by Dr Ragnar Purje
By examining and reporting on student behaviour and student attitudes in relation to their learning outcomes, Glasser found that unless a student was personally motivated to behave and learn, there was very little anyone else could do except offer advice; inevitably, it is the student who is responsible for their behaviour and learning.
With this in mind, Glasser acknowledges that “[w]hile there is no doubt that some teachers are more skillful at motivating than others, there is no teacher, no matter how skilled, who can teach a student who does not want to learn.” As such, Glasser declares that students are responsible for their behaviours.
Responsibility Theory® states that students are responsible for what they think, do, say, choose, and learn and for the consequences of their choices. As such, banning school mobile phones is an important consideration. However, what happens when students are alone and away from all forms of advice and supervision?
It is at these “alone” times that it is profoundly crucial that children learn and consciously know how to make positive choices before taking any action. This knowledge (of knowing how to make decisions before taking action) will help them understand how to protect themselves.
Responsibility Theory® and the Neuroscience of Self-empowerment is a concomitant program designed to teach students how to make constructive choices before taking any action. That is because the universal social truth is that the debate over mobile phone use in schools is multi-layered, and this issue most certainly involves the social complexities associated with technology, education, the impact of social media use on the brain, and, self-evidently, child development.
William Glasser’s Choice Theory and Control Theory emphasise the importance of personal accountability, suggesting that students are responsible for their actions and decisions. These theories align with the broader educational goal of encouraging the development of independent critical thinkers who can hopefully develop the conscious capacities to navigate and overcome the immense multifaceted social challenges that will occur, especially outside of school environments and, most certainly, on social media.
With this universal truth at the forefront of thinking, it is profoundly important that unsupervised students have the skills, knowledge, cognitive ability, associated intentional ability, and, most certainly, the conscious insight to know how to make positive choices before any choice is made.
By teaching students how to be consciously aware of their choices and the consequences of their actions, there is the capacity for students to learn how to protect themselves and make decisions that will be in their best interests and their health and well-being.
Responsibility Theory and the Neuroscience of Self-empowerment complement this knowledge by offering insight and skills training into how they can learn to make constructive choices. Implementing programs that combine the tenets of Responsibility Theory with the practical applications of neuroscience can provide students with a robust framework for decision-making.
The empirical evidence of Responsibility Theory suggests that students should have the potential to develop and reflect on their thought processes to understand the impact of their choices better and, with this, develop self-directing insightful strategies for the specific purpose of taking only positive actions.
This holistic approach has the potential to prepare students for the absence of immediate supervision so that they can equip themselves with the valuable skills of critical thinking to help them make constructive choices.
Ultimately, the conversation about mobile phones in schools isn’t just about the devices themselves; it’s about preparing students for a world where they will constantly encounter choices and challenges.
Therefore, it is crucial for students to understand the immense importance of personal responsibility as it is closely linked to academic success and life skills development. Research indicates that when students take ownership of their learning, they are more likely to set and achieve learning goals, believe in their ability to succeed, and exhibit initiative and self-direction.
By integrating theories of personal responsibility and self-empowerment into the curriculum, educators can help students build a foundation of self-awareness, self-regulation and self-management that will serve them in the classroom and, perhaps most importantly, throughout their life.
There is no time like the present. In fact, there is no other time except that of the present. The past can never be changed. The future is an eternal potential; now is the only time and place when change can and will occur. As Anita Woolfolk points out:
“If one goal of education is to produce people who are capable of educating themselves, then students must learn to manage their own lives, set their own goals, and provide their own reinforcement…Life is filled with tasks that call for…self-management.”
Your choices, your consequences, your life, it really is all up to you. Therefore, always, always, always choose wisely. If you are uncertain, always seek help and advice before taking action.
Dr Ragnar Purje is an Adjunct Senior Lecturer in the School of Education at CQUniversity, and the author of Responsibility Theory®. With the support of Professor Ken Purnell (Head of Neuroscience at CQU), Dr Purje presents lectures to preservice graduate teachers about Responsibility Theory®.