One hundred and forty-three parents of preschool age children were surveyed (1) to determine their beliefs about discipline at home and at the preschool, and (2) to ascertain relationships between these beliefs and demographic characteristics. Parents indicated the extent to which they expected teachers to solve classroom problems according to…

"Pushouts" are victims of discriminatory discipline procedures in public schools. Pushouts first came into view with the publication of a book by the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial and the Southern Regional Council. The book is called "The Student Pushout: Victim of Continued Resistance to Desegregation." The Office for Civil Rights in the Department…

A study of junior high schools (MacDonald 1995) found that students and administrators held significantly different perceptions regarding the nature, extent, and management of violent behaviors. This paper presents findings of a study conducted 1 year later that more thoroughly examined students' perceptions of the effectiveness of current school…

Issues relevant to the formation and implementation of clearly defined and enforceable discipline policies to maintain a secure school environment are discussed in this paper. One area of tension exists between the development of stricter discipline policies for student standards of conduct and students' constitutional rights. Conclusions are that…

Federal and state courts have held that disciplinary sanctions cannot be applied to handicapped students in such a way that they would be deprived of their legal rights to a free, appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment, as mandated by the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA). This presentation outlines the…

This paper describes the presentations made at a symposium of behavioral scientists conducting research on school disorder and delinquency prevention. The application of a climate assessment battery in organizational development and the evaluation of disciplinary programs in schools is described. The "Effective Schools Battery" (ESB)…

This study examines discipline policy reform resulting from pressure that arose from a class-action suit, "Mark Stevenson v. Jefferson County Public Schools," alleging racially discriminatory discipline policies and procedures. The suit forced the school system and community in Louisville (Kentucky) to negotiate substantially revised…

A discussion of school law, defined as how the educational system is impacted upon by the law, is addressed as it relates two major issues to the Catholic or parochial schools. In an overview of the legal system, the types of courts, the nature of legal precedents, and the levels within the judiciary are reviewed. The first major issue centers…

The theory, research, and prescription done during the 1970's in the areas of classroom management and school discipline are reviewed in this analysis, and the effects of this work on student behavior problems is assessed. An analysis of the sociopolitical context in which scholarly models, research paradigms, and systems for running schools were…

A contemporary theory of behavior is that faulty patterns of thinking divide the criminal from the noncriminal. The causation of school violence is children choosing to be violent; and the problem of school violence is acceptance of their choice. Short-term control measures are adherence to systematic school rules, use of technology, security…

A discussion of the political aspects of administrative decision-making concerns the sanctioning or prohibiting of corporal punishment in schools in general and the action taken when teachers who use corporal punishment come under attack. The data, derived from the author's participant observation in the Detroit Public Schools, indicate that (1)…

Discipline concerns have consistently been ranked in the top 10 of the most serious problems facing public schools. Discipline problems were examined in 12 urban and rural middle and junior high schools in Utah. For each discipline referral over a 5-week period, a standardized student referral form was completed that documented action taken by the…

Assertive Discipline (AD) advocates a systematic approach which enables teachers to set firm, consistent limits for students while remaining cognizant of students' need for warmth and positive support. This article describes effective and ineffective teacher disciplinary behaviors, AD competencies, and the implementation of AD at Rice Elementary…

Drawing upon data collected during an investigation into the exclusion (suspension or expulsion) from school of primary age children due to behavioral problems, this paper provides an overview of findings from empirical research, but also considers the possibilities for prevention of primary school exclusion by using education service-based…

Research on school violence has slowly gained momentum in Canada, underscoring the concern some educators are expressing about the frequency of behaviors that seriously disrupt student learning. This paper presents findings of a study that compared students' and administrators' perceptions of the nature, extent, awareness, and management of…