The Scottish government’s recent report on behaviour in Scottish schools has elicited the responses which might be expected. At the same time its key contents have been ignored.
Perceptions across schools are that both low level disruptive behaviour and serious disruptive behaviour have decreased year-on-year since 2006.
The exception is in relation to the use of mobile phones.
Deteriorating standards of behaviour represent a god-send for the few staffroom cynics in every school but, even more, for newspaper editors seeking an easy headline.
Despite the noted overall improvements, sections of the media have spoken of “mounting disruption” in Scottish schools. Loud calls for “zero tolerance” of mobiles have followed. At the same time, other teachers claim they have no option but to ignore mobiles in class. Some level-headed analysis needs to be given these issues.
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