Constructivist Approach for Creating a Non-Violent School Climate

Introduction

As children grow and develop, the concept of how to acquire and organize information in their minds becomes more complex (Martin, 2001; Maxim, 2010; Naude, Bergh, & Kruger, 2014). Not all students have the same mental capacity, so teaching should take into account each student’s stage of development. The constructivist approach emphasises students’ ability to develop their own knowledge by themselves based on experience and previous knowledge. Teaching according to the principles of constructivism is conducted in such a way that learning has its purpose, and that purpose should be known to students (Fitzgerald & Smith, 2016). The teacher must create favourable conditions for the learning process, including an encouraging environment and social atmosphere so that the processes of active and independent knowledge acquisition can begin (Gojkov, 2004; Marentič Požarnik, 2008; Maxim, 2010; Špoljar, 2004). A teacher has to create conditions for the most effective learning as possible and an encouraging social atmosphere, which can be done by a properly established and maintained system that allows undisturbed pedagogical work. Teaching, that motivates students and involves them in work rarely leads to problems in the classroom. It can be said that effective teaching is actually a preventative disciplinary measure that keeps students so involved and interested that they are not inclined to cause problems (Glasser, 1990; Pšunder, 2004; Tauber, 2007).

There is a question of whether a certain teaching approach, in this case, the constructivist approach, can help teachers teach more effectively and consequently serve as a preventative disciplinary measure. Often the usefulness of constructivist theories of learning and teaching operate primarily on a theoretical level. A few rare studies did attempt to measure the usefulness of the constructivist approach. Authors such as Boddy, Watson, and Aubusson (2003), Buh (2015), Dolenc Obranić (2014), Lah and Kostanjevec (2015), Mogonea (2014), and Vegelj (2012) researched the effects of constructivist teaching on different areas and levels of education. Results cannot be generalised, but they offer guidelines for further research. Authors also highlight the need for new and additional studies, as the principle of implementation is not universal, but depends on the learning content. In this chapter, the authors present a theoretical outline of constructivist theory in the teaching and learning process. Furthermore, they present the meaning of the student’s active role in the classroom and its effect on the prevention of any form of violence. Later, an excerpt of results obtained in an empirical research study about the representation of the constructivist approach in an elementary school is presented. The research study was focused on the teachers’ opinion about the discipline maintenance during the students’ activities and collaboration in the classroom. Lastly, the guidelines for the teachers that are in accordance with the constructivist approach are presented. In order to understand how constructivism works authors are first presenting what constructivism is.