Product reviews for After The Adults Change

Drawing on the work of his personal experience consulting a range of schools, and collating the work of other practitioners and researchers, Paul Dix has produced an insightful and evangelical analysis of strategies, skills and steps to help teachers create what he terms a culture of achievable behaviour. The focus is on the development of consistent practice linked to a wide range of approaches to refine behaviour management practice. 

Paul tackles many key issues from a practical perspective, putting his own anecdotal flavour to a vision for moving beyond behaviour management in order to focus on building relational and restorative practice to decrease disproportionate punishment. His foci for change include corridor and playground recognition, proportionate consequences, coaching and moving forward based on changing mindsets, promoting tolerance, restorative practice, kindness, and strategies to reduce exclusion. His emphasis is on developing and refining routines exemplified by calm, consistent and regulated adult responses to managing the challenging individual or group. 

Paul also addresses the urgent need to promote initial training for teachers and skilled support staff within schools, with reference to the catch-up needs of an increasing number of pupils in terms of their educational, social and personal behavioural skills. The author's discussion of proportionate and productive consequences, restorative practice and assertive redirection is thought-provoking. 

Overall, After the Adults Change is an insightful and stimulating book that addresses the key issue of behaviour management to improve the engagement, progress and retention of challenging students in schools and colleges. Readers will gain a better idea of how close they are to achieving behavioural nirvana within their setting and what needs to happen in order to get to that state.