Causes of Challenging Behavior in Primary Schools: The Perspectives of Students in Phoenix, South Africa/

Students’ challenging behavior has become a serious problem internationally. In South Africa, there are reports highlighting that even primary schools experience serious forms of challenging behavior by students. This article emanates from a case study that utilized the social cognitive theory to understand how primary schools address this phenomenon. To get students’ perspectives of what causes them to exhibit challenging behavior, a purposive sample of nine students (N = 9) from three primary schools was identified. Data were generated through face-to-face and focus group interviews. Findings show that there are more school than home factors impacting primary school students’ lives and influencing behavior. The article concludes that primary school teachers need to understand the causative factors of challenging behaviors and consider changing school cultures as a possible solution to school improvement efforts. Further research should include a larger sample of schools and multicultural students to shed more light on this phenomenon.