School misbehavior: Elementary students’ perspectives on typologies, attributions, and strategies

ABSTRACT Extensive literature on school misbehavior has largely focused on teachers’ perceptions of the most frequent and troublesome classroom behaviors and the most commonly used strategies to manage them. Students’ perspectives on this topic have received comparatively little attention and most of the few existing studies were conducted with secondary students. This study investigates the perspectives of 115 elementary children on appropriate and inappropriate behaviors, on their causal attributions, and on how schools should manage children’s behavior. Their answers to an open-ended questionnaire were analyzed through qualitative thematic content analysis. Results suggest that children are exposed to an extensive number of negatively stated behavior expectations. When asked about causal explanations for behavior occurrences, children mainly mention factors related to themselves, particularly their social and emotional abilities. The frequent mentions of proactive strategies, such as explicit teaching, suggest that children’s recommendations on behavior management encompass evidence-based practices. Implications for future research, educational policies, and teachers’ training and practices are also provided.