South African primary school teachers struggle curtailing student behaviors, therefore impeding teaching and learning. To understand this phenomenon, 15 primary school teachers were interviewed. Findings reveal that students' negative family dynamics, displaced aggression, and social factors influenced challenging behavior. Social cognitive theory and general systems theory rationalized how behavior is learned and transferred within systems. Understanding the causative factors of student challenging behavior will benefit teachers to understand the student before addressing their behavior. Future research should look into student challenging behavior from other perspectives. School intervention programs should be established that support vulnerable students to curtail their challenging behavior.