ABSTRACT
Recent reports in the media have portrayed schools as ill-disciplined places where pupils are out of control. Whilst such attention-grabbing headlines may make for good sales figures, just pause for a moment and reflect on how accurately such images match with your own school experiences. In contrast to the headlines, more objective evidence from research studies and school inspections describe standards of pupil behaviour as good or very good in the vast majority of schools (see e.g. OHMCI 1996). The ability to manage pupils effectively is, however, a major concern for new teachers and rightly so, as effective teaching and learning is dependent on a disciplined classroom. In this chapter we shall discuss how teacher behaviour influences pupils, and identify strategies for the development of effective class management and control techniques.
