Disruptive Behaviour in Classroom – Medical Students’ Perception

Abstract

 Introduction: For a conducive learning environment learners and teachers are expected to behave optimally. Disruptive behaviors of students are a thorny issue in everyday classrooms. For teachers, these behaviors are intolerable, stress-provoking, and responsible for medical educator’s burnout. On the other hand, teacher’s misbehaviors also hinder the smoothness and effectiveness of learning and impede the learning of the students.

Objective: To determine the perception of students regarding their own and faculty’s disruptive classroom behavior.

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at Private Medical College in Lahore on the final year medical
students during the month of May 2018. A questionnaire was used for data collection. The data was managed by using SPSS version 25.
Results: A remarkable difference was noted in students’ perceptions regarding their own and faculty’s disruptive behavior. Female students were more sensitive regarding the gravity of disruptive behavior. Regarding their own, students agreed with 35% items while about faculty they labeled 90% items as disruptive behavior. Sleeping in class (48%), demanding special treatment from the faculty, and not putting cell phones on silent mode (44%) were common disruptive behavior of the students. Humiliating behavior (87%), unintelligible voice, and unavailability of teachers outside the class (81%) were reported by students as common disruptive behavior of the faculty.
Conclusion: Regarding disruptive behavior students were more sensitive about teachers’ dealing while gave cold shoulder to their own conduct.
Keywords: Disruptive behavior, classroom behavior, incivility, faculty, medical students, perception