Syftet med studien är att belysa barns egna perspektiv på tillvaron i en grupp där det finns barn med utåtagerande beteende som kan utsätta dem för verbala och/eller fysiska kränkningar. Barn i två grupper där det finns utåtagerande barn blev intervjuade individuellt. Barnen i den ena gruppen var sex och sju år gamla och i den andra gruppen var de åtta eller nio år gamla. Det finns inte så många studier i ämnet och det är oftast den ena sidan som blir belyst. De utåtagerande barnen får av naturliga skäl stor uppmärksamhet och de andra, kanske tysta barnen, glöms lättare bort i det tumult som kan uppstå i ett sådant klassrum. I dagens skolvärd anses inkludering ofta vara den enda vägen att gå och fokus ligger oerhört starkt på de barn som är i behov av särskilt stöd. De barn som utsätts för de kränkningar som kan ske i en situation där inkluderingen inte riktigt fungerar hamnar i skymundan. Denna studie visar på hur barn mår i en grupp där inkluderingen fungerar sämre än önskat. De barn som befinner sig i en situation där ett eller fler barn i gruppen är kraftigt utåtagerande verbalt och/eller fysiskt känner en daglig oro eller rädsla för att bli utsatta för kränkningar. Flertalet av de intervjuade vittnade om hur de blev ledsna vid påhopp och kände stor oro för att det skulle upprepas trots personalens förklaringar till beteendet. Studien visar också på att barnen menar att det blir bättre efter en tid men samtliga talar om ett första år med upprepade kränkningar både fysiskt och psykiskt. Trots pedagogiska förklaringar till beteendet från personalens sida och förståelse för detta från barnens, upplever de det ändå som att de blir kränkta. / This study aims to shed light on children’s own perspectives on the time they spend in a group were there are children with acting out-behaviour who may expose them to daily verbal and / or physical abuse. Children in two groups where there are acting out children were interviewed individually. The children in group one were six or seven years old and in group two they were eight or nine years old. There are not many studies on the subject since it’s usually only one side of the story represented in various studies and literature. Children with special needs are far more often represented there than the ones without. The children with acting out-behaviour naturally gets more attention than the other, perhaps more silent children, and it’s easy to forget them in the turmoil that can occur in the class room. In today’s schools inclusion is often considered to be the only or right way to go and focus is very strongly directed towards the children with special needs. Children who are exposed to violations that may occur in situations where inclusion is not fully functional sometimes takes second place. This study shows how children experience the time spent in a group where inclusion works less than desired. Children who find themselves in situations where a child or children in their group are acting out strongly verbally and / or physically can be anxious or fearful on a daily basis. Many of the children interviewed witnessed that they felt sad over the verbal abuse and felt fear of getting attacked by the children who was acting out repeatedly. The study also shows that the children believe that it gets better with time but almost every one of them testify of a first year with constant violation of their person, both verbally and physically. Despite teachers pedagogical explanations about the acting out-behaviour the children still feels abused.

The researcher aimed to answer the following question: What are the perceptions of preadolescent children and educators with regard to the phenomenon of acting-out behaviour? The goal of the study was to explore the perceptions of educators and pre-adolescent children on the phenomenon of acting-out behaviour. Pre-adolescence and socio-economic problems were discussed and behavioural theories, behavioural difficulties and acting-out behaviour were explored. The population consisted of educators and grade 5 to grade 7 learners in the two participating schools. Ten educators and twenty learners in each grade were selected by means of stratified random sampling, to participate in the study. The survey design was utilised, as the researcher wished to explore perceptions of educators and pre-adolescent learners on the phenomenon of acting-out behaviour. The researcher formulated two questionnaires that were reader-friendly to both educators and learners respectively. The questionnaires focused on aspects of acting-out behaviour observed in the developmental level which is of concern to the study. Research results have indicated that acting-out behaviour is an ever-increasing phenomenon, even though the term “acting-out” is relatively unknown. The educators and learner respondents had very similar views on acting-out behaviour and the reasons for this negative behaviour displayed by children. It can therefore be concluded that acting-out behaviour is perceived as being very real in the lives of today’s children and is very often regarded as problematic behaviour and only addressed as such. Characteristics of actingout behaviour include lying, swearing, aggressiveness, hitting and kicking, badmouthing others, poor school marks, bullying and seeking attention. Parental conflict is the highest cause of emotional problems and consequently behavioural problems in children. The family system is also the most important system in the pre-adolescent’s life. Consequently it is recommended that families need to be considered as a key system in the development of acting-out behaviour, but most importantly also, as a key factor in dealing with such behaviour. Further research on, especially, intervention methods with regard to acting-out behaviour and socio-economic factors are recommended and emphasised. Copyright / Dissertation (MSW)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Social Work and Criminology / unrestricted