Aggressive behaviour in school is an escalating problem: surveys of teachers report that verbal and physical abuse, toward peers and staff is at levels that would have been unimaginable a few decades ago. Such outbursts may vary from jostling to bullying, from spitting to threatening with knives. Aggression is a problem for the school, for society, and for the individuals involved—aggressors, victims and observers alike.
Why are so many more of our young aggressive today than was the case a decade or so ago? The tendency to be aggressive is partly a matter of genes, which shape temperament (Rothbart and Bates, 1998). But the change in levels of aggression have been far too swift to be the result of genetic change in the population. This is something to do with the way we live, and are, today.
Is the rise in aggression due to poor parenting (Morris et al, 2011)? Poor parenting (and overly permissive parenting can be as damaging as neglect here) means than a child can fail to learn how to manage and control powerful emotions such as anger or fear, and has not been socialised to understand where the boundaries between acceptable and unacceptable behaviour might lie (Moulin et al 2014). Is it a reflection of the increasing tensions, financial and emotional, in family life, exposing children to more stress and to more role models for aggression? Children's perceptions of what is acceptable are affected by the aggression they observe in their families (Roisman and Fraley, 2006). And children subjected to harsh, punitive parenting are more likely to be aggressive (Weiss et al, 1992). Is it connected to the increasing violence children observe in the media? After much controversy, there is evidence that exposure to violence in film and the like does foster aggression in the young (Gentile and Bushman, 2012). Is this aggression part of a school culture, a way for an individual to ‘belong’ to or impress some group? Or is the rise in aggression in our schools due to rising rates of mental health problems, including depression, anxiety and the like? Aggression is the most common reason for mental health referral in school children (Sukhodolsky, 2016).
Probably all of these, and other factors, contribute to the aggression we see in our schools. Whatever the cause in any individual case, the urgent question is: what is the best way to cope with unacceptable aggression in schools?
Exclusion?
Sometimes, where aggression is persistent, serious and does not respond to the interventions available within a school, the possibility of exclusion is likely to be considered. Often, that is the response schools take. Children are excluded from primary schools every day for aggression. Of course, the prime responsibility of a school is the safety of its pupils, and the safeguarding of the educational opportunities of the majority. And sometimes, those considerations are most easily met by excluding the aggressive, disruptive child. However: such exclusions merely ‘kick the problem down the road’. An excluded child still needs an education, and it is still the responsibility of the school to work with other agencies to provide that. And then, there is strong evidence that connects school exclusion to mental health problems: children with mental health problems are more likely than others to be excluded—and those who are excluded are also more likely to either develop, or experience exacerbated mental health problems and distress (Ford et al, 2018). Ford et al concluded that supporting children who struggle to conform in school would be a better solution, preventing future exclusions, and future psychiatric disorder.
Managing aggressive students in school?
Keeping the aggressive in school obviously presents major problems. Understaffed and underfunded, it is hard and sometimes impossible for schools to do what needs to be done to keep these disruptive individuals in school while ensuring the safety of staff and pupils and protecting educational goals. Nor is it always clear what the goals should be, in managing such individuals. Expert opinion suggests the following strategies:
Avoiding premature judgment
While it is tempting to view a student who has assaulted other pupils or staff as wilfully hostile, the research noted above suggests that they may be as much the victim of circumstances as the villain. As hard as it is, it is almost certainly better to regard acts of aggression as ‘acting out’ some problem, rather than as acts indicating intrinsic badness. Babies are not born to be bad (even the genetic legacy associated with psychopathy does not normally lead to a life of violent crime). It is life that makes a child behave badly.
‘Aggression is a problem for the school, for society, and for the individuals involved—aggressors, victims and observers alike.’
Understanding why a child or teenager is so aggressive
Answering that question may provide the key insight into how to address the problem most effectively. But answering that question poses a great many challenges. The aggressor him or herself may not, for example, understand why they are so aggressive—still less be willing to articulate that. So this investigation needs some subtlety:
- It is always important to talk to an individual about acts of aggression: expert opinion suggests that he or she should be made clearly aware that such behaviour is unacceptable. It's worth asking the student why he or she behaves this way. It is also worth encouraging a discussion of the consequences of such behaviour—which may not be apparent to the individual. Such discussions should be calm and gentle, supportive rather than punitive.
- More than likely you will have to do some detective work to establish the cause of the aggression: what are the parents like, is there any evidence of problems at home of the kinds noted above? Is this individual struggling with schoolwork, or being bullied? Trying to impress others with their toughness? Is there anything to suggest a mental health problem, beyond the aggression itself?
Reducing aggressive behaviour
- Help the individual to develop better self-control and to recognise when frustration and anger are bubbling up; to engage simple strategies to help maintain calm (such as deep breathing, or squeezing a stress ball); to deal with the problem constructively: discuss the problems with a trusted member of staff.
- Encourage the development of social skills for handling problems without aggression. Aggressive individuals may need specific help in learning to anticipate flash points and developing pro-social strategies for handling such problems. They may benefit greatly from discussions, perhaps exploring the possibilities through role play with a trusted member of staff.
- Foster better skill in understanding other people. The aggressive often misinterpret social cues, seeing hostility where there really is none—and then ‘getting their defence in first’—thus precipitating a hostile interaction which endorses their original misperception (Quiggle et al, 1992). Discussing alternative possible interpretations of what others are thinking may reduce such misperceptions.
FURTHER INFORMATION
Young Minds—youngminds.org.uk