The Effects of Uncontrolled Aggressive Behavior in the Classroom

Aggressive behavior in the classroom can have negative effects on the teacher, the student acting disruptively and the rest of the classroom. Aggressive behavior is an interruption to the teacher and the class, and it can result in violence that harms the teacher or another student.

Effect on the Child Behaving Aggressively

• A 1998 Johns Hopkins University study on classroom aggression found that those children who acted aggressively in first grade were likely to act aggressively in middle school as well. Without help in stopping the behavior, aggression became worse through the years and continued to be prevalent in the classroom. Furthermore, the underlying issues associated with the aggression --- anger, hostility, frustration, low self-esteem --- only get worse as the years go on, and this perpetuates a vicious cycle of negative feelings and aggressive behavior.

Losing Control of the Classroom

• When teachers do not act quickly and effectively to stop a student's aggressive behavior, they can lose control of their classroom. Some students might find the behavior distracting, but others will see it as an opportunity to act out as well. This can become especially problematic because the teacher will not be able to teach, and the rest of the class will not be able to learn. Moreover, the likelihood of school violence or harmful behavior increases.

Hostile Learning Environment

• When one or more students act aggressively in the classroom, the space becomes a hostile learning environment for everyone. Students might become afraid to ask or answer questions for fear of standing out and becoming the target of the aggressive behavior. Depending on how he handles the situation, the teacher might become timid and overly cautious or preoccupied with monitoring the students exhibiting aggressive behavior.

Other Overall Effects

• Other students' parents might become concerned about having their child in that specific classroom. Also, the school's reputation might be negatively affected by children who exhibit aggressive behavior. Finally, sometimes a child's aggressive behavior can be incorrectly viewed as a poor reflection of the teacher.