When a teacher seeks help in handling a difficult student, typically one of the first things recommended is a behavior contract.
Behavior contracts are popular because they give teachers a definite plan for improving behavior.
And where there is a plan, there is hope.
If you’re unfamiliar with how they work, behavior contracts are created collaboratively—usually the teacher, the student, and his or her parents. A principal or counselor may also sit in.
They consist of one or two agreed-upon goals and are supported by incentives and consequences that are tailored to the individual student.
At first glance, a behavior contract seems like a good idea: clear-cut goals, a student willing to try, parental support. And initially, behavior contracts do improve behavior—sometimes dramatically.
So what’s not to like?
Well… a lot.
Here’s why:
Behavior contracts label students
Anytime you treat difficult students differently than everyone else—by applying a different set of rules, incentives, and consequences—you’re communicating to them that they’re different, that they can’t control themselves like normal students and thus need special attention.
This doesn’t necessarily make them sad. In fact, they may appear quite thrilled with the stamp or sticker they earn for having a good day. This is why behavior initially improves.
But it undeniably lets them know, deep down inside, that they don’t measure up, that they’re not as “good” as everyone else. It becomes who they are, a self-fulfilling prophecy.
And children will always behave congruent with whatever label they’re given.
We want to inspire our students to believe in themselves and in their ability to listen, learn, and follow the rules of the classroom. Behavior contracts do the opposite. They demoralize students and make them feel helpless to change the course of their academic life.
Breaking rules and causing trouble then becomes not merely something they choose to do—which can be fixed—but rather it becomes who they are—which can’t.
External rewards are short term
At first a student on a behavior contract will be excited about earning stickers or prizes from the teacher or extra video game privileges at home.
But soon his or her interest will wane.
It’s human nature. The novelty will where off and motivation will weaken. External rewards alone only work short term and do little to improve behavior over time.
There is nothing wrong with using a prize box, and passing out smiley pencils or cool stickers is fun. But if used as the primary means to motivate students to behave, these external rewards will fail every time.
Being a member of a classroom they love is the greatest incentive. This offers a teacher powerful leverage, even with the most challenging of students.
Follow through is a bear
It’s great to have support from parents, and I think it’s important to get them involved. But anytime you have to count on that support for classroom management success, you’ll be disappointed. Parents get busy, lose interest, and become complacent. They just do.
Emails and notes home to parents should merely inform; to let parents know what is happening at school. Communication with home should not be used in the hope that it will change behavior.
Transferring any responsibility for the behavior in your classroom to someone else—whether it be a parent, principal, or counselor—weakens your ability to do it yourself.
The power to control your classroom should remain solely with you.
So What Is The Alternative?
The alternative is to treat every student the same. Any and all unwanted behavior by students should fall under the rules and consequences of your classroom management plan.
A behavior contract is nothing more than a replacement for a classroom management plan that isn’t being followed. The difference is that a classroom management plan doesn’t label students or chip away at their self-confidence.
For more information on this topic, please check out the article One Classroom Management Strategy For Every Student.
Thanks for reading.
If you haven’t done so already, please join us. It’s free! Click here and begin receiving classroom management articles like this one in your email box every week.
Hi Michael,
I’m a fifth grade teacher, and I have a “difficult” student for whom we are talking about creating a positive behavior support plan. The idea (as I understand it), is a little different from a contract because it seeks to have replacement behaviors for the negative ones. He’s also receiving counseling services, and this would be used in conjunction with counseling. What would you say about this?
Thanks in advance,
Dana
Hi Dana,
Not knowing the student, or the details of your plan, it’s hard for me to comment specifically. I’m dubious of the benefits of having outside staff–counselors, administrators, and the like–get too involved. For more on this read this article. However, if it helps the child improve his or her behavior permanently, I’m all for it.
Michael
When I think of a contract, I think of goods or services being exchanged. Can altering one’s behavior really be considered a service in the schools? In order for a contract to be binding, both parties have to enter willfully into the contract. On the other hand, when an institution warns, punishes, or places a student on probationary status; there seems to be something wrong with how both parties are entering into the contract. Considering the above, is a behavioral contract really a contract? What would be a better name for a behavioral contract?
Hi Jason,
Behavior contracts typically include rewards in exchange for good behavior.
Michael
Ehhh doen’t have to be “good” behavior as long as they don’t do the bad behavior they will be rewarded. So they are rewarded for just doing what is expected of the regular students already.
Hi Michael,
Thank you for your reply. I see how a behavioral contract could be considered a contract if there was a reward for good behavior. Still, don’t some behavioral contracts have other types of consequences – that might include suspending a student, if the student breaks these kinds of behavioral contracts? In cases such as these – in which the behavioral contract warns a student, it seems to me as though it would be helpful to identify the behavioral contract as something else besides a contract in order to communicate what the “contract” is doing. So, in short, my question is: what should the “contract” be called if the behavioral contract serves not only to reward the student for good behavior – but also to warn the student – and is therefore something else besides a contract in the proper sense of the word contract?
