participants described challenging behavior broadly, and it was divided into four categories: challenging authority, disturbing others, physical violence, and emotional uncontrollability.Causes of challenging behavior were mainly attributed to factors from students’ families or the student. Teachers reported the causes of challenging behavior in five broad categories: lack of boundaries, attention-seeking, challenges of learning and attentiveness, emotional and interaction skills, and the teacher. Only one interviewee considered the teacher to be the main reason for student’s challenging behavior. Teachers should be aware of their perceptions of the causes of students’ challenging behavior. When a teacher attributes challenging behavior to external, unstable, and controllable factors, such as their own teaching, the teacher believes that their own actions can affect student behavior. On the other hand, if the challenging behavior is attributed to internal, stable, uncontrollable reasons such as student’s family, the teacher does not feel able to affect the behavior.