The survival of teachers and the learning of the students is a concern for the stakeholders in the teaching learning process. The teachers with both higher personalities and possessing the required abilities are able to organize and execute the program affecting student’s learning abilities. They are also successful in aiding the learners acquiring knowledge. Therefore, for teachers to survive within the student learning environment they must portray higher efficacy levels. The survival of a teacher depends on the behavior management strategies that this professional utilizes (Krause, 2003).
A teacher’s survival capability is a key factor in the teaching learning process. Controlling, monitoring and behavior management have been pointed out as stressful areas in respect to the survival of a teacher and the subsequent learning of a student. It is ironical, as suggested by literature, that to a larger extent, teachers lack the critical behavior management course skills. The research has advanced that for the effectiveness of the learning processes and thus, teacher survival, it is paramount or them to receive training on behavior management. This will result into fairly-behaved learners who will excel in their respective studies. The performance of a learner is directly correlated to the behavior (Krause, 2003).
Research Problem
The purpose of this report is to examine the ways through which a teacher is able to survive within the profession while successfully conducting the teaching to the students.
Statement of the Problem
The purpose of the teaching-learning process is to impart knowledge on the learners. Subsequently, the learner’s performance is considered to be the exact measure of the entire process. Good performance is enhanced by good behavior, exhibited by the learners. This, in turn, allows the teachers a substantial level of motivation to continue working within the profession for longer period. In essence, this encouragement ensures both teacher survival capacity and a high level of learning of a student.
Purpose of Study
The current study is aimed at evaluating the ways at which a student can best learn while the teacher survives within the environment. The study investigates the factors that affect the teacher’s survival capacity and student’s learning in a school set up.
Significance of the Study
This study will enable the readers to better understand how a student can learn best and thus, acquire substantial knowledge while at the same time ensuring that the teacher is able to survive. The study is considered important as it allows application of the various techniques that can be utilized in a class setting in order to enhance the learning of a student. It elaborates on such key factors as efficacy levels, which determines self-belief of the necessary abilities required from both the learner and the teacher. It should be understood that the student motivation is important since it encourages learners to adopt positive behaviors and aim higher in their studies (Abutarbush, Naylor,Parchoma, Marcel&Caruthers,2006). The teacher strategies are important techniques that are used by the teachers in order to achieve the desired outcome from the learners. These critical aspects on the learning of the students are discussed below.
Self-Efficacy
It has been indicated that self efficacy is a key determinant of the teacher survival in the course of student learning process. It is important to understand that self efficacy is an individual belief that is future oriented on the competence level, which an individual expects to display in any given task. Therefore, it is an individual’s belief that a person should be concerned with their abilities to lead the given tasks to their successful completion. Subsequently, when learners are positioned in their learning environment, they have lots of expectations, ready to acquire knowledge that to be delivered by the teacher. These learners pose a myriad of challenges onto the teachers. It is only the strong will and determination of an individual teacher that can enable them to survive in such an environment. A teacher who is in a position to attend to all the needs of the learners produces good results given that they believe in both: the services of the teacher and in their individual capabilities. This is very critical in the learning process of the students (Allen, 2005).
The survival of a teacher and the learning of a student call for a stronger conviction and belief so that individual teachers are positioned fairly to influence the outcome of a classroom. It is the role of an individual professional to manage the class and direct the behavior exhibited by individual learners regardless of whether motivated or not.
Recent research studies show that teachers with lower levels of conviction and self-belief fail to motivate the learners and thus, the outcome is a replication to the learners so that the students lack enough conviction and self-belief capacities. The learners will also suffer from low self-efficacy levels that might greatly lower their academic prowess and achievements. Those teachers who survive best in the course of teaching students are the ones engaging in tasks that showcase elements of self belief so they are able to competently execute their tasks. This includes the ability of the individual teachers to deal with the unruly students and undesired behavior in an efficient and effective manner (Krause, 2003).
