SELF-CONTROL AND SELF- REGULATION IN THE MIDDLE SCHOOL CLASSROOM: Or the lack thereof By Logan Arrington

Classroom Observation I did my classroom observation at Mt. Zion Middle School located in Carroll Country, not too far from campus. I mostly observed 8 th grade students in Georgia Studies. (98 in total) However, I did observe one period of 7 th grade students in their Social Studies class. (28 Students) The student base is mostly White but it does include a number of Black and Hispanic students. Mt. Zion Middle School is located in a more rural area than Carrollton and it more like the school from which I graduated. In total the middle school houses around 280 students over three grades. I observed roughly 21 hours over a three day span.

So What is Self-Control? In my observations I noticed the extreme lack of self- control in the majority of students, a large enough absence to worry about these students as they transition from middle school to high school. As an aspiring teacher, this worries me and reinforces that we should always be proponents of self-control. Self-control is defined as the ability to control one’s actions in the absence of external reinforcement or punishment. In simple terms this is behaving and acting in a positive way when no one is looking.

Self-Control to Self Regulation Self-regulation is the consistent and appropriate application of self-control. If the students do not have positive and functioning self- control then they are not going to be able to regulate their selves. Self-regulation is based on the interactions of Bandura’s triadic model: personal characteristics, behavioral patterns, and environmental factors.

The Lack of Self-Control Students in the classroom, specifically the 8 th grade, seem to be missing this key element. Student self-control plays a huge part on the entire makeup of a classroom. If students lack self-control, the teacher will always have to be on top of them which not only will take away from the effectiveness of the lesson, but take away from all students learning. Remember, self-control has beneficial aspects outside of the classroom as well!

Why is this Absence here? The absence of self-control in these students is most likely related to their self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is the perception of one’s preparedness to deal with a particular task. Self-efficacy relates to the personal characteristics of Bandura’s triadic model. “Students who believe that they can do better on the task are more likely to use self-regulation strategies when working.”(Snowman/McCown, 283) However not all cases are the same, some students are restricted by behavior problems or by other outside factors.

Self-Control helps with Classroom Management One of the most important factors about self-control is that if students possess this characteristic, they will actually be very beneficial to the teacher. The teacher will be able to depend on his or her students to do their work while he either assists another student or works on something for their class. When students lack self-control, the teacher has to be in complete and constant control of the classroom, which usually leads to whole period lecturing or some other similar type of management.

The Triadic Model Bandura’s model relies on the fact that all behavior is a result of interaction between personal characteristics, behavioral patterns, and environmental factors. These students absence of self-control are due to the interactions of these three factors. Personal Characteristics: the students demonstrate a possible low self-efficacy when dealing with many subjects and assignments. Behavioral Patterns: the students have a very apathetic behavior in the classroom. Environmental Factors: there does not seem to be specifically enforced punishment for not regulating and controlling one’s self.

What is Next? The main purpose of this presentation is to demonstrate that in the absence of self-control, a teacher must do his or her best to nurture those feelings, even if it is as late as the 8 th grade. Without self-control and in turn self-regulation, students are going to encounter a plethora of difficulties in high school, in college and in the real world. We have to do our best to use Bandura’s Triadic Model to understand why the students are demonstrating this absence of important skills, and do our best to cultivate them.

Promoting Self-Control in the Classroom When discussing the absence of self-control with some teachers and instructors they have recommended a number of materials for my personal use and for the students use: For a Teacher: 1. “Help Your Child to Develop Ways to Self-Regulate” accessed from: 2. “Self-Regulation: The Key to Successful Students?” accessed from: 3. “Self-Regulation of Academic Learning in Middle-Level Schools” accessed from:

Something to Show Your Students This is something that I came across myself and why it is a little childish, I believe it does demonstrate what exactly self-control and self-regulation are and why students should have it. Using Self Control Accessed from:

References McCown, Rick & Jack Snowman. Psychology Applied to Teaching. Belmont: Wadsworth, Zimmerman, Barry J. Becoming a Self Regulated Learner: An Overview. Accessed from: