Guidance and Discipline Issues in the Early Education Classroom

There is question and concern that behavior problems that affect preschoolers may continue to affect them later in life. These behavior problems may compromise their later chances in school. Young children who are emotionally unstable and attend school while persistently sad, withdrawn, or that have disruptive behaviors may receive less instruction. These children will also have fewer chances to interact with their peer group and not be receptive to peer-based learning. Children who are disruptive and sad also risk loosing out on being an active learner. Children who come from a lower economic background have a much greater disadvantage than other children. Early
The most important factor is that this research does point to low quality care in the preschool classrooms as a major influence in a child’s behavior issues. An example is that teachers are expected to manage large numbers of preschoolers in their classrooms (NICHD Early Child Care Research Network, 2001), often with little training or support in effective methods of classroom management. These preschool teachers also experience “burnout” as a result of trying to meet too many classroom demands with too little support. These teachers may also be unlikely to take new, proactive steps to support children’s behavioral self-regulation, if teachers feel unsupported themselves. When teachers were provided with intensive training in strategies they could use in their classrooms, the result is a more effective regulatory support and better classroom management to better reduce child behavior problems (NICHD Early Child Care Research Network, 2001).

Low-income children who has exposure to high levels of family and community violence may also represent a threat to the children’s emotional and behavioral adjustment and school readiness. There are as many as 30% of inner-city low-income preschool and early school-aged children who were reported to have been exposed to severe violence that included robbery, threats with a weapon, or shooting or stabbing (Randolph, Koblinsky, & Roberts, 1996). When taking this information into consideration, it is understandable