Many teachers leave the field altogether after a few years of teaching. Research showed that teachers consistently rate the behavior problems of their students as one of the primary reasons for them to quit teaching. Among teachers who have left the field over the past 10 years, some 80% stated that discipline problems caused by students was one…

Decades of research have shown that exclusionary discipline practices are not only ineffective for changing student behavior, they lead to worse social, behavioral, and academic outcomes for students. This article explores the findings from a pilot study of the "Inclusive Skill-Building Learning Approach" (ISLA), an instructional…

Decades of research have shown that exclusionary discipline practices are not only ineffective for changing student behavior, they lead to worse social, behavioral, and academic outcomes for students. This article explores the findings from a pilot study of the "Inclusive Skill-Building Learning Approach" (ISLA), an instructional…

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of Randy Spricks (2009) behavior intervention support model, CHAMPS (Conversation, Help, Activity, Movement, Participation, Success), on elementary students in third through fifth grade in the areas of reading achievement, discipline referrals, and suspension numbers within a large culturally…

Minority students are suspended at a disproportionately higher rate compared with others. To reduce racial suspension gaps, four California school districts banned schools from suspending students for willful defiance, a category consisting of relatively minor disruptive offenses. I evaluate the impact of these policies on high school student…

This paper describes implementation (fidelity, perceived acceptability) and tier 1 and Tier 2 outcomes of school-wide positive behavior interventions and supports approach including mental health supports at Tier 2 in two K-8 urban schools. Interventions for Tier 2 consisted of three manualized group cognitive behavioral therapy (GCBT) protocols…

Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports (PBIS) arose from the need to respond to the pervasive racial disparities in behavioral outcomes for students with, and at-risk, for disabilities. Initially, the use of culturally appropriate interventions was indirectly emphasized through PBIS (Sugai et al., 2000b). Researchers have often critiqued…

The purpose of this study was to examine associations between implementation fidelity of school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports (SWPBIS) and student outcomes over time. The sample included 477 K-12 schools across 10 states implementing SWPBIS for varying numbers of years and at varying levels of fidelity (but with 78% of…

In the past several years, there has been an important movement to reduce the utilization of restraint for individuals with developmental disabilities. Legislatures, local and national, are taking on the task of shaping the way that our culture supports people who, up until now, have been often treated in a punitive manner rather than truly…

Youth from nondominant racial communities have been disproportionately subjected to exclusionary disciplinary actions for less serious and more subjective incidents in the United States. This racial disproportionality in school discipline is associated with negative academic and social outcomes, further exacerbating the historical marginalization…

Teacher nonverbal communication is important to the learning environment. The problem to be addressed throughout this study was how teacher nonverbal communication in the classroom influences student motivation and desire to learn. The purpose of this descriptive case study was to examine the impact teacher nonverbal communication has on at-risk…

Classroom discipline plays an integral role in the daily activities of educators. Educators can choose traditional discipline methods with short-term results or modern practices such as restorative discipline that promise holistic healing with lasting results. Research has shown that the use of restorative discipline builds community, promotes…

Racial equity is a high priority in Oregon, which along with many other states has enacted reforms in the past decade to improve racial equity in school discipline practices. One common approach has been to focus on reducing the use of exclusionary discipline, which removes students from classroom instruction. In 2015 the Oregon legislature…

Student behavior stands out among issues that greatly affect students' success and even teacher job satisfaction. Researchers have created Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) as a system of interventions that can help students improve their behavior and become more successful. This study sought to add to the body of knowledge…

Court-involved, female students often experience trauma and disproportionate school discipline, complicating their academic success. This mixed-method study examines students' use of and experiences with the Monarch Room (MR), a trauma-informed disciplinary alternative. The study examines service utilization, using a repeated measures analysis of…