Motivating students to behave in socially competent ways

Theory Into Practice, Autumn, 2003 by Kathryn R. Wentzel

A full appreciation of why students display positive classroom behavior requires an understanding of students' personal goals, as well as the degree to which these goals are valued by teachers and peers. A caring classroom environment in which teachers and peers support and promote the expression of positive social behaviors appears to play a critical role in promoting students' adoption and pursuit of positive social goals. In this article, an ecological perspective is introduced as a framework for understanding ways teachers and classmates can create a caring classroom environment and in doing so, contribute to a student's sense of belongingness and motivate engagement in appropriate classroom behavior. The implications of this perspective for understanding how to promote the development of social competencies across diverse student populations are discussed.

OF CENTRAL IMPORTANCE in discussions of classroom management is the notion that despite individual differences in students' willingness and ability to behave appropriately, contextual factors also can influence their behavior as they move from classroom to classroom. Where a group of students might be quietly engaged in a learning activity in one classroom, these same students are capable of disruptive and disrespectful behavior in another. In this article, I describe a model based on principles of motivation and person-environment fit to explain why these variations in students' behavior are often observed. I discuss students' adoption of social goals to engage in prosocial behavior (e.g., helping, sharing, cooperating) and refrain from displays of antisocial and irresponsible behavior (e.g., breaking rules, aggression with peers) as a critical component of their social competence and overall adjustment to school. This model also highlights the importance of the classroom social ecology in promoting a student's sense of belongingness and, thus, motivation to engage in appropriate classroom behavior. Potential barriers to some minority students' ability to experience this sense of belongingness and, therefore, to behave in socially competent ways are also discussed.

Defining Social Competence at School

When thinking about classroom management issues, it is often useful to step back and ask ourselves, what does a well-managed classroom look like and how would we like our students to behave? Discussions of classroom management also focus on the central question of how teachers can motivate students to want to behave in socially competent ways. There is general consensus that desirable student behavior can be defined in terms of the absence of negative or maladaptive outcomes (e.g., aggressive, inattentive, or disruptive actions) as well as frequent displays of normative or positive competencies (e.g., cooperative, compliant, or self-regulated behavior) (Wentzel, 1991b). However, discussions on why students' displays of socially competent behavior often differ as a function of specific classroom environments are not common. In part, this is due to limited understanding of how social competence develops and can be supported within the classroom environment.

One strategy for extending our understanding of these issues is to adopt perspectives that take into account ways that student characteristics interact with the demands and characteristics of the classroom. For instance, ecological perspectives (Bronfenbrenner, 1989; Wentzel, 2002b) provide several broad criteria that can be used to define classroom-specific social competence and conditions under which students tend to function in socially competent and well-adjusted fashion. First, these perspectives suggest that students are competent when they are able to achieve goals that are valued by themselves as well as those that are valued by their teachers and peers. Second, students should be achieving their goals in ways that are sanctioned by the group, for example getting good grades by studying hard rather than by cheating. Finally, goals should be accomplished in ways that set the stage for other positive outcomes for the student, such as healthy self-concept or further development of skills. For instance, positive interactions with peers, a desirable outcome in its own right, also can enhance the development of a range of intellectual skills such as perspective taking and problem-solving strategies that can enhance intellectual development (Damon & Phelps, 1989).

Of relevance for the present discussion is that these guidelines suggest that students are most likely to be socially competent if they can work to achieve the goals and objectives inherent in the demands of classroom life while at the same time, working to achieve their own personal goals. Therefore, a clear identification of teachers' and students' goals is critical if we are to define classroom-specific social competence. Practices that promote the adoption of socially valued goals and the development of positive outcomes for students must also be in place.