Behavioral problems in the classroom: construction of the concept from the perspective of elementary school teachers Problemas de conducta en el aula: construcción del concepto desde la perspectiva de las maestras de primaria

Abstract

In the special education field, the presence of students with behavioral problems inside the classroom is reported by teachers frequently, who indicate that this kind of behaviors alter the social and learning climate in the classroom. The main objective of this study was to analyze the conceptions that a group of teachers attending the first grades of elementary school have about behavior problems and the reasons why these occur inside the classroom. A qualitative descriptive study was designed, with a focus group. Four teachers participated, their average age was 40 and with an average of 17 years of teaching experience. Informed consent formats and thematic guide with five open questions were used in the focus group. The information was transcribed, and the content analysis was carried out using the model proposed by Miles, Huberman and Saldaña (2014) for an iterative investigation, from which arose three analytic categories whit their respective dimensions. The main findings show that teachers recognize the personal characteristics of the student with behavioral problems, but also, they attribute the presence of this problems to various elements of the family and school contexts. They highlight that these behavior problems of students change over the time, the context and their own characteristics as teachers, giving to its presence a dynamic character. Although, they identify those strategies that in terms of discipline and improvement of the student’s self-regulation they must apply, they also point out some limitations they have to do so.