Activity 2.2.4 - Disruptive Students

"Self-concept is a complex, continuously active system of subjective beliefs about personal existence. It guides behaviour and enables each individual to assume particular roles in life."

Purkey & Novak (1996). p.31.

Read the following example from Purkey & Novak about failure, not trying and reinforcing feelings of inadequacies

While you're reading, think about...

The behaviours of disruptive students, and how self-concept serves as a reference point for behaviour.
How perception influences behaviour
Some of the differences and similarities between adults and children

Zimmerman and Allebrand (1965)... demonstrated that poor readers lack a sense of personal worth and adequacy to the point where they actively avoid achievement. For poor readers, to study hard and still fail provides unbearable proof of their inadequacy. To avoid such proof and thus suffer less pain, many students deliberately choose not to try. Their defence against failure is secretly to accept themselves as failures! It is better, from the students' viewpoint, not to try than to try and be embarrassed or humiliated.

A person with a negative self-concept defends himself or herself against further loss.

To understand why this is so, it is important to recognize that from the student's perceptual vantage point any amount of anxiety, no matter how great appears preferable to other available avenues of behavior.

Purkey & Novak (1996). p.31. Emphasis added

Click the icon to share with us experiences that you've had with disruptive students who may have had negative self-concepts.

Now think about these questions and write your answers/thoughts in your blog.

If self-concept and academic ability are related, what does this say about how your students may behave and achieve in your classes?
How is self-concept development important in an invitational adult learning environment?
What might adult students need in their learning environment for it to be invitational? Give some specific example(s).

Please share your answer to Question #3 with the class (Reply to your experience post in the forum above).

This is the end of Session 2. Click to go to Session 3.