Overview of Theoretical Basis
Theoretical Basis
Basic Assumptions
Basic Tenets
Overt Teacher Behaviors
Vocabulary
Educational Insights and Instructional Implications
Strengths
Weaknesses
The Role Play
References
See more Classroom Management Models

This project, which focuses on the behavior management model proposed by Rudolf Dreikurs, will help the classroom teacher by offering one way to handle classroom management.  Discipline Without Tears presents the teacher as a guide and students as active participants within the classroom.  We focused on several specifics of the theory, including educational implications, strengths, weaknesses, and how the theory relates to education.  There is also a role play that shows teacher and student interaction, through shared decision making by both parties.

Dreikursí writings all have a common bond with social psychologist Alfred Adler.  This bond is that all behavior, including misbehavior, is orderly, purposeful, and directed toward achieving social recognition.  Each action is goal-directed.  The ìinnerî goal results in the ìoutwardî behavior.  The teacher must have a student who misbehaves recognize his ìinnerî goal and then help the student to change to the more appropriate goal of learning how to belong with others.

• Discipline is not punishment.  It is teaching students to impose limits on themselves.
• Democratic teachers provide firm guidance and leadership.  They all students to have a say in establishing rules and consequences.
• All students want to belong.  They want status and recognition.  All of their behaviors indicate efforts to belong.
• Misbehavior reflects the mistaken belief that it will gain students the recognition they want.
• Misbehavior is associated with four mistaken goals: attention getting, power seeking, revenge, and displaying inadequacy.
• Teachers should identify mistaken goals and then act in ways that do not reinforce them.
• Teachers should strive to encourage studentsí efforts, but avoid praising their work or character.
• Teachers should teach students that unpleasant consequences will always follow inappropriate behavior.

• Students are social beings and desire to belong.
• Students are decision-makers.
• All behavior is purposeful and directed towards social goals.
• Students do not see reality as it is, but only as they perceive it to be.  This perception may be mistaken or biased.
• A student is a whole being who can not be understood by some particular characteristics.  The whole is greater than the sum total of the parts.
• A studentís misbehavior is the result of faulty reasoning on how to gain social recognition.

• Subconscious goals that motivate misbehavior:
• Attention getting
• Power and control
• Revenge
• Helplessness or Inadequacy
• Determination of which of the four faulty goals is motivating student is a four-step process:

1. The teacher observes and collects information about the student in situations involving peers and family.
2. Once the teacher has gathered information about the student, he or she can then hypothesize or guess which of the underlying goals the student holds.
3. The teacher can verify this goal by reflecting on what feelings arise within the teacher as a result of the studentís behavior.
4. Final verification is achieved by confronting the student with a series of four questions (see below) and looking for the studentís recognition reflex. (including smiling, laughing, looking up suddenly, moving his/her shoulders, or other signs of response)
• Series of four questions:

1. Could it be that you want special attention?
2. Could it be that you want to be the boss?
3. Could it be that you want to hurt others as much as you feel hurt by them?
4. Could it be that you want to be left alone?
• Discipline is not punishment.  Punishment is physical pain, humiliation, isolation, and revenge; it is a force imposed on one from an outside source.  Dreikurs claims that ìit teaches what not to do, but fails to teach what to do.î
• Discipline requires freedom of choice and the understanding of consequences.  It is not imposed by authority figures, but rather on individuals by themselves.  By choosing to behave in certain ways individuals learn to gain acceptance from others, and consequently, acceptance of themselves.
• The teacher is neither autocratic nor permissive; he/she is democratic.
• The teacher is a group leader.  He/she creates the atmosphere, he/she integrates all the diverse personalities and stimulates the democratic process.
• The teacher is kind, but firm, who motivates students to learn what they should learn, who encourages students when they make mistakes, who maintains order and routine by letting each child participate in decision making.  Kindness shows they respect others, but firmness shows that they respect themselves.
• The system is of mutual respect for the teacher and students where natural or logical consequences are used rather than arbitrary punishment or systematic reinforcements.

