Addresses corporal punishment in schools as a policy issue, regarding every manifestation as either abusive or potentially so. Discusses the history of physical punishment in schools, reviews current sentiment toward its use, considers policies in other countries, and examines disciplinary alternatives and child abuse prevention methods.…

Two papers, one on child abuse and the other on effects of preinstitutional history and institutionalization on the behavior of the retarded, are presented. In the first paper the author stresses the need to document the scope and nature of child abuse in American society and discusses the difficulties in defining where on the continuum discipline…

In the wake of the United Nations' Year of the Child, U.S. public policy affecting the welfare of children at risk is found wanting. The misguided notions underlying many official positions, along with suggested modifications based on well-researched principles of child development, are presented. (Author)