Student Motivation
It has been shown through the research and other notable educative studies that there is a need for both the learner and the teacher to be motivated for a fairer outcome of the teaching-learning process. Students, who are handled by a competent teacher, have also shown higher self esteem, school-effectiveness and pro-social attitudes. It must be mentioned that it is only those teachers, who are positively motivated, that survive best within the teaching-learning process. This is ascertained to the assumption that an individual teacher will feel highly motivated and thus, portray a sense of fulfillment whenever the students are successful in their studies. Ostensibly, the success of a student is measured both within and outside the classroom. In cases where students excel in both curricular and extracurricular activities, the teacher attains a sense of fulfillment and continues to move on with the work. Some studies have indicated that the teachers, who have handled students, emerge to be successful in developing a level of personal fulfillment that is later translated into higher efforts directed towards the learning process of the individual learners. Such a motivated teacher is at a fair position to draw such examples of successful learners to other groups of students within the teacher’s quest to transform those who portray bad and unruly behavior in the classroom. Consequently, such teachers survive best within the learning environment composed of many students. Additionally, they are likely to motivate more learners and the outcome will bear a correlation of higher study scores and other notable achievements in regards to other aspects of the learner’s life (Allen, 2005).
For the successful survival of a teacher within the learning teaching process, they must appraise the students’ success as well as seek additional training on how to uphold the behaviors of such students within the classroom. These teachers should use positive reinforcement as an approach towards the class management instead of applying punishment and other forms of negative reinforcement strategies.
Teachers with a stronger belief and positive self-motivation are able to influence their learners fairly since they are able to develop a higher sense of self-belief and hard work. This, in turn, will motivate the teacher, giving the satisfaction needed in the profession for the continual teacher survival. The research has also indicated that those teachers who lack strong will and self-belief are, in most cases, frustrated in the profession and thus, it negatively impacts on the students. The learners of such a teacher will also lack motivation that they require to perform better. The survival of such a teacher in the student learning is thus far affected in due course. The teacher will initiate the withdrawal of efforts that was directed towards the learner that results to lower reading scores, poor student’s behavior and poor development capabilities (Allen, 2005).
Teacher Strategies
The survival of a teacher within the student learning is linked to their adopted methods and teaching styles. To enhance the teacher survival and student learning, there are campaigns, which have been established in order to advocate for proper and better methods of teaching; to use an approach that is more inclusive in the general learning environment. Also, teachers have been called to study and understand their learners’ behaviors and manage them in class. There is also a need for them to assess the students’ learning abilities and tailor the approach used to target all the learners, the slow learners, the gifted and any cases of students with disabilities as well as those with emotional and behavioral disorders.
The teachers who survive long within the learning process of a student are those that are extremely innovative and creative, those that are willing to always come with new teaching techniques, which are aimed at learners’ performance improvement. Moreover, they take enough time to plan and prepare in advance for the class.
Prior planning and preparation is associated with lower stress and a motivation levels towards surviving within the teaching profession for long. Significantly, the proper preparation and prior planning are essential in increasing the efficacy of a teacher who, in turn, is able to criticize any wrong behaviors and poor performance, which might be exhibited by the learners. Such a teacher is likely to continue struggling with the learners to the moment that they are successful in both class and outside-the-class environment. Such teachers are believed to have developed their survival skills within the learning environment (Krause, 2003).
It must be noted that, to a larger extent, the survival of a teacher and the learning of a student can be based on how the involved individuals view their own performances. This is also referred to as mastery experiences. For instance, an individual can evaluate the outcome of an event or action that they have performed and interpret it. Then, the interpretations are used in either lowering or increasing their respective self worth and efficacy. Those that achieve favorable results are able to survive longer within the profession and in the student management both inside and outside the classroom. The learners are also able to attain motivation and the end is justified by the best performance exhibited from them (Osborne, Leopold &Ferrie, n.d.).
The teacher’s survival and the learning of students can further be enhanced through interventions development within the classrooms, on individual students or schoolwide. In this case, the teachers will experience a higher chance of success in their work and also, on the part of the students. Therefore, it is worth mentioning that the teacher survival and the learning of a student are positively correlated and depend on the students’ behavior in the classroom and the way teachers handle the possibility of different behaviors exhibited (Krause, 2003).
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The survival of the teacher should further be enhanced by the use of tools in the classroom management especially on enhancing the students’ learning. Whenever the learners perform better, the teachers are likely to work in the field for longer and find satisfaction in their work and subsequently, enhance the students’ learning. The long-term result will be less student redirection, more time spent in academic activities and improvement in the student’s performances (Krause, 2003).
