Teachers as facilitators of self-regulation in learners who present with challenging behaviour in the foundation phase

Abstract: Managing challenging behaviour in the classroom is a problem faced by teachers all over the world. The intention of this study is to explore and describe the foundation phase teacher’s views on self-regulation and their knowledge, strategies and skills to facilitate self-regulation in foundation phase children presenting with challenging behaviours in an inclusive mainstream school. Research over the last 30 years indicates that self-regulatory strategies can be used to manage and support children with challenging behaviours in an inclusive school. Evidence is accumulating that foundation phase children can and do engage in self-regulating strategies. Since the introduction of Education White Paper 6, it is a debated issue whether children with challenging behaviours could be supported in a mainstream school or should placement be sort out in a more specialized school. Against this background, foundation phase teachers were interviewed in order to determine what behaviours they found to be challenging, and what strategies they implemented in an attempt to support these foundation phase children in the classroom to facilitate self-regulation. The research design and methodology of the study is located in the interpretist paradigm using a case study design within a qualitative approach. Data was collected by conducting a focus group interview, an individual interview and observations. Data was analyzed inductively through open and axial coding and four final themes emerged. These themes were the school milieu, which included lack of parental involvement and poverty as a contributor to challenging behaviours; the school culture, which focused on the school management as a contributor of challenging behaviours; impressions of challenging behaviours, which focused on the teacher’s lack of understanding of the behaviours they experienced; and teacher classroom strategies to facilitate self-regulation. The results indicated that the selected teacher’s appropriate qualifications and experience to support foundation phase children toward self-regulation were...M.Ed