• Confrontation
• Engaging child in friendly conversation
• Disclosing and confirming mistaken goals to the child
• Asking the following questions:

1. Could it be that you want special attention? (attention getting)
2. Could it be that you want to be boss? (power)
3. Could it be that you want to hurt others as theyíve hurt you? (revenge)
4. Could it be that you want to be left alone? (inadequacy)
• Class group discussion about all types of behavior (scheduled weekly)
• Confrontation about goals and misbehavior
• Continued encouragement to increase childís confidence (belief in self)
• Avoiding criticism so true motives can be learned and behavior corrected
• Use encouragement techniques such as:

1. Work for improvement, not perfection
2. Commend efforts
3. Separate the deed from doer
4. Build on strengths, not weaknesses
5. Show your faith in the child
6. Mistakes should not be viewed as failures
• Developing logical and natural consequences, logically structured and arranged by the adult, that must be experienced by the student
• Characteristics of a Democratic Teacher:
• Leader
• Invitation
• Influence
• Stimulation
• Winning cooperation
• Selling ideas
• Guidance
• Encouragement
• Acknowledgement of achievement
• Helping
• Discussion
• I suggest, and help you to decide
• Shared responsibility in team
• Key Elements to Foster a Democratic Classroom
• Order
• Limits
• Firmness and Kindness
• Student involvement in establishing and maintaining goals
• Leadership from the teacher
• Inviting cooperation-eliminating competition
• A sense of belonging to a group
• Freedom to explore, discover, and choose acceptable behavior through understanding the responsibilities and consequences associated with it

• Mistaken Goals:  Dreikurs identifies four mistaken goals: attention getting, power seeking, revenge seeking, and displaying inadequacy.  These goals identify the purposes of student misbehavior.  They are usually sought in sequential order.  If attention getting fails to gain recognition, the student will progress to power-seeking behavior.  If that is not rewarded they move on to getting revenge and then to inadequacy.
• Attention Getting:  This is evident when a student is constantly looking to belong and be recognized in class.  When students discover they are not getting the recognition they desire, they may resort to getting attention through misbehavior.  These students are trying to seek proof of acceptance through what they can get others to give them.  They want the teacher to pay attention to them and provide them with extra services.
• Power and Control Seeking:  This is a goal for a student who feels inferior, who feels unable to measure up to the expectations of others or themselves. Students that feel that defying adults is the only way they can get what they want.  Students express a need for power by arguing, contradicting, lying, having temper tantrums, and exhibiting hostile behavior.  If these students can get the teacher to fight with them they win, because they succeed in getting the teacher into a power struggle.  Whether or not they get what they want does not matter.
• Revenge Seeking:  This is a goal for the student who feels unable to gain attention or power.  This student sees himself as having unequal status because of what others have done to him.  The goal of revenge is closely related to the goal of power.  Some students feel they should be allowed to do whatever they please and should consider anyone who tries to stop them as an enemy.  These students do not care about the consequences.  Consequences only give them justification for revenge.
• Displaying Helplessness or Inadequacy:  At this level, students feel that they are helpless and see themselves as total failures.  There is no need to try anymore.  They withdraw from any situation that can intensify their feeling of failure.  They guard what little self-esteem and motivation they have left by removing it from social situations.

• Encouragement:  This is an action that conveys to the child that the teacher respects, trust, and believes in him and thinks that his present lack of skills in no way diminishes his value as a person.  An effective process of encouragement demands continuous alertness for the right moment, tone of voice, and choice of words.  Recognition must be give for studentís attempts, even if there has been no visible accomplishment.  A teacher may encourage a child without using any words.

