Conceptualisation of challenging behaviour within preschool and primary education in Flanders. A critical discourse analysis on motivated reports from student guidance centres

Student behaviour has become a pressing concern within Flemish education, yet the concept of ‘challenging behaviour’ remains difficult to define. Its meaning is context-dependent and shaped by interpretations of teachers and educational professionals. Rather than asking whether challenging behaviour is increasing in Flanders, this study examines what is currently constructed as challenging and what this reveals about contemporary understandings of education. Drawing on a critical discourse analysis of motivated reports written by student guidance centres in regular preschool and primary education, the study explores how challenging behaviour is conceptualised. The findings indicate that behaviour is predominantly framed through child-centred and deficit-oriented discourses, locating difficulties within the individual student and foregrounding classroom disruption. Interpretations frequently draw on psycho-medical expertise, employing technical jargon and diagnostic instruments to legitimise individual measures. At the same time, contextual framings occasionally emerge, highlighting the social conditions under which behaviour becomes problematic. These patterns are closely linked to the institutional function of the motivated report as a child-focused, decision-oriented accountability document. Given the absence of a clear definition and the proliferation of overlapping terms, the study questions whether the field of education possesses a sufficiently nuanced lexicon to capture the complexity of this phenomenon.