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You are here: Home / Pupil Disaffection / Classroom management and the working atmosphere in the classroom / How big a problem is disaffection in schools in the UK?

How big a problem is disaffection in schools in the UK?

There is some disagreement about this. Which sources of evidence are we to accept, how might we go about finding out the extent of this problem, and perhaps more importantly, how do we develop our understanding of the causes of disruption,disaffection and disengagement from learning in schools?

According to the 2001 report of the Chief Inspector for Schools, behaviour is generally good in over 90% of schools in England and Wales.

A subsequent report stated that behaviour was a problem at one in 12 secondary schools, and one in 50 primary schools.

Even where disaffection and disengagement from learning does not manifest itslef in disruptive behaviour, how many pupils are seriously trying to do their best to learn in all subjects?

Some researchers claim that problems of behaviour are much more widespread, and that there are many schools where the working atmosphere in some classrooms is such that it limits the extent to which pupils who want to learn can do so.

  • “Half of all secondary school children are bored and fail to see what relevance much of what they learn has to their lives.” From Figes, K. (2002) Terrible Teens, London, Viking, quoted in Guardian, 27 April 2002.
  • “92% of pupils in their GCSE exam year suffer from disruption to their learning through pupil behaviour.” Keele University Survey, quoted in TES, 5 April, 1996 (‘Teenagers’ respect for teachers plummets’)
  • “In inner-city schoolsteachers are doing no more than crowd control… It remains sadly true that tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of children still have totally unacceptable educational experiences, disadvantaging them for life.” Moser, C. quoted in TES, 9 September 1994 (‘Moser urges action in the inner city’)
  • Michael Barber’s survey of 10,000 secondary school pupils found that 25% of pupils acknowledged behaving badly in school, 33% said that they encountered disruption in class on a daily basis. Barber warned that ‘a disruptive minority of 10-15% of pupils are seriously undermining the quality of education in as many as half of all secondary schools.’ (quoted in The Guardian, 23 August, 1994)

The cross school project on class management set out to explore to what extent these issues affected their work in the schools they worked in. How do you go about finding out how much disaffection there is in your school, what is causing it, and what might be done to reduce it?

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