• Hidden Motivation:  A studentís individual logic consists of what he really believes and intends.  It includes the long-range goals of the life-style, the short-range goals of the immediate situation, and the rationalizations he gives himself for what he is doing.  This rationale is referred to as the ìhidden motivation.î

• Consequences:    Actions that follow behavior in a natural and logical way.  They are not weapons used by the teacher.  They teach students that all behavior results in some corresponding action: Good behavior brings rewards and unacceptable behavior brings unpleasant consequences.
• Natural Consequences:  Those that students experience only as a result of their behavior.  They are not due to the intervention of another.  For example, if a student kicks his desk and breaks his foot, he experiences a natural consequence of his behavior.
• Logical Consequences:  These are consequences arranged by someone else, in this case, a teacher.   If a student throws papers on a floor, that student will have to pick them up.  Logical consequences imposed by the teacher are very effective except when dealing with power-seeking behavior.

• Autocratic Teachers:  Force their will on students to prove they have control of the class.  They motivate students with outside pressure instead of stimulating motivation from within.  They need to feel powerful and sense superiority over students.  This attitude and approach tend to perpetuate behavioral problems.  Dreikurs discourages the approach of an autocratic teacher to establish discipline in the classroom.

• Permissive Teachers:  Generate problem behavior because the atmosphere they allow is not based on everyday reality.  Students in a permissive classroom do not learn that living in society requires following rules.  They do not learn that acceptable behavior requires self-discipline.  They are confused because they believe that they can do whatever they want, and yet they want to run the show.  Dreikurs feels this type of teacher is equally ineffective.

• Democratic Teachers:  These types of teachers are neither permissive nor autocratic.  They provide firm guidance and leadership by establishing rules and consequences.  They motivate students from within.  They maintain order and, at the same time, the allow students to participate in decision-making.  Democratic teachers teach that freedom is tied to responsibility.  They allow students freedom to choose their own behavior.  They also teach students that they must suffer the consequences if they choose to misbehave.  In this way, students learn to behave in ways that get them what they want.  Democratic teachers motivate from within.

• Informal plays, storytelling, role-plays, classroom discussion, sociometric testing:   Techniques the teacher can employ to uncover their studentsí goal and how to plan according to that goal.  Sociometry is the study of the relationships among people.

• Dreikurs believes that establishing discipline in the classroom must involve teaching the following concepts:
• Students are responsible for their own actions.
• Students must respect themselves and others.
• Students have the responsibility to influence others to behave appropriately.
• Students are responsible for knowing what the rules and consequences are in their classroom.
• ¨ Classroom as collective group.
• Group discussion is probably the most effective technique a teacher can use to unite the class for a common goal.

1. It helps children to develop better interpersonal relationships.
2. It enhances learning through accumulated information.
3. Children learn to explore controversial matters and to deal with people of different backgrounds.
4. Children examine problem areas and face unpleasant facts that they normally ignore or push aside.
5. Children learn to form attitudes and values that may influence them for life and that may affect their behavior inside and outside of school.
6. It makes difficult tasks seem lighter when ideas, aspirations, successes, problems, and anxieties are shared.
7. Children feel supported by their peers and are more responsive.
8. Children learn constructive ways of handling frustrations and of working through upsetting problems.
9. The teacher may raise the morale of the group and change the atmosphere of the room.
10. Talking in an atmosphere of mutual understanding stimulates thinking.
11. The teacher learns what each child feels and thinks, how he relates to others, and what his attitude toward school is.
12. As children mull over and discuss a problem, they may find one solution or they may find a number of solutions to the same problem.
13. It unifies all children into a group for a common purpose.  They are working on the same problem at the same time and usually have good results.
14. It helps the child to feel accepted and as if he belongs.
15. The children gain increased self-direction, self-management, and decision-making abilities.
16. It helps children to see the value of structure and order within group living.
• Every class has its own particular qualities.  Although in many respects the group resembles other groups of similar size, each class has its own unique characteristics.
• The class reflects the characteristics of the individuals, who play a leading part.  Everyone in their own way, through their behavior, contributes toward the particular climate that eventually prevails in the classroom.
• Classroom is operated as a democracy.

