Pupils are less likely to listen to strict teachers

Strict teachers are less likely to have well-behaved pupils, a study suggests, because children rebel against “controlling sounding voices”.

Academics from the University of Essex and Reading University played recordings of teachers’ voices to 250 10 to 16-year-old pupils in the UK.

Participants were asked questions about how the tone of voice affected them, with students asked to rate how they would respond to each voice in terms of competence, emotions, trust and their intention to co-operate.

Children reacted best to supportive voices while controlling tones made their self-esteem plummet, the study found.