The term behaviour refers to the outward actions in which we engage.

These actions are shaped by external or internal causes, or a mixture of the two.

For example, I may raise my hands because a ball has been kicked towards my face (external cause), I may go to the kitchen because I feel hungry (internal cause), or I may decide to swerve my car to avoid hitting a rabbit that has strayed onto the road (combination of external and internal causes).

From this starting point we can argue that:

• Behaviour shaped by external causes is a reaction to something in our environment.
• Behaviour shaped by internal causes is a response to something happening within us.
• Behaviour shaped by a combination involves the intermixing of the environment and that which is internal.

Taking this into the classroom, an example for each would be:

• A learner looking up to see who is knocking at the door (external cause).
• A learner disengaging from their work because they feel hungry (internal cause).
• A learner deciding to work hard because their teacher, with whom they have a strong relationship, has asked them to. (The teacher asking is the external cause and the internalised sense of rapport is the internal cause.)

Sometimes we react without conscious thought, sometimes our actions are the result of conscious decision-making.

If someone knocks at the door, I may look up involuntarily.

This is behaviour stimulated by an external cause (someone knocking at the door) that has not involved conscious thought or reflection.

At other times, our actions are the result of conscious decision-making.

For example, someone might knock at the door while I am in the middle of writing a sentence.

I might think to myself: ‘Let me finish this sentence, then I’ll see who it is.’ Here, my behaviour is driven by my conscious engagement with the external stimulus.

The point I’m making is that, when it comes to behaviour in the classroom, sometimes learners react without thinking and sometimes they think before they act.

Many, though not all, behavioural challenges we face stem from learners acting without thinking.

If learners struggle to self-regulate, it means they struggle to manage their own behaviour in a way that is beneficial to them and those around them.

Part of positive behaviour management is helping learners to understand that they can regulate their own behaviour and that there is nearly always an opportunity to decide how you are going to react in any given situation.

This is something we know and take for granted as adults, but which many learners have not yet learned.

Yet, we also know that all of us – especially children and young adults – can behave in ways that, on reflection, appear unexpected, regrettable or motivated by a conscious decision we are surprised we took.

For example, we might say something in a conversation, believing it to be an appropriate point, and then, upon hearing ourselves say it, immediately regret the decision.

From this we can suggest that even behaviour that is the result of active decision-making on the part of the individual will not necessarily accord with that individual’s desires or intentions.

Sometimes it will, sometimes it won’t.

And, in many cases, the reasoning underlying what has happened may be opaque, at first glance, to all concerned.

Most teachers have come across such situations.

A learner behaves poorly in class, even though they want to do well.

When we ask them why they behaved in such a way, they are unable to articulate an answer, despite knowing it was they who made the choice to act.

This throws up an extremely important point about behaviour in general.

We learn how to behave within the society and culture in which we are brought up.

This does not mean that our behaviour will be identical to others brought up in a similar way, nor does it seek to exclude differences that are influenced by biological factors.

But it does intimate that coming to understand how to control and direct our own behaviour is a learning process – often a tricky one.

To this end, all children and young adults, throughout their school lives, are learning how to behave as members of a wider society and culture, as well as learning the content of the curriculum.

For this reason, it is important to remember that all teachers are teachers of norms and values – of moral instruction in a broad sense – as well as teachers of subjects and topics.

This is why positive behaviour management is a significant part of every teacher’s job.

It is not that all learners are predisposed to test the will of the teachers with whom they find themselves.

Instead, it is that all learners are learning about behaviour – what is acceptable and what isn’t, what works and what doesn’t, what consequences result from certain decisions – throughout the time that we teach them.

The extent of this learning varies considerably from learner to learner.

This reflects the fact that some learners go through their entire school career exhibiting what might only be described as excellent behaviour.

Whereas others may have a much different time of it, showcasing behaviour that is contrary to what their teachers (and perhaps they) would want.

All of this indicates, though, that behaviour is malleable.

If learners are learning about how to behave, about the consequences of their actions, and about how to control and direct the decisions they make, then the things we do in the classroom can really make a difference.

And it is this fact that underpins all our efforts to engage in positive behaviour management.

Because we know that good results really are achievable, in almost any situation.