The importance of examining classroom processes was highlighted in a 1992 British report on primary education, which emphasized the role of classroom management. Before that, several studies determined that misbehavior was small-scale and not widespread. For example, the 1989 Elton Report was a national policy document that described the extent of disruption in British schools as minor but needing such attention as training teachers in classroom management skills. There were two large British observational studies of teachers' classroom management strategies; the Teacher Education Project (1976-1981) analyzed classroom transactions in secondary schools, and the Leverhulms Primary Project (1989-1992) studied primary schools. The primary study determined that most deviant behavior was mild, teachers reacted quickly, and most students responded positively. The secondary study found that teachers spent little time on disciplining students, and most misbehaviors were minor. The few studies of classroom management from the student vantage point indicated that personal relationships and teachers' personality traits were important to classroom management. A finding common to all the research is that negative student behavior is mainly an excessive amount of trivial, annoying "misdemeanors" rather than seriously deviant behavior. Intervention programs involving partnerships between students, teachers, and the home have been the most successful. (Contains 24 references.) (SM)