This brief guide is intended to aid instructors and counselors in helping students who are exhibiting emotional problems or suicidal behavior. Specific clues which indicate that a student is in emotional trouble or is potentially suicidal are listed along with actions which should be taken and crucial mistakes which should be avoided. (DC)

During the past ten years, many school districts have established alternative schools or programs for students who are seriously disruptive and academically unsuccessful. This bulletin describes five different types of alternative programs that have been effective in dealing with disruptive youth. They include the Tri-C Community Centered…

In the United Kingdom, exclusion from school is the most serious sanction a school can use in response to disruptive behavior. There has been continuing concern about the rising numbers of exclusions in the United Kingdom as a whole; however, little has been known about the situation in Scotland. This report presents findings of a study that…

In 1977, a Behavior Modification Clinic was established at William A. Wirt High School in Gary (Indiana) as an alternative to suspending disruptive youth. The clinic operates with two programs--a remedial academic instruction program in five basic subjects, and a counseling component in which all students are involved. The results of the clinic…

Recent research is beginning to shed some light on the nature and extent of violence and crime in American schools, the role that schools themselves play in producing, aggravating, or reducing school crime, and how changes in the schools can remedy social control problems. Data from these studies indicate that: (1) despite public opinion, school…

Recommendations are presented for dealing with difficult students and the questions they ask during classroom discussions. Brief ideas are provided for handling argumentative individuals, long-winded questioners, and questions for which the instructor does not have a good answer. A discussion of curved or loaded questions (pseudoquestions)…

A methodology for conducting research on managing the disruptive student based on identifying successful teacher strategies is described. The subjects of this study were teachers selected as being outstanding or average in their ability to cope with behavior problems. Data collection included two half-day classroom observations, a structured…

The incidence of school violence has increased in recent years. In response to the escalation, Deborah Prothrow-Stith developed a violence prevention curriculum to be taught in high schools; it has also been used in middle schools. The first section of this journal issue's report, "Confronting an Epidemic" offers details of Prothrow-Stith's…

One explanation for unexpectedly low stress levels among assistant principals may lie in "administrative attribution theory." The demand for school discipline by the public, school boards, teachers, and students should induce high levels of stress in assistant principals, because they are usually responsible for discipline enforcement,…

This publication is concerned with how to keep schools safe. The spring 2001 issue "New Study Reveals Prevalence, Harm of Bullying" (Ira Pollack) discusses a study about bullying based on data collected in 1998 by the World Health Organization's Health Behavior in School-Aged Children survey of 15,686 students in grades 6 through 10 and sheds…

For many students in the 1990s, school is no longer a safe environment in which they feel free to learn. This brief is intended to dispel myths about peer sexual harassment and clarify the new realities of the phenomenon in schools. The brief also conveys the message that school administrators have a duty to foster a school environment based on…

Practical guidelines are presented for implementing a discipline policy at the local level for students with disabilities, with suggestions for distinguishing policies affecting students in general and students with disabilities. Emphasis is placed on emerging issues and practical consequences. Relevant federal and state court decisions are cited,…

Findings from indepth studies of discipline policies in three middle schools are summarized. Although all the schools were in a single urban district, significant differences were identified among them. The written policies of each school varied in the elaboration and emphasis of various themes in district policy, and the schools varied in the…

The overall goal of teacher consultation is to improve upon the teacher's problem solving skills by addressing the immediate objective of solving student-centered problems. This study investigated the effects of the Systematic Facilitative Approach to consultation (SFA) and a written orientation to consultation with elementary school teachers.…

This theme issue focuses on programs and strategies aimed at developing crime-free, nonviolent, drug-free schools. "Alternative Education Programs: Resolution or Exclusion?" (Albert Cortez) describes alternative education programs mandated by Texas state legislation for serious student offenders, and related issues of assessment, due…