Understanding Student Behavior Survey

The “Understanding Student Behavior” survey is an open-ended questionnaire, developed by students involved in What Kids Can Do, Inc. in 2003. The authors write:

“A teacher’s display of fairness, trust, and respect has an important effect on students’ classroom behavior. If a teacher knows and cares about the material and treats kids with respect and fairness, students say they generally will pay attention, do the work, and play by the rules. But if teachers signal unwillingness to keep up their part, kids will immediately act to right the balance, a struggle that many consider an ‘out-of-control classroom.’ Our student authors created and completed the table below as a way to help teachers understand what lies behind certain types of disruptive student behaviors. Teachers can ask their students to fill in their own answers or add to the table below.”

This survey solicits student voice on classroom culture and teacher practices that impact it.