Positive behaviour in schools

'A Whole-School Approach to Positive Behaviour in School' is the title of this year's annual seminar of the Journal of Maltese Education Research (JMER), on May 30 between 4 and 7.30 p.m. at the National Curriculum Centre in Hamrun. Prof. Paul Cooper, from the University of Leicester's School of Education, and Dr Carmel Cefai, from the University of Malta's Faculty of Education will discuss the theme. JMER editor Dr Carmel Borg is the seminar convenor.

Schools need to be proactive in their approach to challenging behaviour by seeking ways to prevent problematic behaviours and promote positive ones, rather than just trying to fix one problem after another. Research suggests that educators are more likely to be effective in the prevention and management of challenging behaviour if they seek to promote change at the whole school level, having an agreed plan of action developed through the active engagement of all the school members.

This seminar provides participants with an opportunity to examine how the school as a community is related to behaviour difficulties, both in terms of causing or exacerbating the problem as well as in preventing it. It presents a whole-school framework for the prevention of behaviour difficulties and the promotion of pro-social ones and discusses how this framework may be put in actual practice.

Participants will be encouraged to participate actively in the seminar, sharing their experiences and making their own suggestions. For more information contact Dr Borg at: carmel.borg@um.edu.mt.