R Parker

Attachment Aware Schools: An Alternative to Behaviourism in Supporting Children’s Behaviour?

The behaviourist paradigm is strongly engrained in English schools and much of the educational world (Harold & Corcoran, 2013; Hart, 2010). Current government policies (Department for Education, 2014a, 2014b, 2014c) and a school inspectorate system (Ofsted, 2014a) that explicitly endorse behaviourist principles have combined to reinforce a traditional view that children’s behaviour should be managed through a system of sanctions and rewards in order to improve their classroom performance and promote pro-social behaviour. It is fair to say that such a system can work…for most of the children, for most of the time. But what happens when it does not work?

New resources focusing on attachment issues in school

A set of training materials for teachers, school leaders and governors have been published as part pf a new programme to raise awareness of the practical implications of attachment issues in schools.