Eureka! Institutional Repository

The present thesis deals with the issue of deviating behavior shown by High School students. This issue has become a major problem with serious implications in the smooth operation of school units and also in the relations between students and their teachers and parents. Through a thorough bibliographical survey and an empirical ad hoc research the thesis seeks the reasons and roots of this phenomenon, and further examines its consequences and finally proposes ways and measures to face and where possible to prevent its manifestation. A quantitative survey has been created ad hoc, by means of an anonymous questionnaire, designed to enquire the views and stance of teachers belonging to the Secondary Education tier. It is aimed especially to teachers, as they experience their students’ deviating behavior at first instance, with certain negative results: to name just a few we have recorded professional stress leading to burn-out, a negative influence on their psychic mood, a constant questioning of their teaching adequacy and methodology and so on. We have sought the professional opinion of Secondary education teachers through the questionnaire to draft and design ways and means of prevention and further improve the quality of school community life by enhancing the process of respectful dialogue and the principle of cooperation. The issue of systematic training of teachers in matters relating to students’ behavior and relative administrative problems arising has been highlighted in the thesis and it is considered a major necessity that will grant teachers serious support in their teaching and overall pedagogical duties. A further issue is the training of parents in matters relating to teenagers’ behavioral problems, which is also considered crucial in the effort to enhance the quality of family life and school and community behavior. The appointment of school psychologists in all Secondary school units has long been a major demand of professional trade unions as they are trained especially to prevent deviating behavioral patterns of students and can actively help in the consolidation of a creative and supportive school atmosphere. Intermediation as a means of peaceful solving of differences should become an institutionalized item in school life. Taking punitive action alone cannot face the students’ deviating behavior problem permanently or eradicate it altogether. It just creates a temporarily unstable ‘balance’, causes major psychic disturbance and injury to students and perpetuates conflict in schools.