Increasing resilience, lowering risk: Teachers' use of the Circle of Courage in the classroom

Abstract

This explanatory and descriptive quantitative study explored teachers classroom practices, using the Circle of Courage as a guideline with the aim of providing some guidelines that could further improve resilience and prevent challenging behaviour in the classroom. The Circle of Courage provides a framework for understanding behaviour and developing classroom and school-wide strategies to decrease challenging behaviour and increase resilience and self-worth in children. This quantitative research study used a purposive sample (n=211) that consisted of primary and secondary school teachers from 20 schools in the Mangaung and Setsoto municipal areas in the Free State. Results revealed that teachers could improve their teaching strategies linked to the principles of belonging, mastery, independence and generosity. It also emerged from the study that teachers have the most difficulty in developing mastery, one of the principles on which education should show excellence. It is recommended that teachers improve their teaching strategies by specifically targeting the four principles of the Circle of Courage since this could help improve learner resilience and academic achievement. This could also lead to the prevention of disciplinary problems in the classroom, especially when used in conjunction with the restorative school model.