This case study is about understanding disruptive students who are motivated by a psychological need to invoke change in a learning space. Marczewski's User Types Test, a typology for classifying both intrinsic and extrinsic motivational tendencies, and based on Self-Determination Theory, was administered to 14 participants, aged 9 through 15, to…

The response patterns of youth who witness bullying have potential to influence future occurrence and persistence of bullying behaviors. Prevention efforts have included an increased focus on bystander interventions; however, the majority of adolescents rarely intervene in bullying situations. When they do, they often display of mixed pattern of…

Bronfenbrenner's (1979) ecological model proposes that events in higher order social ecosystems should influence human development through their impact on events in lower order social ecosystems. This proposition was tested with respect to ecological violence and the development of children's aggression via analyses of 3 waves of data (1 wave…

Office discipline referral (ODR) data provide useful information about problem behavior and consequence patterns, social-behavioral climates, and effects of social-behavioral interventions in schools. The authors report patterns of ODRs and subsequent administrative decisions from 1,510 schools nationwide that used the School-Wide Information…

Focuses on "goofing off" and the meaning of that activity to students involved. Describes goofing off as an adaptive behavior which occurs within a particular organizational context. Discusses factors that affect the presence of this behavior. Analyzes what goofing off shows about early adolescence in the context of schooling. (RC)

This article contrasts schools of exclusion with unconditional schools, which are designed to wrap around services to meet the needs of even high-risk students. The author describes essential components of developing a teamwork approach to increase the holding power of schools with challenging students. (Author)

Maintains that the traditional approach to behavior problems in secondary schools has been reactive and largely negative. Reviews research on behavior intervention methods and preventative practices. Finds that reports on whole-school innovations are positive and considers practical implications for educational psychologists. (CFR)

This action research project describes a program for decreasing disruptive behaviors in the classroom and encouraging children to be more respectful of others. The targeted population was sixth- through eighth-grade students in a Midwestern suburb. The problems of disruptive behaviors and lack of respect were documented using teacher and student…

Four eighth and ninth graders with learning problems were studied, focusing on their learning environments, learning behavior, and subjective experiences in the classroom. Ego-involvement and self-protective behaviors were noted. Results are discussed in terms of self-worth theory and motivation theory. (SLD)

The paper describes a study of deviant behavior among students attending a high school in Texas. All students in the study attended a sociology class taught by a very strict teacher whose rules of behavior conflicted with students' peer group behavior expectations. Participant observation of student behavior in class and interviews with individual…

A program was implemented in an elementary school to improve students' social skills, thereby reducing physically and verbally aggressive behavior and reducing off-task behavior. The targeted population consisted of second, third, and sixth graders in two northern Illinois elementary schools, one situated in a low socioeconomic neighborhood, the…