The Impacts of Reward-based Behaviour Systems on First-year Primary School Students in Hong Kong.

Abstract

This action research project aimed to compare the behaviour of Year 1 students in Hong Kong as more reward-based behaviour systems were applied to the class. These students had mostly been subjected to Zoom classes throughout their education since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, thus leading to them have only a narrow foundation of how to behave from their short time experiencing face-to-face classes in kindergarten. This project used Lewin’s (1946) spiral model for educational action research and as each cycle passed, stricter and more rewarding methods were used to see how the students’ behaviour developed over time. Through the action research project, it became clear that as more positive reinforcement was used, students were more likely to respond better than when less positive reinforcement was being used. This also appears to yield more continuity of positive behaviour, particularly amongst the low-level disruptors.