Professional Journals on Disruptive Behavior in the Classroom

Professional publications can help teachers learn about bad classroom behavior.

There is a variety of resources for teachers who want to learn about the causes of disruptive classroom behavior and how to curtail it. Professional journals address potential medical and psychological causes of disruptive classroom behavior. Reading these publications may help teachers discover methods for coping with the behavior and how to work with the child's parents to ensure a peaceful classroom environment.

The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Some children misbehave due to biochemical reasons, particularly if they are taking prescription drugs to treat a medical or psychiatric condition. Some drugs have unwanted side effects, such as the inability to concentrate or sit still. The journal The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has published studies that address why some students who take stimulant medications to treat conditions that cause unwanted disruptive behavior, such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, when they are in elementary school, are able to be weaned off of the medications in middle school.

Developmental Psychology

Disruptive classroom behavior is the result of a child's complex mental processes. Researchers study how children's brains process information in the classroom and interview them to determine why they act out. The results of these studies are published in peer-reviewed professional journals. The journal Developmental Psychology, published by the American Psychological Association, periodically publishes studies that address poor classroom behavior in the context of how the problem child's brain functions and what such a child's academic outlook may be.

Pediatrics

The American Academy of Pediatrics publishes the journal Pediatrics, which explores medical reasons why some children exhibit disruptive behavior and consequent issues. In December 2010, the journal published a study that examined the different ideas that parents and pediatricians have about how to share decision-making in the medical care of a child with ADHD. Teachers may benefit from such information because they will gain an appreciation for the parents' perspective and consider it when discussing their ADHD child.

The Lancet

The Lancet publishes medical studies, some of which have addressed potential sources of childhood disorders that cause disruptive behavior, such as autism. The journal was the subject of controversy in 2010 when it retracted a study by Dr. Andrew Wakefield that had been published in 1998. The study concluded that the measles, mumps and rubella vaccination caused autism, but the journal's decade-long investigation found that the study's data was fraudulent. Rival publications, such as the medical journal BMJ, have criticized The Lancet for publishing the study, but the retraction indicates how seriously professional journals take the information that they publish. Nonetheless, readers should keep in mind that there is room for error, even in professional publications.

References

• "The New York Times;" Bad Behavior Does Not Doom Pupils, Studies Say; Benedict Carey; November 2007
• "Pediatrics;" Contrasting Parents' and Pediatricians' Perspectives on Shared Decision-making in ADHD; AG Fiks et. al.; December 2010
• "BMJ;" How the Case Against the MMR Vaccine was Fixed; Brian Deer; January 2011

Resources

• American Psychological Association: Developmental Psychology
• Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
• American Academy of Pediatrics: Pediatrics
• The Lancet
• MedlinePlus: ADHD
• MedlinePlus: Autism
• Teacher Vision: Behavior Management Resources