• Main strength of Dreikursí model: concreteness of the application.  He tells the teacher how to uncover the studentís goal and how to plan according to that goal.
• Develops system of mutual respect (rewards and punishment not needed)
• Allows children time to solve their own problems during class discussion
• Involves whole class in decision making
• Helps to aid in socialization of individual
• Step-by-step procedure according to goals to follow
• Self-worth developed by teacher and child
• Has natural and logical consequences

• Teacher may not always be able to determine childís true goal.  The teacher may have mixed feelings about a childís behavior and can not decide which is the childís true goal.
• Some children refuse to talk about incident.  The student may not want to know why he or she behaves as he or she does.
• Passive child is always very difficult to help using this method since Dreikursí techniques put little pressure on a student to achieve.
• At times, it can be hard to determine logical consequences.

Teachers can no longer resolve conflicts by fighting or giving in.  Fighting or imposing oneís values violates respect for the child, and giving in, or permissiveness, violates respect for the adult.  In a democratic setting, conflicts have to be resolved by following four basic steps.  They are:

1. Establish mutual respect.
2. Pinpoint the issue.
3. Explore alternatives.
4. Come to a new agreement by shared decision making.

Carrie attacks children whenever they perform well.  The teacher asks for a reason, but she claims that she is only trying to be amusing or funny.

TEACHER:  Carrie, do you know that you always attack people when they do well?
CARRIE:  (No answer)
TEACHER:  Do you know why you do this?
CARRIE:  I told you, Iím only joking.
TEACHER:  Are you aware that you never joke when children perform poorly?
CARRIE: No.
TEACHER: Could it be that you think that you canít do as well?
CARRIE:  Maybe.
TEACHER: Could it be that you are angry at yourself because of this?
CARRIE: Maybe.
TEACHER: Could it be that you are also angry at these children?
CARRIE: No answer.

The teacher has pinpointed the true reason for Carrieís ìjoking.î

3. Exploring alternatives.  In any conflict the teacher and the student should explore all possibilities for dealing with the problem effectively.

TEACHER:  I understand how you feel, Carrie.  Could you handle your feelings differently?
CARRIE:  I donít know.
TEACHER: May I make a suggestion?
CARRIE:  Sure.
TEACHER:  Would you be willing to say or do nothing?
CARRIE:  I could say something nice.
TEACHER:  Only if you feel like it.  But, would you be willing to say nothing?  Would you be willing to accept help from me and the students in the areas in which you would like to improve?
CARRIE: I donít know.

4. Come to a new agreement by shared decision making.  The student and the teacher reach a decision and come to an agreement.

TEACHER: Would you know if you had a little more time?
CARRIE: I think so.
TEACHER: Could you give me your answer tomorrow?
CARRIE: Yes.
TEACHER:  Is this an agreement?
CARRIE: Yes.
 

• Cangelosi, J.S. (2000).  Classroom Management Strategies.  2nd ed.  New  York: John Wiley and Sons.

• Charles, C.M.  (1985).  Building Classroom Discipline: From Models to  Practice.  New York: Longman.

• Dreikurs, R.  (1974).  Discipline WithoutTears.  2nd ed.  New York:  Hawthorn Books.

• Dreikurs, R.  (1964).  Children: The Challenge.  New York: Hawthorn  Books.

• Johns, F. A. (1989).  School Discipline Guidebook: Theory into Practice.   Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

• Kohn, A. (1996).  Beyond Discipline: From Compliance to Community.   Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum  Development.

• Wolfgang, C. H. and C. D. Glickman.  (1986).  Solving Discipline Problems.   Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

• Websites:
• http://www.noogenesis.com/malama/discouragement/Dreikurs/could_it_be_that.html
• http://www.positivediscipline.com
• http://www.nncc.org/Guidance/sac33_behav.mgmt.stress.html
• http://home1.gte.net/stoptc/adolescents.htm
• http://www.dyscalculia.org/ADHD.htm
• http://www.humboldt.edu/~tha1/disciplin.html
• http://www.nwrel.org/scpd/sirs/5/cu9.html