Chapter 4: Results
4.7 Teachers’ views on the adequacy and relevance of their training
4.7.2 Value of experience
73 the value of the training they had received to the value that they placed in actual classroom experience, this is presented below.
74 Participant C2 said that she did not believe that a teacher could be trained to deal with these learners as each learner was an individual with unique behaviours :
I don’t think you can be trained to, to deal with these learners. I don’t think anyone can train you, I think you’ve got to to work out as you go, cause… the child, every one of these kids are different so, you can’t train to say X and Y, you’ve got to, you’ve got to experience it and kind of get through it and trial and error will eventually get you there, it’s a lot of banging your head against the wall.
4.7.2.2 Intuition
The participants said that they had relied on their intuition and experience when having dealt with the learners who displayed oppositional and defiant behaviour in their classrooms. They said that training may have provided ideas on how to deal with these behaviours in general, but it would not have been as beneficial as their own practical experiences with these learners. The teachers valued being able to take each situation as it came and having dealt with it from their own perspective and intuition, rather than from a non-specific knowledge base of previous training. This linked to the discovery of successful strategies in having dealt with these learners, as the teachers indicated earlier, they often saw each situation as unique and they had to adapt their strategies to each individual learner, rather than having reacted in a uniform way. This may have also led to frustration and demotivation as the teachers may have begun to feel that their intuition was wrong or that they were not coping with the demands presented by these learners on a daily basis.
Participant C1 said that training may have been helpful but that she largely worked from her own intuition:
Umm, I would say about fifty percent, I would say because I, I’m doing it according to my way, but I would say it would be wonderful if we can get proper training.
Participant D2 said that her intuition and experience guided her choice of strategy used in dealing with these learners:
… to tell you the truth, there’s no cut and dry, there’s no black and white, umm, written thing that you could learn how to deal with this. It comes from within, it comes from your experience you’ve had and as I said, every incident will not warrant the same kind of strategy that you’re gonna use to handle that.
75 4.7.2.3 Trial and error
The participants felt that the use of trial and error, as a strategy in having dealt with learners who displayed oppositional and defiant behaviour, was beneficial to the learner and to themselves as teachers. They relied on their previous experiences as well as having tried other methods suggested by staff members or found through their own research. This showed the importance attributed to the value that the participants placed in their own and others experiences in the classroom. The teachers would have met with both success and failure in their use of trial and error and this may have made them feel both frustrated and proud, depending on how successful they had been. This was also associated with the teachers’
preference for having used their own experiences rather than the generic and uniform training that they may have received in courses or workshops in relation to having dealt with these learners.
Participant E2 spoke of experimenting with various strategies in having dealt with learners who displayed oppositional and defiant behaviour:
Uh, alot of the time, it’s a lot of uh, experimentation, trying of different things… more a trial and error and learning through experience.
Participant E3 spoke of the value she placed in having been able to find her own strategies through trial and error, rather than having been told to use strategies that may not have worked for all of her learners:
Cos you just try, it’s more of a trial and error, you just do and change until you find a system that works… so it’s just a trial, try try try and see basically.
It, you mostly just get thrown in in the deep end, but saying that, I find that it’s the best way to learn… then you you learn more what you can do and sort of where you want to go rather than being dictated to and told exactly how you need to do it. I found that was very good for, to learn.
4.7.2.4 No substitute for experience
The participants indicated that the more experienced they became in having dealt with these learners, the easier they found it to work with the learners in their classrooms. They said that their initial training had not helped them much in their dealings with these learners, but rather their practical experience in the classroom had been invaluable in having learnt to work with the learners. The participants who had received some training in behavioural problems, mostly in their additional qualifications, said that there was no substitute for actual practical classroom experience.
76 Participant C3 said that she has used her experience to benefit both herself and the learners in her classroom:
I think because I’ve had so much experience it has become easier and I’ve learnt, I’ve learnt ways to cope and to to help the child not just myself, myself and the child to cope.
Participant D1 indicated that after his initial teacher training, he had felt unprepared to deal with the learners in his classroom, but with experience he had learnt to cope better:
Initially no, but I think with time and the assistance of staff and individual experiences, you learn.
Participant D2 said that she used her previous experiences in mainstream to adapt her strategies to the special needs learners in her classroom:
It’s a challenge to me initially, but because of my experience I know exactly what strategies to use to, uh, to win that child over and each individual, it’s not the same… I think when I started at this school, having already so much of experience, umm, it was just a matter of adapting to this type of learners and the situation here.
The participants tended to place their practical experience in the classroom above their initial teacher training in terms of how prepared they had felt in having to deal with these learners in their classrooms. Most of the participants felt that even though they had received their initial teacher training and qualification, there had been little to no focus on special needs learners or the behavioural problems that these learners may have faced. The teachers relied on their own intuition and the strategy of trial and error when having dealt with learners who
displayed oppositional and defiant behaviour, and found their previous experiences invaluable in their interactions with these learners. They spoke of the learners as unique individuals and the need to adapt their strategies to these different learners, which was not something that they would have learnt from their initial teacher training. The teachers’
perception that their initial teacher training had been ineffective, influenced how they felt about their own teaching abilities and their self-confidence when faced with learners who displayed oppositional and defiant behaviour for the first time. Their willingness to learn from other, more experienced staff members, and to learn from their own experiences in the classroom, allowed the teachers to identify and use their own successful strategies in dealing with these learners. The teachers made use of their experiences to make suggestions on how their experiences in dealing with oppositional and defiant learners could be improved. Their suggestions are presented below.
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