Few issues have polarized the educational community so completely as the 1975 and 1977 decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court to allow corporal punishment in the schools. The symposium reported here was organized and conducted following the 1975 decision but prior to the 1977 one. Three papers in support and three papers against the ruling were read,…

Perceived problems of elementary and secondary student teachers encountered during the student teaching sequence are measured and analyzed. In addition, perceptions of the adequacy of preservice training to meet these problems are elicited. Four hypotheses are tested in the investigation: (l) discipline would rank as the number one problem for all…

Social inadequacy and lack of social cooperation is one of the defining characteristics of mental deficiency, yet there have been comparatively few investigations into how such children respond to each other. Of even greater significance is the finding that among the reported studies investigating social cooperation between mentally deficient…

This report outlines the limitations and weaknesses of singlecase, time-series research designs, of which the ABAB design is one of the widely used. An alternative design, the simultaneous treatment design, proposed by Browning and Stover (1971), has several advantages over the ABAB design. The design enables an experimenter to simultaneously…

These guidelines represent the partial completion of the first phase of a three-phase comprehensive study of discipline in the schools of Pennsylvania. In preparing this document, the state Task Force on Student Responsibility and Discipline attempted to present a practical, reasoned approach to the complex issue of student conduct and to provide…

In this study, elementary school teachers were asked to rate their students on items describing personality traits observable in a classroom setting. The ratings were done in two sessions. Results strongly indicated that teachers were not consistent in rating the personality traits of pupils. (Author)

The organizational characteristics of schools can be extremely important influences on student behavior, and student behavior problems can be reduced through organizational change. Organizations can be held to consist of objectives, processes for achieving those objectives, and structures for carrying out those processes. The term…

A collection of six papers is preceded first by an introduction stating the editor's abhorrence of corporal punishment and his motives for assembling the papers; and then by the American Psychological Association's statement opposing the use of corporal punishment. Irwin A. Hyman and Delores M. Lally consider religious and other historical factors…

Teacher perception of a student's IQ may bias adaptive behavior measures used for placement in special classes. The study investigated the effect of perceived IQ on teachers' ratings of disturbed and normal children on the Devereux Elementary School Behavior Rating Scale. Fifty-two urban severe behavior handicapped students, Grades K through 12,…

Appropriate responses to the authority problem in schools can be informed by a more complex understanding of the issue. Also of importance is knowledge of the ways in which schools and society at large are involved with both the creation of and the solution to the problem of student/teacher authority relations. School people are referring…

This paper discusses factors related to negative psychological and physiological reactions (i.e., violent deaths, psychiatric commitments, self-mutilations, attempted suicides, disciplinary infractions, etc.) to life in institutional environments such as prisons, schools, off-shore oil rigs, and homes for the aged. Factors discussed are: (1)…

Intended for those who want to reduce disruptive behavior in elementary and secondary schools, this book argues that children must be held responsible for their actions and prefers self-discipline to imposed discipline that evaporates when authority is absent. Schools need to take greater initiative in teaching students responsibility and giving…

The report examines the status of education for children with severe behavior disorders. Analysis of Annual Program Plans, compliance evaluations, and interviews with state officials provided results in five areas (sample findings in parentheses): definitions (there was great concern over the term "seriously emotionally disturbed" as defined in…

The relationships between economic stress on the family and child and parental adjustment were examined for a sample of 199 girls and boys in grades one, four, and seven. These associations were examined separately for families in which both parents were present and in which mothers only were at home. Economic stress was associated with boys'…