Making sense of an individual's behaviour

Understanding individual behaviour

The language we use to describe the behaviour of an individual can sometimes help us and sometimes hinder.

The following questions have proved useful in illuminating an individual's behaviour. 

Ten important questions

  1. What behaviour is causing concern? Specify clearly, do not merely re-label. 
  2. In what situation does the behaviour occur? In what settings/contexts, with which others?
  3. In what situation does the behaviour NOT occur? (This can often be the most illuminating question). 
  4. What happens before the behaviour? A precipitating pattern? A build up? A trigger?
  5. What follows the behaviour causing concern? Something which maintains the behaviour?
  6. What skills does the person demonstrate? Social/communication skills? Learning/classroom skills? 

7 What skills does the person apparently NOT demonstrate? How may these be developed?

8 What view does the person have of their behaviour? What does it mean to them?

9 What view does the person have of themselves? May their behaviour enhance that view?

10 What view do others have of the person? How has this developed? Is it self-fulfiling? Can it change? 

Using the ten important questions to inform your own thinking, consider a pupil whose behaviour puzzles you ­ don't choose the most publicly difficult pupil in the school. Read down the ten questions, thinking about each in turn. Note what happens, both in terms of answers you might arrive at, and in terms of how your thinking is led/influenced.

• Do some questions `ring bells'? 
• Do some lead to important enquiries? 
• Are some difficult to answer? 

Sometimes using these questions helps you to understand the elements (people and events) which make up a vicious cycle of behaviour and those which make up a virtuous cycle. They generally help you to identify a pattern and move beyond simple person explanations (page 11). On some occasions if these ten do not move you on, ask yourself: 

Who is most concerned by this behaviour? This can sometimes re-direct our attention in a useful way, when the difficulty is not so much with the identified person's behaviour, as with the person who reports a concern.

Help and support 
For further advice on this issue, ATL members can speak to their school rep, their branch secretary or their regional official. They can also call the London (020 7930 6441), Cardiff (029 2046 5000) or Belfast office (02890 327 990) or email info@atl.org.uk.

For out of hours enquiries, call the out of office hours helpline on 020 7782 1612 (Monday-Friday, 5-8pm during term time).

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