Journal of Psychology & Behavioral Science

Teachers’ Emotional and Educational Reactions toward Children with Behavioral Problems: Implication for School-Based Counseling Work with Teachers
Elias Kourkoutas, Ph.D; Pilios-Dimitris Stavrou, Stefanos Plexousakis

Abstract
Disruptive behaviour and conduct problems among children have a significant effect in their school presence, and affect the quality of their interactions with their teachers. As a consequence, teachers face difficulties in their work, resulting in higher dropout rates and burn out, while students are not supported adequately. The present review discusses the need for teachers working with children exhibiting challenging behaviour to receive help from professionals, in order to gain better insight into the psychological processes of such children. Studying the interaction between disruptive children and their teachers within the classroom, it can be deducted that each child requires an understanding of the roots of their problematic behaviour, as it is critical to find out which clinical/ therapeutic or psychosocial/psycho-educational intervention fits best each case. The need for the implementation of a holistic model that incorporates therapeutic interventions in school is explained; it is critical to integrate counsellors, who will connect with the children and alleviate part of the stress that causes the disruptive behaviour. Meanwhile, the role of counsellors in this context should be to facilitate communication among students and teachers, helping the latter to gain a psychodynamic insight into each case, and to handle conscious or unconscious hostile feelings and rejecting attitudes toward the ―problematic‖ pupil. Finally, key points are presented that summarize the steps that need to be done in order to develop a productive and functioning relationship among all parts within a school framework.

Full Text: PDF     DOI: 10.15640/jpbs.v6n2a3