Preventing challenging behaviours from kindergarten to secondary school
Vanessa Macchia, Silver Cappello
Behavioural problems are a constant at school that educators and teachers face on daily, sometimes without being able to manage and solve them effectively. National and international studies associate the challenging behaviours to different terms and definitions, considered synonyms among them, such as for example problem behaviours, aggressive, aberrant, disturbing, disruptive, disorderly, excessive or oppositional (Chan et al., 2012; Fedeli, 2008; 2020; Lyons e O’Connor, 2006; Orsati e Causton-Theoharis, 2013; Rhodes-Kline, 1997; Sigafoos, Arthur e O’Reilly, 2003). However, the term «challenging behaviour» results neutral, and it does not imply that it necessarily derives from a kind of disorder (Orsati e Causton-Theoharis, 2013; Sigafoos, Arthur e O’Reilly, 2003). With this perspective, all pupils can adopt challenging behaviours if their conducts exceed the permitted limits and become difficult to manage for the adults around them, regardless of their nature or choice. This process can already start in kindergarten and, if it managed inappropriately, prolong it in the whole school career and culminate in lower or upper secondary school, with serious behavioural problems that, in many cases, lead to the decision to leave the school.
Keywords
Inclusion, Challenging behaviours, Prevention, Learning context, Intervention strategies.