Hi Jason,
I’m the wrong person to ask. I don’t advocate using behavior contracts in any form. Therefore, I don’t spend much time thinking about them or how they can or should be configured.
Michael
Michael,
I think that the only way to expose how bad behavior contracts are is to call them what they are. However, it is difficult to come up with the language to call them what they are – though, I like your method of coming up with alternatives. One other reason why I don’t like behavior contracts – a reason that I’d like to get your opinion about, is that – because of the way that behavior contracts are titled, behavior contracts place normal and abnormal behavior – that is not in violation of rules, in the domain of institutional control. In my opinion, behavior is a very sensitive word – and should not be used in the title of this type of contract. I think that it is important to expose how bad behavior contracts are. An additional thing that behavior agreements can do is stipulate that the student has to report to school administers on a regular basis for a period of time. I think that this is unfair – because by reporting the student is made to do more work than other students in order to stay in school. I also think that it is a form of coercion because if the student does not report then they may be suspended from school. What do you think?
Hi Jason,
Good points. I’ll definitely have to think about it. The article was written from the point of view of a classroom teacher–It’s just how I think. But I need to think about your points through the lens of an administrator (of which I’ve never been) who often must handle problems that should have been, and best been, handled in the classroom.
Michael
What can you do when you have sent home the letter more than once? It seems to lose credibility.
Hi Sandra,
There is no reason why it would lose credibility. Remember, the purpose of the letter home is greater accountability for the student and mere “this is what happened at school today” information for the parent. Neither is affected by multiple letters home.
Michael
Hey Michael, can you address some of the empirical studies that support the use of behavior contracting? Like:
Miller, D.L., & Kelley, M.L. (1994). The use of goal setting and contingency contracting for improving children’s homework performance. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 27, 73-84.
Allen, L.J., Howard, V.F., Sweeney, W.J., & McLaughlin, T.F. (1993). Use of contingency contracting to increase on-task behavior with primary students. Psychological Reports, 72, 905-906.
Mruzek, D.W., Cohen, C., & Smith, T. (2007) Contingency contracting with students with autism spectrum disorders in a public school setting. Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities, 19, 103-114.
There seems to be some support that behavior contracts can be effective when used properly.
Thanks!
Hi Tyler,
As acknowledged in the article (sixth paragraph), behavior contracts can improve behavior—but only in the short-term. In the long run, it’s my strong belief that they’re detrimental to the student.
Michael
You say that all students should be treated equally and that a contract states the child is unable to control their behavior. I work with Emotionally Disabled students on IEP’s–isn’t that exactly what an IEP does–treat students differently
Hi Ken,
The article is referring to–and thus applies to–only regular education students. I apologize if I didn’t make that clear.
Michael
Michael,
I am just wondering what you do when a student is unable to follow the class rules as set forth to the class as a whole? What strategies do you use with that student? Also, behavior contracts use positive reinforcement to increase appropriate behavior and if one is not fading that reinforcement to more naturally occurring reinforcement, then they are not doing it correctly. I also disagree that a behavior contract is creating that self fulfilling prophesy. By not using a behavior change tactic that would work to decrease inappropriate behavior, you are perpetuating that self fulfilling prophesy that the child is unable to change their destiny.
Hi Joanne,
Read through the Difficult Students category of the archive, specifically the article series titled, How To Turn Around Difficult Students.
:)Michael
I wonder if you have ever worked in classrooms with truly difficult students (or any diverse population of students). To treat every student the “same” is to take away their individuality. Do you differentiate your instruction to target the specific needs of the learners in your classroom? Then why is it unreasonable to differentiate your behavior expectations to target the specific needs of the students? Every student comes to school with different experiences that shape who they are. Students know who behaves and who doesn’t without anyone putting “labels” on them. Any contract should be tailored to become unneeded. But, to say that contracts should never be used is inaccurate. They just need to be used responsibly, and not just to support staff who lack appropriate management skills.
Good day Michael,
I have read your article. It’s really very interesting and there are outlined the gaps of contract about what I did not think before. But one question about it is still in my mind: yes, by contract we facilitate child to think, that he/she is different from classmates and working with him by “different technique” really affects the interpersonal relationship between him and his classmates, but, if we were very gentle while working by external reward and will gradually move to MO-s which will reward our target behavior internally, I think that the external “events” which facilitate the student to think that he is different from his classmates will decrease and disappeared latter on and therefore we can achieve to maintain our target behavior for a long time. I think so because I think that for all of us the social reward plays a great role in our life: for being good students, employers, wife’s, colleges and so on.
English is not my native language, so take my apologies for some grammatically flawed sentences
With best Nino Okrosashvili
Hi Nino,
I appreciate your thoughts. Thank you for sharing. As for your question, I don’t have anything to add to what is written in the article. You may, however, be interested in reading through the Incentives & Praise category of our archive, where you’ll find more commentary on eternal rewards.
Michael