A Canadian political role-playing sequence helps secondary students understand the workings of Parliament and clarify their own values. The issue under debate is abolition or retention of capital punishment. Article describes rationale, teacher's instructions, roles, related legislature, rules of Parliamentary debate, public opinion polls, news…

The European Commission on Human Rights is now investigating the case of a seven-year-old boy in Lanarkshire, whose parents have failed to obtain a guarantee that he will not receive corporal punishment at school. Author finds that, contrary to the teachers' agreed code of practice, the "tawse" (leather belt) is still widely used in…

Compares the attitudes of African American and Caucasian students (N=1,689), of boys and girls, and of each sex within each racial group, toward reward and punishment. Results indicate that race, as well as sex, can influence student attitudes. Most students thought that they should sometimes be rewarded for academic work. (RJM)

Argues that corporal punishment is a part of the UK's culture which needs to be banned by the government, as it has been in other European countries. Finds that hitting is not a good way to teach children proper behavior, has nothing to do with good discipline, does not relieve parents, and causes domestic stress. (SD)

Uses five unusual indifference curve exercises to show how changing the jail sentence and changing the reward for good behavior can influence the crime rate. Recommends eliminating minimum sentencing while raising sentencing and increasing the rewards for good behavior. Includes illustrative graphs for each exercise. (MJP)

Examines the effectiveness of a psychoeducational parenting program with at-risk parents of young children. Results showed that compared with the control group, parents participating in the program significantly decreased their levels of verbal and corporal punishment, anger, stress, and reported child behavior problems; results were maintained at…

In response to James Mulick (EC 232 032), this paper encourages agreement in the field of mental retardation on the term "aversive"; new "outcome" standards for behavioral support; support that respects personal dignity; and fidelity of behavioral interventions in typical school and community settings. (DB)

The study compared the effectiveness of (1) reinforcement of other behavior, (2) verbal reprimands, and (3) movement suppression time-out in eliminating self injury and aggressive behaviors in two severely mentally retarded adult males. Improvements were only apparent when movement suppression was paired with either or both of the other…

Replication of a previous descriptive study indicated widespread use of corporal punishment with mildly handicapped students at every grade level in 371 schools. Among data-based findings were that, despite research on the effective use of punishment, corporal punishment was not typically delivered either immediately or consistently. (JW)

The Special Education Learning Center in Hartford, Connecticut, successfully teaches students with serious behavioral disorders. The program features a behavioral curriculum, built around rewards, punishments, a fully supervised setting, collegial support, and physical intervention. (TE)

This essay reviews the last two decades in the field of child abuse and neglect and notes progress in societal attitudes. It urges making the case against hitting children and suggests the use of scientific evidence, personal testimony, and demonstration of "a better way." Major issues of language and the setting of standards in caregiving are…

This study evaluated effects of noncontingent and contingent protective equipment as treatment for self-injurious hand mouthing by two women with profound mental retardation. Behavior change appeared to be effected in both conditions. Results suggest either a punishment or a timeout interpretation, rather than an extinction interpretation, for the…

This second article of a two-part series describes how success counseling techniques can be used to handle discipline problems by helping campers to accept personal responsibility and develop effective problem-solving skills. Instead of using punishment, success counseling techniques enable campers to recognize what they want, identify appropriate…

Studied the possibility that children's decisions regarding naughtiness and types of punishment differ according to age and sex. Subjects were interviewed after hearing two stories from Piaget's study of children's moral reasoning. Significant age variability was found. Findings imply that children did not make the connection between the act and…

Examined the degree to which African-American mothers took a parent- versus child-oriented approach to disciplinary practices. Found associations of maternal education and age with mothers' use of physical punishment; mothers' age and concerns about child victimization with mothers' use of social control; and maternal education with restrictive…