Restorative practices statistically replicate racial inequality in discipline, even while reducing overall school suspension rates and improving school climate. To understand why, the researcher conducted a year-long, multi-case ethnography examining restorative practices at three public secondary small schools in New York City. All three school…

Addressing disproportionate and excessive suspension is a crucial endeavor of inclusive leaders. PBIS is a significant tool in shifting from punitive measures to more presumably therapeutic ones. This multicase study unpacks the discourses of order and medicalization that leaders used in data collection and analysis while attempting include…

Because of widespread disillusion with suspension as a discipline procedure, school officials are developing inschool alternative programs. Institution of such a program must begin with reflection about how current disciplinary programs are succeeding or failing. The primary purposes of the program must include helping the child and identifying…

Schools across the nation report increases in the use of punitive disciplinary methods (e.g., suspension). The need for these disciplinary practices to address serious student misconduct is undisputed. What research has questioned is why some students seem to be suspended more often than others, what effects suspension has on students, and whether…

This paper describes the presentations made at a symposium of behavioral scientists conducting research on school disorder and delinquency prevention. The application of a climate assessment battery in organizational development and the evaluation of disciplinary programs in schools is described. The "Effective Schools Battery" (ESB)…

Findings of a study that examined teachers' and principals' attitudes toward responsibility for student disciplinary action are presented in this paper. Two questionnaires compared principal and teacher responses to vignettes of specific disciplinary situations. In the first survey, 40 elementary principals, 40 secondary principals, 40 elementary…

Reviewed are four reasons for misbehavior in children, and suggested are methods for adults to deal with the misbehavior. It is explained that motivation can be classified according to the following factors: attention getting mechanism (with passive/active and constructive/destructive patterns); power seeking; revenge seeking; and assumed or real…

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 purpose of this paper is to review the literature regarding some of the past practices of discipline and to explore the changes in discipline that have been made in our schools, the alternatives that have resulted, and a specific approach--in-school suspension--that has taken root in contemporary education as a result of this change. A review…

The problem of children's misbehavior in school is an urgent concern. Although misbehavior is not unique to the school, the whole of society suffers from violence. It is important to recall that those committing crimes today were yesterday's students. There are two modes for discipline in the schools. The "established" mode aims for teacher…

This paper emphasizes the importance of classroom discipline and offers suggestions that may be helpful to teachers facing behavior problems. Proceeding on the assumption that pupils who disrupt the classroom must be taught discipline, the author discusses ways of modifying the classroom environment and suggests ways to direct and encourage pupils…

An examination of rules and regulations of five schools within a 15-mile radius in Cook County, Illinois, illustrates the diverse nature of behavior problems in schools. Overcrowding, race, poverty, and drugs are suggested by social scientists to be among the causes for disruptions within school systems. The schools in this study include an…

Lack of proper discipline in schools has long been a major concern of the public. Proposals on how to improve discipline have ranged from the bizarre to the cruel. Educators and administrators must devise alternative punishments to replace traditional methods, such as corporal punishment, suspension, and expulsion, that are frequently ineffective.…

The purpose of this study was to determine how well various peer nomination factors predict to long-term low frequency but highly disruptive elementary age classroom behaviors that result in school disciplinary action. Peer nomination measures to determine six factors (prosocial, social preference, overt aggression, relational aggression,…

Addressing the problem of children being emotionally abusive to each other in the form of heckling and the more serious "put-down," this paper suggests that this behavior can stem from a need for attention, resistance, an inability to express feelings more appropriately, or a desire to test an adult's strength. It is important to listen…