Over the past 25 years, Gallup polls have consistently reported that disruptive behavior and discipline problems are some of the top concerns of school staff and community members. In fact, problems with classroom management are among the most common reasons that teachers leave their jobs. In response, many schools are turning to more formal…

Schools remain one of the safest environments for children. However, in far too many schools, a lack of respect for the authority of teachers and other school employees, as well as for the rights of other students, is undermining the ability of schools to provide students with a quality education. Even in the best schools, employees often…

Explores the effects of a proactive school-wide discipline approach on the frequency of problem behavior displayed by elementary students. Study was designed to explore the impact of a social skill instruction program and direct intervention on problem behaviors in three school settings (cafeteria, recess, and hallway transition). Results indicate…

The Youth Development Project is a research-based program for delinquency prevention. The project tested three strategies for children and youth at-risk: social skills training, cooperative student team learning, and parent school liaison. Data collection and planning began in the 1983-84 school year and intervention was started in 1984-85.…

An article in the December 15, 2003, issue of "Time" magazine--"Does Kindergarten Need Cops?"--described what it called an "alarming trend" of violence, profanity and "other outrageous acts" by children in kindergarten and first grade. The article, based on a regional study conducted by Partnership for…

The RE-FOCUS Program at Ruskin High School in Kansas City, Missouri, helps at-risk students to redefine their efforts in social behavior and academic success. When inappropriate behavior occurs and the classroom teacher needs assistance, the student is taken out of his/her regular school environment and assigned in the RE-FOCUS room. The program,…

A program for improving student social skills was implemented in three classrooms of lower-class kindergarten and second grade students at two schools in order to reduce the number of behavior problems. Student behavior is a nationwide educational concern, and the problem of inappropriate behavior at the schools was documented by teacher…