Numerous research based social emotional learning curriculums are available to school districts. The purpose of this study was to examine the potential impact of Second Step, a researched social emotional learning curriculum, and the impact it had on kindergarten, first grade, and second grade students' discipline in school. This…

We investigate the beginning of the school discipline pipeline using a reform in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools that limited the use of out-of-school suspension for students in grades K-2. We find that the reform reduced the likelihood of out-of-school suspension by 1.4 percentage points (56%) and had precise null effects on test scores and…

Black and Latinx students, along with those in special education programs, are suspended and expelled at rates higher than their peers. Exclusionary discipline can lead to poor academic performance, high dropout rates, and incarceration. Restorative practices (RP) promote a positive school culture, reduce punitive discipline, and build strong…

This dissertation examined the relationship that additional recess has on office discipline referrals. The relationship between additional recess time and student attendance was also examined in the study. Many research projects have been completed during the No Child Left Behind era where recess was reduced in many schools to allow for more…

In Barbados, positive behavior support (PBS) has been introduced as an alternative to the use of harsh disciplinary practices, but Barbadian PK-3 grade teachers' perspectives of PBS are not well understood. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore Barbadian PK-3 grade teachers' perspectives of PBS as an approach to managing…

The purpose of this study was to examine and understand the implementation experiences and program impacts of "The Leader in Me" (LIM) via the perspectives of the students, staff, and administrators at RAE Elementary School. Many teachers believe they could be more effective in the classroom if not for having to deal with classroom…

Students of color are overrepresented among those having difficulty transitioning from first to second grade. The purpose of this study is to train second grade teachers in the techniques of culturally responsive teaching to decrease the number of behavior referrals for 2nd grade students by 10% (43), as reported by the discipline data from school…

The problem addressed in this study was that although administrators in a rural northeastern Maryland school district are complying with state Senate Bill 651 by not suspending students in prekindergarten through second grade, administrators continue to struggle with preventing severe offenses from happening and reducing office referrals. The…

The connection between school success and the quality of the student-teacher relationship (STR) is especially salient for students with or at-risk for emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD; Zolkoski, 2019). However, the STR is typically poor for these students (Breeman et al., 2018; Crum et al., 2016) and little work has been done to understand…

Black boys often underperform in English Language assessments. Strive for Excellence Academy (SFEA, a pseudonym) was a Title I school serving more than 500 students in Grade 2 and Grade 3 in an urban/suburban city in New York State. The achievement gap for third-grade Black boys was found to originate in their second-grade classrooms. Anecdotal…

Disparities in school discipline data indicate that children of color, particularly boys, receive more frequent and harsher disciplinary actions than their white peers, and this begins in early schooling. Within today's print-centered, bodily restricted school curricula, literacy instruction is often reduced to highly controlled, leveled readers…

The purpose of this study was to target students who show aggressive and bullying behavior due to a lack of anger management and self-control skills. Two groups of boys in grades 2-4 participated in anger managements groups that either followed an anger management curriculum or followed the anger management curriculum plus breathing techniques.…

Although Individual Disabilities Education Act of 2004 (IDEA) has mandated states to collect and analyze data to determine if special education disproportionality is occurring within the local education agencies (LEAs), student of color continue to be disproportionately represented in special education programs. Historical trend data revealed that…

The purpose of this study was to compare the behavior outcomes of kindergarten (n = 20), first-grade (n = 20), second-grade (n = 20), and third-grade (n = 20) students in a large urban Midwestern school district returning to school after receiving out-of-school suspensions for violent and/or aggressive behaviors with the behavior outcomes of same…

Schools are increasingly using multi-tiered prevention models to address the academic and behavior needs of students. The foundation of these models is the implementation of universal, or Tier 1, practices designed to support the academic and behavioral needs of the vast majority of students. To support teachers in the use of effective Tier 1…