The source of a student's disruptive behavior may be her parents. Parents who are chronically busy may cause their child to act out at school to get attention from an adult. Or the parents may be inconsistent, disciplining the child only when it is convenient. This can result in a confused child who is unable to discern which behaviors are acceptable and which are not. The parents may also be either overprotective, causing the child to seek self-expression and a form of freedom outside the home, or uncaring, in which case the disruptive child is likely crying out for attention and love from an adult she trusts.
Disruptive students are often so because they don't know how to deal with certain stressors. For example, students living in poverty may be hungry or worried about losing their parents or home. Disruptive behavior and the resulting punishment is a way to forget those stressors. Students who are being bullied may also act out as a way to counteract the feelings of oppression they feel when the bullying takes place.
Students are sometimes disruptive just because they feel they can get away with it --- for example, when a teacher's control of the classroom or teaching skills are weak. They may also act out in frustration caused by the teacher's inability to help them focus and enjoy learning. Students may also be disruptive when they sense the teacher has a negative or apathetic attitude, either toward teaching or toward his students. When students sense that a teacher doesn't want to be in the classroom, for example, they may be hurt or angry and seek to punish him with bad behavior.
Students do not need outside factors to be disruptive. Adopted students, for example, may now have a loving home but came from an unstable environment that created insecurities they have yet to shake. Or, students may be going through a typically stressful time, such as adolescence, and seek to feel more confident and in control by challenging a teacher's authority. Other students may have a learning disability, such as Attention Deficit Disorder, that prevents them from engaging meaningfully in class for extended periods of time. When ADD students cannot focus, for example, they often act out to show their frustration.