School Inclusion, a Solution Focused Approach
Just where does a teacher start with teaching the seemingly unteachable? Chances are that they have tried every sanction there is, including bribery. Children like this are just too challenging for the mainstream..... or are they?
It is the perception that creates the reality because the truth is that challenging children do not misbehave all the time. If a teacher can find out what it is that keeps their attention, even if it is only for a short while then maybe this can be useful in getting the child to settle down.
A solution focussed approach recognises the problem but seeks a solution by finding what a child can do, what their strengths are and then building on these. Teachers cannot change history but they can affect the future and this is driving force behind a solution focussed approach.
“A small change in any aspect of a problem or even a failed solution can initiate a solution”
(Solution Focussed)
Our expectation is that challenging children should go from ‘zero to hero’ in an instant. If expectations are too prohibitive then change is unlikely to occur. A way around this is to construct a scale by which progress can be measured. Scaling is used a lot in therapy to gauge progress.
Seeking a diagnosis for behavioural problems can take years and then you have to find the best strategy, if indeed there is one, meanwhile the child continues to disrupt. A Solution Focussed approach tackles the problem in a different way. It focuses on the behaviour as the problem and not the child. By taking this view the child is not labelled or demonised.
“The problem is the problem not the child”
(Solution Focussed)
By honing in on the problem, the issue is depersonalised whilst at the same time externalising the problem in the child’s eyes. Separating the behaviour from the child allows the child to begin to remove ‘the monkey on their back’.
The solution to the problem is;
· How to solve the problem
· How to educate the child to deal with the problem
“There are an infinite number of ways both positive and negative to solve a problem”
(Solution Focussed)
It is a case of the teacher recognising when desired behaviours occur and noticing why and/or how the correct response has been elicited. Teacher’s responses are hard wired to react to misbehaviours so this is a skill that has to be nurtured. Once a possible solution emerges it is a case of trying it again to see if the desired response is repeated.
“If it works do more of it, if it does not work try something else”
(Solution Focussed)
When searching for ‘what works’ it might help to try things from the opposite perspective. As a teacher you will be aware of what a challenging child ‘cannot do’ but;
· Are you as aware of what they can do?
· How do you acknowledge when a child is being good?
“Catch them being good”
(Solution Focussed)
When working with children the ideal ratio is 4 positives to 1 negative. If we recognise and reward children when they are being ‘good’ they are more likely to repeat that behaviour.
Solution Focussed is as much a philosophy as it is a psychology of working. Its principles apply to all aspects within a school and as such they are as relevant to the teacher in the classroom as they are to senior management. A Solution Focussed approach recognises that there are issues but rather than dwelling on them it seeks to find a solution to the issues without looking outside the immediate environment (that is usually the person).
“Children have unique ways of solving problems”
(Solution Focussed)
“Children have the necessary resources to make change possible”
(Solution Focussed)
A child may be adept at sport or drama, activities that require high levels of concentration, determination and self-discipline, yet when asked to sit quietly and get on with a task in the classroom these same skills are absent. Children, especially, do not transfer skills easily from one situation to another but a Solution Focused teacher would work with a child to enable them to transfer their skills.
If change is going occur then the child is going to have to co-operate. A child may agree to be better in the future, they may even sign a contract to that effect and promise that it will never happen again. No sooner have they stepped out of the door they are back to their old tricks.
“No sign up, no change”
(Solution Focussed)
For a long term, permanent change in challenging behaviour what is ‘on offer’ has to be better than what is happening at present. The teacher has to find a way to create the ‘want’ in a child. This is why difficult children with a difficult home life tend to come to school every day despite constantly getting into trouble. School offers them a safe haven, warmth and attention (albeit negative attention). Likewise children who truant find comfort in the friends they hang around with outside of school. Finding a solution to the problem may not be easy but unless the child is included in the process then the chances are that they will not sign up to change.
“One foot in the pain and one in the possibility”
(Solution Focussed)
It is important to hear a child’s story about what is troubling them. Having listened to what they have to say the teacher can then paint a picture of a time when things will be better. This offers the child hope and with hope comes motivation. Acknowledging a child’s distress creates an empathy that goes a long way to enhancing co-operation. Offering them choices with a positive outcome gives them the opportunity to feel that they are still in control.
“A focus on future possibilities enhances change”
(Solution Focussed)
“The possibilities are endless”
(Solution Focussed)
This article has been adapted from Colin Lever’s book ‘Understanding Behaviour in the inclusive classroom’ (Routledge). He is also the author of ‘Children in Need: Education, wellbeing and the pursuit of GDP’.
~D��`�����