BEHAVIOURAL-EMOTIONAL DIFFICULTIES OF PRIMARY SCHOOL PUPILS OCCURRING DUE TO UNFAVOURABLE ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS AND  STRATEGIES TO OVERCOME THEM: THE EXPERIENCE OF PEDAGOGUES

Rita Raudeliunaite¹*, Vida Gudzinskiene^2
1Assoc. Prof. Dr.  Mykolas Romeris University, LITHUANIA, ritara@mruni.eu
²Prof. Dr. Mykolas Romeris University, LITHUANIA, vida.gudzinskiene@mruni.eu
*Corresponding Author

Abstract

Unfavourable environmental factors are environmental conditions or circumstances that inhibit the child's development or even lead to a risky behaviour. Children growing in an unfavourable environment have less knowledge, experience, are less dutiful and responsible, less mature in respect of their age, have psychosocial problems and adaptation difficulties more often. It is particularly important to identify the behavioural-emotional difficulties, which arise from unfavourable environmental factors, in primary school, because in the absence of timely assistance to the child his psychosocial development may be impeded.

The objective of the study is to reveal behavioural-emotional difficulties of primary school pupils occurring due to unfavourable environmental factors and the strategies to overcome them on the basis of the experience of pedagogues.  Problematic study question: What behavioural-emotional difficulties of pupils, which are resulted in by unfavourable environmental factors, do primary school teachers encounter and how do they overcome them? Qualitative research type was chosen for the study. In the study, the method of a semi-structured interview was used. The study data were processed by using the method of content analysis. 12 pedagogues participated in the study.

The study findings revealed that primary school teachers encounter the following behavioural-emotional difficulties: children's hostility, impulsiveness, involvement in fighting and/or bullying, taking of others' belongings without a permission, shrinking into themselves, anxiety, sadness, absent mindedness, irritability, failure to control his emotions.

In order to overcome behavioural-emotional difficulties of pupils, teachers observe the behaviour of a pupil and record arising difficulties, work individually with a child and a form (consult a pupil, create a positive interaction with the child, adapt the learning environment to the child, develop communication skills and encourage  positive relationships in the classroom, develop   self-control and self-confidence skills, employ different strategies to change misbehaviour), work with a family (provide factual  information to parents on behavioural-emotional difficulties and conditions of the child, assist parents in recognising parenting mistakes and learning to change incorrect reactions to the a child's  misbehaviour, organise collegial consulting of parents),  as well as cooperate with teachers and educational assistance specialists (inform teachers, who work with the form, about a worrying behaviour of a pupil, consult with the specialists of educational assistance, while cooperating prepare and realise the plan of  individual assistance to the child).

Keywords: Primary school, children, behavioural-emotional difficulties, unfavourable, environmental factors, teachers