Current behaviour policies, which focus around reward and deterrent, have only limited long-term effectiveness. They assume that students can exercise self-control and follow rules, when motivated to do so. Students with special educational needs and disabilities typically have many intrinsic challenges to self-regulation, due to executive…

The US Department of Justice released the final report on school violence and showed that middle school is the age when violence is high, accounting for more than 70% of all violence cases (Zweig et al., 2013). After having perpetrated, the probability that the perpetrator will commit violence again will increase significantly (Office of the…

Adam Wright, Michael A. Gottfried, and Vi-Nhuan Le demonstrate empirically that minority teachers have a positive impact on the "social-emotional development" of American minority kindergarten children. Their analyses of 2010-2011 data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study focus on measurable effects in four social and affective…

In this commentary on the special series, I argue that whereas a zero-tolerance approach to school discipline is "something stupid" (Kauffman & Brigham, 2000) the use of suspension might not be. Despite its limitations, suspension and other forms of punishment serve as effective deterrents of behavior problems for most children, especially when…

Addresses problem areas encountered by families with learning-disabled children: parental self-blame and mourning, family life, the child's biological-psychological-social growth, and the child's achievement of independence. Argues that social workers have skills needed for effective remedial intervention. (RH)

Discusses how conceptualizing anger control as a necessary survival skill for angry and aggressive youth is more productive than diagnosing these youth with labels like conduct disorders. Anger management programs should promote the ideas that angry persons need to trust others and that they have the ability to control their lives. (RJM)

This paper examines the use of corporal punishment in public schools. It presents a brief history of corporal-punishment practices and explains why corporal punishment remains a legal means of control in the schools of 23 states in the United States. Opponents of corporal punishment argue that it should be abolished from schools because it models…

The article discusses learning disabilities and concomitant emotional/behavioral problems in three areas: problems of control and regulation of impulse, problems in perception and concept formation, and defective self concept. (Author/DB)

An elementary teacher discusses her methods of dealing with a fourth grader who threw temper tantrums when he could not do his work. She offered to bring her dog to school if he showed self-control for a week. He worked hard, avoided temper tantrums, and his positive behavior was rewarded. (SM)

Emotional responses affect interpretation of messages heard and raise barriers to effective listening. Teaching students to listen objectively and recognize emotional triggers will help them develop clearer understanding and result in better learning. (SK)

The authors respond to their colleagues' critiques of a self-control curriculum for students with learning or emotional disorders. (SBH)

As a response to a preceding article, the author outlines his views regarding the nature of self-control particularly as they contrast the Fagen-Long curriculum for emotionally disturbed and learning disabled students. (SBH)

Discusses various forms of confabulation, and conditions that often give rise to these disorders. Asserts that confabulatory states frequently are associated with cerebral damage that involves the right hemisphere, notably, the frontal (often bilaterally) and parietal lobes - areas intimately involved in arousal, attention, information regulation,…

The research papers in the current Merrill-Palmer Quarterly (Vol. 30, No. 2) invitational issue on temperament are examined from the perspective of previous research and the indications they provide for critical unsolved issues concerning temperament. (Author)

Differentiates between punishment and discipline. Personal interaction styles, the environment, schedules, and personal expectations are discussed as having an effect on children's behavior. Recommends that techniques rely on problem-solving skills in helping children become self-disciplined. (AS)