This document offers perspectives on the concepts of environment and order related to the classroom setting. Environment is explained as the physical milieu, action structure, and the fit between these phenomena. Order can refer to the system being "in order" or to the participants being on task. Examples are presented of relationships…

To be a competent teacher, the school environment must be organized to preserve a system of student behavior and group functioning which allows the teacher to select the activities in which the group will engage. This is often called "maintaining control" by teachers. Means of organizing the school context to affect student behavior are…

This chapter of "Helping Teachers Manage Classrooms" examines the various management techniques required by the different kinds of student groupings associated with different types of classroom activities. These activities are identified in terms of their action structures (specifying who shall do what, when, and to or with whom), their physical…

This paper presents the results of a study that was conducted to determine whether variation in the organizational structure of middle schools would have an impact upon the quality and quantity of interracial contact among students. The study examined the effect of organizational structure upon: (1) number of reported opposite race friends; (2)…

This book of eight separately authored chapters is intended to provide teachers and other educators with assistance in finding ways to improve student discipline by establishing and maintaining an effective learning environment. The first three chapters stress the teacher's role. Chapter 1 describes the planning, implementation, and maintenance of…

This paper argues that the structure of activities provides the basis for a model of school organization and its effects on student outcomes. The observation is presented that it is within the context of daily activities that teachers and students make judgments about themselves and others, interact and form social ties, and experience social…

These six issues examine education in the inner cities. Titles include: "Pathways to School/Community/Family Partnership Results: Measures of Success and Student Learning" (e.g., promoting community partnerships and active learning through federal policy and linking child development knowledge with partnership evaluation); "Emerging…