School discipline is the system of rules, punishments and behavioral strategies appropriate to the regulation of children and the maintenance of order in schools. The aim of school discipline is, ostensibly, to create a safe and conducive learning environment in the classroom. In a classroom where a teacher is unable to maintain order and discipline, the climate for learning is diminished.
A disciplined student is in compliance with the school rules and codes of conduct. These rules may, for example, define the expected standards of clothing, timekeeping, social behaviour and work ethic. The term discipline is also applied to the punishment that is the consequence of breaking the rules.
Historical attitudes to School Discipline
Corporal punishment
Main article: School corporal punishmentThroughout the history of education the most common means of maintaining discipline in schools was the use of corporal punishment. While a child was in school, a teacher was expected to act as a substitute parent, with all the normal forms of parental discipline open to them. In practice this meant that students were commonly punished with the birch, cane, paddle or strap.
Corporal punishment in schools has now disappeared from most Western countries, including all European countries. Thirty U.S. states have banned it, the others (mostly in the South) have not. Paddling is still used to a significant (though declining) degree in some public schools in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas. Private schools in these and most other states may also use it, though most choose not to do so.
Official corporal punishment, often by caning, remains commonplace in schools in some Asian, African and Caribbean countries.
Most modern educationalists in Europe and North America advocate a disciplinary policy focused on positive reinforcement, with praise, merit marks, house points and the like playing a central role in maintaining behavior. However, punishment also remains in most mainstream schools, including detention and suspension. See School punishment for more details.
Modern methods
School discipline practices are generally informed by theory from psychologists and educators. There are a number of theories to form a comprehensive discipline strategy for an entire school or a particular class.
- Reality Therapy involves teachers making clear connections between student behavior and consequences in order to facilitate students making positive choices. Features include class meetings, clearly communicated rules, and the use of plans and contracts are featured.
- Discipline with Dignity supports the idea that good discipline starts by keeping student dignity intact by providing practical strategies for teachers to share responsibility for discipline with students themselves by tailoring discipline to each individual. Created by Drs. Richard Curwin and Allen Mendler.
- Positive Approach is grounded in teachers' respect for students. Instills in students a sense of responsibility by using youth/adult partnerships to develop and share clear rules, provide daily opportunities for success, and administer in-school suspension for noncompliant students. Based on Glasser's Reality Therapy. Research (e.g., Allen) is generally supportive of the PAD program.
- Teacher Effectiveness Training differentiates between teacher-owned and student-owned problems and proposes different strategies for dealing with each. Students are taught problem-solving and negotiation techniques. Researchers (e.g., Emmer and Aussiker) find that teachers like the program and that their behavior is influenced by it, but effects on student behavior are unclear.
- Transactional Analysis works for students with behavior problems to learn to use terminology and exercises to identify issues and make changes within the context of counseling programs. The notion that each person's psyche includes child, adult and parent components is basic to the TA philosophy. Research has been conducted (e.g., Cobb and Richards) has found the TA counseling approach beneficial (McIntyre, 2005).
- Assertive Discipline focuses on the right of the teacher to define and enforce standards for student behavior with clear expectations, rules and a penalty system with increasingly serious sanctions are major features. Research (e.g., Mandlebaum and McCormack) is supportive, but inconclusive about the effectiveness of the AD approach (Emmer and Aussiker, Gottfredson, and Render, Padilla, and Krank) (McIntyre, 2005). Developed by Lee Canter.
- Adlerian approaches is an umbrella term for a variety of methods which emphasize understanding the individual's reasons for maladaptive behavior and helping misbehaving students to alter their behavior, while at the same time finding ways to get their needs met. Named for psychiatrist Alfred Adler. These approaches have shown some positive effects on self-concept, attitudes, and locus of control, but effects on behavior are inconclusive (Emmer and Aussiker). Not only were the statistics on suspensions and vandalism significant, but also the recorded interview of teachers demonstrates the improvement in student attitude and behavior, school atmosphere, academic performance, and beyond that, personal and professional growth. (Efficacy of Class Meetings in Elementary Schools, Ann Roeder Platt,B.A., California State University, Sacramento. The University of San Francisco, The Effectiveness of Alderian Parent and Teacher Study Groups in Changing Child Maladaptive Behavior in a Positive Direction. Jane Nelsen
- The Student Responsibility Center (SRC) discipline process was evaluated for effectiveness in five participating K-12 public schools. SRC was evaluated in terms of meeting the six systems-thinking criteria, the number of suspensions and/or expulsions, the number of discipline referrals to the SRC classroom, and the perceptions of the Learning Community concerning the use of this discipline process. Examination of data collected from the one-on-one interviews and school staff questionnaires suggested that the SRC discipline process did result in a decrease in suspensions and expulsions and discipline referrals. In addition, the analysis of data indicated that there were positive Learning Community perceptions concerning the discipline process. The finding are congruent with effective schools research and school sites should continuously assess, intervene, and monitor the discipline process to ensure the Learning Community is consistently following the processes’ elements and characteristics to accomplish the goal of reducing disruptive behavior overall. (Dunlap, 2007).
- Appropriate school learning theory and educational philosophy is decisive in preventing violence and promoting order and discipline in schools, as stated by an educational philosopher (Greenberg, 1987) and authenticated by the experience of democratic schools (Sudbury Valley School, 1970).
Challenges
Methods of maintaining discipline in schools are not always successful. The misbehaviour of children is common in all schools, although most schools manage to keep this within tolerable limits. Occasionally, however, poor disciplinary management within school can cause a more general breakdown in order. In modern years this has been popularly characterized by violence against teachers and other children. This is, of course, not a new problem. The public schools of eighteenth and nineteenth century England, for instance, were subject to a number of violent armed uprisings and violence against teachers was a common phenomenon throughout the nineteenth century. Even low levels of indiscipline at school can result in a detrimental working environment for children and good teaching will often depend on good school discipline.
Effective discipline requires the consent, either explicit or tacit, of parents and pupils. Whilst few children will enjoy punishment, most will submit to it providing it is perceived as being equitable. Moreover, to be effective, punishment should never appear arbitrary. School hierarchies award teachers great power over their students and the perceived abuse of this power to punish children in arbitrary ways can be the source of much resentment and hostility.
Problems with school discipline have also led to a reduction in the number of people willing to become teachers, especially in schools regarded as difficult. Student misbehaviour and rudeness is the leading cause of teacher resignations. In some areas and countries, this has led to a severe teacher shortage, with classes either not taught, or taught by an unqualified person. In some schools, a senior class, for example, may have up to a dozen different teachers in a single year, as the replacements decide to leave rather than deal with student behaviour. Many countries are now trying to offer incentives to new teachers to remain in such schools, but with very limited success.
See also
- Adultism
- Assertive discipline
- Child discipline
- Corporal punishment
- Emotional abuse
- Positive behavior support
- Positive Discipline
- School district drug policies
- School punishment <
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