Abstract
Learner disruptive behaviour is a decades-long global challenge, making classroom management extremely difficult for teachers. The study explored teachers’ experiences of learner disruptive behaviour in primary schools in Johannesburg, Gauteng province, South Africa. Informed by the ecological systems theory, the study made use of an interpretative phenomenological research design as it was best suited to describe the individual lived experiences of the teachers dealing with disruptive learner behaviour in their classrooms. The study participants were 10 teachers from two public mainstream urban primary schools in Johannesburg. Semi-structured interviews were used to generate data, and thereafter, analysed using the thematic data analysis method.
Disruptive behaviours were categorized as verbal interruptions (e.g., talking out of turn, rudeness, shouting) and motoric/movement-related actions (e.g., walking around, playing under tables, borrowing unnecessary stationery). These behaviours were found to negatively impact teaching and learning time. Although teachers have strategies in place to manage these learners in the classroom, some are not effective, leaving teachers overwhelmed, stressed, frustrated, emotionally exhausted and unable to finish the curriculum.
The persistence of these behaviours was linked to exosystemic factors (parental non-involvement, community influence) and inadequate microsystemic controls (weak enforcement of the school's code of conduct). The study recommends that parental workshops, teachers’ professional development programmes, and school disciplinary measures be strengthened, and mental health interventions should be provided to help with the disruptive behaviour of learners.