While these figures may be staggering, for those in the trenches — educators and students alike — they present a very real problem. Many students can be struggling in school, and teachers are woefully unable to help them, by no fault of their own. This situation lends itself to a vicious cycle of behaviour incidents, inconsistent consequences, and frustration… leading to an overwhelming feeling of helplessness on everyone's part. In fact, a US MetLife survey (2012) indicates teacher job satisfaction is at an all-time low and much of that dissatisfaction stems from student behaviour and discipline issues including the lack of support in addressing these issues.
The sheer number of behaviour concerns that occur in the classroom on a daily basis can make it very difficult to formulate an accurate measure of the real challenges and needs. It can also be a challenge to figure out where to start when there can be so many variations in the types of behaviours.