Celebrations enrich the lives of students, staff members, and school communities. The authors provide powerful, compelling stories; proven strategies; and practical tools for embedding celebration into school culture. Drawing on insights from schools and districts, this book empowers K-12 teachers and administrators to create a celebratory…

Motivational theories suggest various motivational best practices; however, the empirical research literature largely lacks the perspective of teachers, who facilitate motivation day in and out with students, about how they apply these motivational practices in their classrooms. The purpose of this study was to better understand what teachers do…

A person can tell quite a lot about what goes on in a classroom or a school even if he visits after everyone has gone home. Just by looking at the walls--or, more precisely, what is on the walls--it is possible to get a feel for the educational priorities, the attitudes about children, even the assumptions about human nature of the people in…

This study was aimed to investigate the potential negative impact that positive (e.g., praise and rewards) and punitive (e.g., sending students to the office) disciplinary techniques, commonly used within the Schoolwide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS) approach, have on students' prosocial motivation, and how aspects of…

Reactive and exclusionary approaches to discipline are common in secondary schools but do not improve behavior or ensure safety. In this article, the author highlights two promising models that schools can combine to improve climate and discipline for all students. The combined models of PBS (positive behavior support) and RTI (response to…

Suggestions on how to improve physical education by improving the classroom environment and teaching methods and by inviting full participation of students, faculty and administration are given. (JL)

THE FOLLOWING IS THE FULL TEXT OF THIS DOCUMENT: The "Good Citizen" Program was developed for many reasons: to keep the campus clean, to reward students for improvement, to reward students for good deeds, to improve the total school climate, to reward students for excellence, and to offer staff members a method of reward for positive…

The principal, as an instructional leader of the school, should be certain that each reluctant learner is: (1) provided a school environment where students are rewarded often for their achievements and successes; (2) tangibly rewarded for academic achievement and appropriate behavior; (3) strengthened with strong ties between the home and the…

A fundamental characteristic of a successful physical education program is that the students are interested and motivated to learn the intended objectives. Unfortunately, in many cases, students begin losing interest in physical education as they progress through school. In order to better understand this phenomenon, the authors explored the…

A 3-year program was implemented in eight middle schools in the Charleston County School District (South Carolina) in fall 1986 to cope with high rates of student misconduct. The program sought to improve the clarity of school rules and the consistency of rule enforcement, classroom organization and management, frequency of communication to the…