Guidance (cont.)
Teachers set clear limits regarding unacceptable
behaviors and enforce these limits with explanations
in a climate of mutual respect and caring.
They attend to children consistently, not principally
when. Teachers involve children, particularly
older preschoolers, in considering rules of
group behavior and responsibility.
Teachers do not set clear limits and do not
hold children accountable to standards of
acceptable behavior. Teachers do not help children
learn or participate in setting classroom
rules so that they can incorporate the rules as
their own.
Teachers use guidance strategies that control
children rather than promote their self-
regulation, conflict resolution skills, and social
problem solving. When problems arise between
children,teachers quickly step in to solve
the problems themselves.
When a child consistently displays challenging
behaviors, teachers identify events, activities,
interactions, and other contextual factors that
occur with the challenging behavior and may
provoke it. Then, to help the child progress
toward more acceptable behavior, teachers
(incollaboration with families) make modifications
in the activities and environment and ensure that the child receives adult and peer support.
Teachers spend a great deal of time deal of time punishing
unacceptable behavior, refereeing disagreements,
and repeatedly putting the same children
in time-out or disciplining them in other
ways unrelated to their actions.
The director and/or staff encourage families
of children with challenging behaviors to leave
the program Children with special needs or
behavioral problems are isolated or rebuked for
failure to meet group expectations rather than
being provided with learning experiences that
are at a reasonable level of difficulty
comments on guidance
-Becoming self-regulated is one of the most significant developmental tasks of the preschool
years. Chapter 4 discusses the benefits of self-regulation and how teachers can promote it.
-When a child regularly engages in challenging behavior, teachers need to communicate with
the family to discuss what is going on with the child and what each adult can do to try to help.
If challenging behaviors are persistent and serious, teachers, the family, and in some instances
other professionals need to work as a team to develop and implement an individualized plan
that supports the child’s inclusion and success.