Research has confirmed what educators have long suspected, namely, that violence in schools is increasing. A 1991 Federal Bureau of Investigation report indicated that violent crime involving juveniles from 10 to 17 years old had risen rapidly in the 1980s and continued to do so. This book explores a wide range of areas of violence in schools. The…

Increasingly, many teachers see their roles encompassing not only teaching specific content and mentoring students, but also functioning as front-line social workers. This Digest examines factors that may influence teacher morale and offers suggestions for preserving or restoring morale. Administrative support and leadership, good student…

To investigate the interactional behaviors of minorities when placed in a mostly white educational setting, this study focused on examining the meaning held by particular students in regard to acceptance, inclusion, and invitation into a larger group, in this case, the seventh grade at a university laboratory school in Louisiana. Of the 28…

This study attempted to determine whether or not the teachers in a rural Georgia elementary school believed that a strict dress-code or student-uniform policy was needed to improve student behavior. A 20-item Likert Scale questionnaire was developed to measure teachers' feelings and/or beliefs concerning the students' dress code and effects on…

Health risk appraisals (HRAs) may be useful in the classroom. Potential benefits include: increasing awareness of potential risk, decreasing feelings of overestimated risks, providing feedback, obtaining group data, and increasing motivation to make positive behavior changes. The HRA process involves three components: administering questionnaires…

A practicum was implemented to increase prosocial behavior of students in grades K-6 through a conflict resolution management program. The objectives of the intervention were to: (1) reduce student discipline referrals for antisocial behavior; (2) increase student conflict resolution scores; and (3) increase the prosocial behavior of students.…

This study analyzed differences between the study skills of 146 college seniors majoring in elementary education and 115 college seniors majoring in secondary education at a university in mid-South United States. Both samples of students appropriately engaged in less than 60 percent of the study skills measured. Though the overall level of study…

This paper discusses the integration of positivist single-subject design with interpretive, or naturalist, qualitative methods in the development of effective interventions for rural special education students. The resulting research/intervention design includes: (1) extending the normal baseline period from 3 to 10 days thus allowing the…

The incidence of school violence has increased in recent years. In response to the escalation, Deborah Prothrow-Stith developed a violence prevention curriculum to be taught in high schools; it has also been used in middle schools. The first section of this journal issue's report, "Confronting an Epidemic" offers details of Prothrow-Stith's…

This paper provides guidelines on how to identify and work with students with attention deficit disorder (ADD). It begins by outlining common symptoms of ADD in the classroom and general principles for the incorporation of medication into school life. The paper presents features of schools successful in dealing with ADD. School-wide suggestions…

Researchers have recently attempted to identify the characteristic behaviors of effective problem solvers. To assist those psychologists who work with teachers to improve student levels of persistence on academic tasks, this paper reviews the current literature on persistence. Persistence, or the amount of effort and time a student is willing to…

New York's Division of Substance Abuse Services conducted a major survey in 1989-1990 of students in grades five through twelve: past surveys of the Division had included only students in seventh through twelfth grades. Students in the fifth and sixth grades answered a separate, self-administered questionnaire, which included questions about the…

This study examined the incidence of violent acts and other types of malicious conduct by students against teachers in selected rural Tennessee public schools. Twenty-seven high school principals (a 77% response rate) completed a questionnaire based on incidents where teachers had been subjected to attacks and violent acts by students over the…

This document provides brief descriptions of 12 prevention strategies, 6 curriculum-based strategies, and 7 motivational strategies for improving student behavior. Alternative schools and programs, counseling, parent involvement, community involvement, student orientation programs, learning styles, writing activities, student codes of conduct,…

Practical suggestions for creating and maintaining a productive and positive classroom environment are presented in this guide for substitute teachers. Suggestions for executing emergency lesson plans as well as tips for effective management techniques are included. Substitutes are advised to: visit the school or call the teacher ahead of time if…