Behavioral Management in Classroom
The teacher survival and student learning will be effective by encouraging an open communication between the two parties, efficient time utilization and effective behavior management. For effective correlation results, those undesirable behaviors exhibited by the learners should be minimized. Accordingly, there is a need for effective management techniques practiced in the classroom in order to provoke the learner’s immediate motivation and increase the teacher survival capability. This will enhance socialization elements that are appropriate to increase the student engagement within the classroom activities. Behavioral management is the practice of shaping the students’ behavior with an aim of facilitating learning in a classroom environment (Connelly, Dockrell, Julie, & Barnett, n.d.).
The management of behavior is a key concern in effective teacher survival and student learning for the inexperienced and new professionals. The difficulties encountered by the teachers in managing the students’ behavior can be attributed to the fact that they rarely get trained on behavior management skills while still in college. Therefore, there is a need for teachers to take time to acquaint themselves with the theories and philosophies of behavior in order to enable them survive in the profession and enhance the learning process of the students (Krause, 2003).
The research has indicated that most of the teachers who never survive in the profession for long cite issues with behavior management. Most teachers claim that the most stressful part of their profession is the problems with discipline exhibited by the learners that makes their work challenging to plan and execute. The research has shown that about 50% of the teachers that join the profession rarely survive in it for long. They quit citing difficulties in handling the learner’s behavior. This research proves that learner discipline is indispensable for the teacher survival in the profession (Ehrenfeld, Urman, & Segal, 2010).
School- Wide Positive Behavior Supports
The schools where teachers work hand-in-hand with their colleagues and with the students are able to survive in the profession and the learners are likely to perform better in their learning process. Teachers who have been in the profession for long claim that, for teacher survival and enhanced student learning, they should assume the responsibility of supporting learners in their progress both within and outside the classroom. The teachers also need to be prepared to handle students of varying needs. This is because there is no single form of intervention that can serve to satisfy all of the needs of the students within a classroom set up (Ehrenfeld, Urman, & Segal, 2010).
Recently, the focus has been on the universal school wide practices that are meant towards the promotion of the desired behavior. This approach is aimed at the direction of the behavior of the students in all the locations as well as consistent reinforcement of the rules. The above strategies are aimed at enhancing the survival of a teacher and effecting the learning process of a student (Otto, 2005).
The SWPBS research study noted that the survival of a teacher and enhanced student learning can be influenced positively by setting clear behavioral expectations, which are easily understood by all the stakeholders within the education sector. Besides, there need to be an ongoing process of data collection in coming up with effective decisions that might prevent any form of negative behavior on the part of the students (Otto, 2005).
Method or Procedure
Two schools, secondary level and elementary level undertook to implement the SWPBS program. The schools chose the representatives who attended the training. Each school was represented by 10 members; they were trained for a whole academic year for 8 hours a day on how to implement SWPBS and involve the parents of the individual learners.
Selection of Instruments
The instrument used was a school-wide evaluation tool, abbreviated as SET to measure the implementation level of SWPBS procedures. Its features include;: defining required behaviors, informing the students on what is expected of them, rewarding good behaviors and involving all the stakeholders within the education sector.
Selection of the Participants
The views documented above are the results of a multilevel data analysis that was carried out in a survey that was conducted by 50 teachers at secondary school level and 20 teachers from the elementary school level. The research was conducted at both personal and school levels.
Findings
It was found out that before the implementation of the SWPBS, both the elementary and high school teachers were not motivated enough to continue imparting knowledge on the learners. The lack of motivation was generated from behavioral issues on the part of the students that resulted into a situation where many teachers quit the profession citing behavioral issues.
Conclusion and Recommendations
From the discussion above, it has been noted that for an effective teacher survival and student learning, there needs to be a lot of effort put forth from all the stakeholders in the education sector. The teachers need to encourage the higher levels of efficacy and selfbelief; they need to work hard in the lesson planning and execution and thus, portray good behavioral management strategies. The behavior of the individual learners is critical in enhancing the performance of the motivation. Whenever students post good results, the teacher is motivated, raises their individual self efficacy and survives best and for longer within the profession.
Therefore, it is recommended that the teachers receive pro-active training on behavioral management in the pre-school service years and continuously undertake in service trainings to enhance discipline and good behavior at school.
