A survey of 36 school districts indicates that there does seem to be a trend toward eliminating corporal punishment. Many districts felt that corporal punishment had proved less effective than alternative disciplinary measures such as suspension, parent conferences, counseling, and programs that helped to prevent delinquency. (WI)

A recent article by Leviton develops a taxonomy for individualized school discipline including use of corporal punishment with conduct-disordered pupils. Research shows corporal punishment does have a negative effect on some types of behavior-disordered children, but it may not be wholly inappropriate for all types of misbehavior. (Author)

This paper finds that, in accord with the deterrence doctrine, the relationship between perceived risk of punishment and self-reported delinquency is inverse regardless of the location of the schools (metropolitan or small town), type of delinquency, or the kind of measure of perceived risk. (Author/AM)

A quantitative model is presented for understanding self-control and impulsiveness involving aversive events. Four experiments were conducted to test the model's adequacy in predicting how delay until punishment and duration of punishment affect choice. (Editor)

Discussion of U.S. Supreme Court decision (Ingrahm V. Wright) asserting that the Constitution's Eighth Amendment does not protect school children against cruel and unusual punishment and that the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment does not require notice and a hearing prior to the imposition of corporal punishment in the public…

Six postulates are developed concerning the concept of discipline (both academic and behavioral) which, if used as a theoretical basis in the formulation and administration of particular behavioral discipline policies, will result in a change of discipline methodology--not different in degree of refinement, but different in kind. (MJB)

Of 673 special education teachers responding to the survey, over 55 percent reported that behavior modification was not their major system of classroom management. Responses are broken down by categorical title of classroom for experiences with positive reinforcement, time out, negative reinforcement, contingency contracting, response cost,…

Although prepackaged curriculum and training program materials can save precious time, they can also negatively affect efforts to improve school and classroom discipline. Obedience models often yield quick results at the expense of developing responsible students who understand the important principles underlying school rules. (MLH)

Punishment given in a caring, supportive environment can assist children to learn some tasks more quickly, when used in conjunction with programmed positive reinforcement. The manner in which a punishment is implemented impacts its effectiveness. Two experiments are presented in which teachers used creative punishment to produce classroom behavior…

The recent "Garcia" holding by the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals federalized students' constitutional rights against excessive corporal punishment under the 14th Amendment's due process clause. Major issues raised by the Supreme Court's 1977 "Ingraham v. Wright" decision are thereby resolved. School boards should review…

Gentle Teaching, a treatment philosophy for reducing maladaptive behaviors of mentally retarded people, employs methods to reduce or eliminate problem behaviors without using punishment. Analysis indicates a lack of evaluation data for Gentle Treatment and suggests the Least Intrusive Treatment model should not be abandoned. (Author/CB)

Discusses how to use homework as an effective teaching method and offers creative sample assignments. (SRT)

Using a sample of 158 low-income black women and their infants, this study examined the relation between mother's age and measures of maternal behavior reflecting verbal responsivity, punitiveness, and instrumental support for intellectual development. (Author/NH)

Thirty boys and thirty girls in each of four age groups evaluated fathers' discipline techniques over a range of situations in which a culprit was described as having transgressed. The techniques consisted of induction, physical punishment, love withdrawal, and permissiveness. Evaluations were determined more by the nature of the child making the…

Examines patterns of communication, modes of guidance and discipline, and affectional bonds between 176 Yoruba hearing mothers and their deaf children. Mothers perceived children's expressive linguistic abilities more negatively than receptive abilities. Communication difficulties affected mothers' guidance and discipline. Mothers' verbal claims…