Reward charts, certificates and golden time – how do such behaviour management systems affect children’s self-perception and the perception of their peers? Dawn Jones discusses her research, opening up conversations around adult and child power imbalances, listening to children, classroom design and much more.

This episode is sponsored by ‘My Mood Stars’. My Mood Stars are resources that have been created to support emotional development; with the aim of encouraging children to talk about their feelings and emotions. To find out more about My Mood Stars visit: https://www.wendywoo.uk/mymoodstars/ 

Read Dawn’s article:

Problematising behaviour management systems –

https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/problematising-behaviour-management-systems/  

 Listen to more:

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 Episode break down:

00:00 – Background into the research 04:50 – Why is ‘Golden time’ problematic? 08:50 – ‘I have things to say & nobody listens’ 15:10 – Creating a sense of helplessness 16:50 – Public shaming & negative perceptions of self & peers 22:35 – The power behind the teacher 23:20 – ‘The blue mat’ – Developmentally inappropriate practices 27:50 – Old fashioned behaviour management systems 29:50 – Children spend so much time either ‘waiting’ or ‘hurrying’ 32:50 – Reward certificates – Some children will never get one… 34:50 – Judging children by standardised expectations 37:05 – Celebrating children for their unique selves 38:15 – Do we want critical thinkers or robots? 40:50 – Challenging standardised practice is a form of advocacy

For more episodes and articles visit The Voice of Early Childhood website: https://www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com