This article focuses on the link between social norms and behavioral development as presented in research on norms regarding bullying and aggression. The aim is to present a conceptual framework for how classroom norms may explain children's decisions to defend others or refrain from defending. Norms emerge from group consensus about what is…

In this deeply insightful work, nationally renowned bullying expert Elizabeth Kandel Englander offers sensible perspectives on student social behavior and equips educators and parents with effective strategies to identify and address bullying. This second edition of "Bullying and Cyberbullying" reveals how enormous social changes,…

Physical and mechanical restraints and seclusion are currently used as emergency procedures in public schools across the United States. Students who exhibit dangerous, aggressive, or self-injurious behaviors are more likely to be restrained or secluded in school. Since many students with autism spectrum disorder exhibit one or more of these…

The most common behaviors eliciting a student referral for special education evaluation related to emotional disturbance (ED) are adult- and peer-targeted aggression. Curiously, the word aggression, which is an externalizing behavior, does not appear anywhere in the federal description of ED. Despite the lack of clarity surrounding definitions, as…

The purpose of this article is to help educators sort through some thorny issues that complicate efforts to understand bullying and cyberbullying, and to suggest practical and realistic ways to address these behaviors effectively. The author starts with a few key points that are often not well understood but can really help clarify everything that…

In the spring of 2017, the AISD Department of Research and Evaluation (DRE) administered the Substance Use and Safety Survey (SSUSS) to track middle and high school students' self-reported knowledge, attitudes, and behavior related to substance use and perceptions of school safety. Results from this survey are used to inform and assist with…

Ambulatory restraint is defined as any physical method of restricting an individual's freedom of movement, physical activity, or normal access to his or her body. There has been increased volume of restraints documented in public schools. This alerted the school of education at a midwestern university as to the possible need for crisis…

Restraint and seclusion are crisis or emergency responses, which should only be used in extreme situations (e.g., a student engaging in repeated forceful physical aggression toward self or others) when risk of serious and imminent physical harm or injury is high and when an emergency response may reduce that risk. Restraint and seclusion are not…

Serious antisocial behavior in children and adolescents poses significant challenges within educational settings and is one of the most important concerns facing educators today. The disorder of particular interest to the development of aggressive and antisocial behaviors in youth is conduct disorder (CD). Conduct disorder is characterized by…

This study explores the use of framing techniques to help educators, administrators, and leaders to determine the effectiveness of programs designed to reduce elementary school male aggression.

Preventing and responding to intense problem behavior in schools has garnered increased attention. With recent attention focused on the restraint and seclusion of students with disabilities, educators are in need of effective ways to respond to student escalations that result in severe, disruptive problem behavior. By combining the research-based…

Despite having a classroom management plan in place when the year begins, teachers will encounter instances when student behavior blows up. The author discusses what to do when a student has a meltdown or in the aftermath of a fistfight when students are pulled out of class to deal with the consequences.

Due to changes in society, it is not uncommon to hear of very young children being expelled from their host preschool settings due to their out of control behavior. The destructive impact of negative societal influences outside school are now spilling over into the school setting and are increasingly being registered in conflicts between teachers…

Although most states across the United States have enacted anti-bullying legislation, state laws vary greatly in detail and direction, leaving many school districts wondering how to best address the problem of bullying and comply with their state's legislative requirements. In response, a comprehensive, statewide training initiative was conducted…

Student aggression and violent behavior, especially among males, is pervasive and problematic in the classroom. When incorporated in the lesson design, promising practices (music, movement, and visual stimulation) are evidence-based strategies that may reduce male aggression in the classroom.