A Spanish teacher successfully sued a student she claimed terrorized her, after school administrators ignored her complaints. Nearly 11% of teachers experience verbal and physical abuse by students. Although some states are stiffening penalties against violent students, educators' best recourse is to publicize the problem, devise policies, and…

Examines the work of several theorists who laid the groundwork for contemporary classroom management in an effort to provide educators with effective ways to encourage and teach appropriate student behavior. Notes that theoretical contributions of B.F. Skinner, Fritz Redl, William Wattenberg, William Glasser, and Thomas Gordon all have relevance…

Professor Hill Walker has identified three challenges to handling disruptive student behavior: prevention, at-risk programs, and high-intensity interventions. Principals should beware administrative traps: getting tough is enough, targeting a few difficult students, seeking quick fixes, finding one powerful trick, revering outside experts, and…

Describes how, when photos of students wearing blackface at several fraternity parties were posted online, colleges had to figure out how to respond. (EV)

Violations of alcohol policies constitute most of the judicial referrals on college campuses. Many counseling centers provide alcohol education as the primary sanction for these violations. These classes are often ineffective. This article presents a new alcohol education model that uses group counseling with peer counselors. (Contains 16…

Although cell phones keep kids in touch with families and personal digital assistants (PDA's) help organize assignments and give Internet access, when they are added to the school climate, educators must reassess policies so technology does not interfere with instruction time. This article discusses the several effects of cell phones to K-6…

Successful discipline, improved school climates, and behavioral competence are integrally related to improving academic outcomes. This policy brief presents common discipline practices in schools and discuss current discipline data from Indiana. In addition, the report examines school-wide Positive Behavior Support (PBS), an alternative approach…

The Department of Education in Northern Ireland has been reviewing the procedures for suspending and expelling pupils from school. This article reports the views of a random sample of 114 children (11-16 years) towards the proposed changes. Pupils' thoughts on: dealing with misbehaviour; setting rules; the decision-making process; appropriate…

Corporal punishment is still legal under various circumstances in the United States public schools. This practice is specified in the discipline policies of cities and towns in roughly twenty-two states. Corporal punishment usually takes the form of paddling with wooden paddles or sticks by school administrators with the consent of the parents.…

"For Our Own Safety" is devoted entirely to the subject of, and risks associated with, restraint and seclusion of children. This book is a collection of the diverse viewpoints presented at the international symposium, "Examining the Safety of High-Risk Interventions for Children and Young People" (Ithaca, New York, June 1-4, 2005). It presents…

Student discipline problems in some high schools have been exacerbated by external societal problems. This paper presents outcomes of two discipline programs implemented in a small, rural high school. One program involved the creation of a Saturday school for students serving detention. The Alternative Learning Education Center (ALEC) was…

This paper presents findings of a study that evaluated the effectiveness of an in-school suspension program (ISSP) at a suburban Atlanta high school. Data were derived from a questionnaire that explored staff's and students' perceptions of the effectiveness of the ISSP. Responses were received from 70 staff members and 190 students. Fifty percent…

The Escuela Internacional Sampedrana (EIS) in Honduras implemented a new discipline program in its Primary School during the 1996-97 school year. This paper contains findings from three evaluations of the program--an initial analysis, a midyear report, and a year-end report. The first report analyzed the number of suspensions and detentions, as…

This document presents an effective way to view, select, and integrate school safety policies and programs. It offers a typology of school safety approaches, examines within the context of this typology a broad range of current policies and practices to prevent or manage violence, and provides a set of prompting questions for each of the three…

This report is the third in a series presenting results from surveys on safe, disciplined, and drug-free schools. The introduction notes that the data were obtained from a survey of 739 public school superintendents. Among the highlighted results are the following: (1) nearly all public school districts were found to have written policies on…