Concern about harsh and inequitable discipline over the past two decades has galvanized a host of discipline reforms. These reforms have gained renewed attention in recent months as both the COVID-19 pandemic and mass uprisings against anti-Black violence have both bolstered calls to reimagine schools as caring spaces. This moment raises urgent…

Among the most critical pre-pandemic inequities that have not received sufficient attention is the fact that many districts are not meeting their legal and moral obligation to educate students with disabilities, which must include providing needed mental health services, behavioral supports and educationally sound interventions by well qualified…

Among the most critical pre-pandemic inequities that have not received sufficient attention is the fact that many districts are not meeting their legal and moral obligation to educate students with disabilities, which must include providing needed mental health services, behavioral supports and educationally sound interventions by well qualified…

The nation's schools should be safe havens for teaching and learning, free of crime and violence. Any instance of crime or violence at school not only affects the individuals involved, but also may disrupt the educational process and affect bystanders, the school itself, and the surrounding community. Establishing reliable indicators of the…

There is insufficient empirical evidence exploring associations between gang membership and school violence behaviors. Using a sample of 272,863 high school students, this study employs a structural equation model to examine how school risk and protective behaviors and attitudes mediate effects of gang members' involvement with school violence…

This Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) guidance report is designed to support senior leaders in primary and secondary schools to make better-informed decisions about their behaviour strategies. It includes a number of practical examples of programmes and approaches that should be helpful in schools and classrooms where behaviour is generally…

This report provides estimates of student criminal victimization as defined by the 2009 School Crime Supplement (SCS) to the 2009 National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). The NCVS is the nation's primary source of information on criminal victimization and the victims of crime in the United States. The SCS is a supplement to the NCVS that was…

Given established links between social-emotional skills and academic achievement, there is growing support for implementing universal social/behavioral interventions in early schooling (Jones & Bouffard, 2012). Advocates have been particularly interested in implementing such programming in low income urban schools where students are likely to…

Developing positive school climates and improving school discipline policies and practices are critical steps to raising academic achievement and supporting student success. However, there is no single formula for doing so. Rather, the growing body of research and best practices in the field should inform locally developed approaches to improving…

Everybody agrees that school bullying is a major problem, but considerable controversy exists over the best way to address the problem. The following discussion presents (a) a brief analysis and synthesis of the current state of the art, (b) underscores the need to avoid another piecemeal set of policy and practice initiatives, and (c) stresses…

This is the second in a series of briefs summarizing findings from the newest and most rigorous research related to racial and socioeconomic diversity in public schools. The studies on which this brief is based were published recently in three special issues of the peer-reviewed journal, "Teachers College Record," edited by Professors…

This report explores the factors and conditions that could help more students succeed at school despite challenging socio-economic backgrounds. It does this by studying resilient students and what sets them apart from their less successful peers. Understanding how educational systems can support disadvantaged students and help them "beat the…

Ensuring a safe learning environment for students is a major responsibility of educators and policymakers around the world. Based on the secondary analyses of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) data collected from 33 countries in 1999, the study found that 8th graders who witnessed their friends' violence…

When the National Commission on Excellence in Education published "A Nation at Risk" (1983) in response to the perception that the U.S. public education system was failing to help students succeed, it gave policymakers the catalyst to introduce legislative and regulatory reforms that were designed to increase student achievement. Through such…

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…