Concern about harsh and inequitable discipline over the past two decades has galvanized a host of discipline reforms. These reforms have gained renewed attention in recent months as both the COVID-19 pandemic and mass uprisings against anti-Black violence have both bolstered calls to reimagine schools as caring spaces. This moment raises urgent…

This study presents findings from an ethnographic content analysis of 15 chronological district-wide annual codes of student conduct from a large urban US school district. I frame policy creation and modification processes as reflections of societal shifts in perceptions of student behaviors. I looked to the policy documents to explore the…

Student behavior problems have been a focus of social concern since the mid-1960s. Although there have been few studies on the long-term effects of interventions on student behaviors, the specialization of classroom management and school discipline has grown. Changes and unresolved issues in student behavior problems are discussed. (DF)

A questionnaire survey of 52 secondary schools in the three school systems (public, private, and Catholic) of Australia's state of Victoria provided information supporting the theories that behavioral values are transmitted through a school's disciplinary system and that the application of disciplinary policy has a significant effect on school…

Reports on a study about the general rule structures in 24 British primary schools and the systems of sanctions and rewards used to maintain them. Finds that all primary school teachers were considered responsible for rules being kept and that primary schools use fewer sanctions when rules are broken. (CFR)

Relies on students' and teachers' accounts to reveal a more accurate account of classroom life in England (circa 1920-39) than that of official documents. Suggests that corporal punishment was extensive and brutal. Includes many verbatim accounts of teachers' and students' reactions to this treatment. (MJP)

Asserts that, in the urban classrooms of the early 20th century, women teachers faced two contradictory images: (1) the idealized view of the gentle, nurturing teacher; and (2) the reality of the harsh working conditions in city schools. Concludes that administrators were content to let classroom teachers deal with disciplinary issues. (CFR)

Reports on a study of two secondary teachers who used the practical reasoning or practical argument approach to classroom management. Finds that practical argument techniques can benefit teachers by providing opportunities to question and revise their theories of learning and teaching. Recommends that teacher education programs employ the…

Reports on 2 studies to assess attitudes to and moral reasoning about class rules among 117 Australian secondary students and 87 student teachers. Finds students' moral reasoning to be more advanced than predicted by Lawrence Kohlberg and based on the general welfare of students and teachers. (CFR)