Different environments deliver different behaviours
James Clear is the author of the bestselling book Atomic Habits. I recently had the privilege to hear him speak, and last week, while on holiday I made further progress through his book. He talks about the importance of the environment on our habits, and I’m grateful to him for bringing Kurt Lewin to my attention.
Kurt Lewin was a German-American psychologist who lived between 1890 and 1947. A pioneer of social psychology Lewin wrote an equation that I think helps to explain why children behave differently in different environments. His equation is
In other words, behaviour (B) is a function of a person(P) in their environment (E).
I have long held that environment is a fundamental part of the reason why so many children struggle at school, often presenting with challenging behaviour, either at home or at school or both. This equation makes total sense to me and validates what I have observed personally.
When we think about this carefully, it is fairly obvious. Put me in a prison, at a job interview or at a party and I’ll behave differently each time. The person hasn’t changed, the environment has changed and consequently the behaviour.
Equally, put three different people in the same job interview, or at the same party, and you may observe three different types of behaviour.
When children have struggled in one environment, they are often written off as badly behaved, or troublemakers. Sometimes they end up being excluded, temporarily or permanently or moved to a different school through a managed move.
As parents and educators we need to remember that their behaviour is a function not just of the child, it is a function of the environment.
This is especially important to consider if either of the following applies.
Often a child applies to join a school, and their previous track record paints a picture such that the school rejects them based on their previous behaviour. The child is tarnished with their previous record. The only thing that is certain is the behaviour will be different in a new environment. Parents often know when a school is right for their child, and if a parent believes a school will be the right environment for their child, the school would do well to work out how to help them prove or disprove this.
When a child that is struggling in school is at risk of being excluded or subject to a managed move understanding this equation is also crucial. Without properly understanding the aspects of the current environment that aren’t working, it isn’t possible to make an informed decision on what alternative provision is required. Often the last area to be considered is that the environment can be changed to better suit the child.
