A Study of Coping Strategies to Deal with Disruptive Behavior in Special Schools

Abstract

The current study is aimed atexploring the indicators of disruptive behavior among special students, investigating the environmental factors which cause the disruptive behavior in special education schools, finding out the strategies used by male and female teachers to cope up with disruptive behavior and examining the effectiveness of these coping strategies.A self-developed questionnaire comprising five sub-sections was administered on conveniently selected 250 teachers of special schools and centers from Faisalabad, Pakistan. Findings of the study reveal that the most common disruptions which occur in the class are making a noise, showing violence, hitting and breaking the rules. Peer teasing, broken or lost toys, conflicts with other fellows and bullying form other fellows in
terms of comments or laughing expressions proved to be the main sources of disruptive behavior. The most frequently used coping strategy in special school is cognitive strategy followed by individualized education program and expressive therapy and relaxation technique is the most effective one followed by behavioral strategies and individualized education program. Educational implications are also discussed.