While the conceiving of 21st-century schools has rightly included much discussion on curriculum and instruction, changing demands and conditions also present necessary changes in the way that student behavior is managed. A review of the literature on student discipline over the past decade reveals three particular issues that warrant attention in the context of adapting to changes among and around the students we serve: bullying and harassment, the discipline gap (the disparity in disciplinary consequences between White and non-White students), and zero-tolerance policy (the use of strict predetermined consequences in response to offenses regardless of the circumstances surrounding the event). For each issue, central concerns are discussed along with implications for policy and practice. To conclude, two common themes that run through these issues are described-namely, the importance of context and the need for student-centered approaches.
In an attempt to describe class size effects on student behavior that might be predictable from one setting to the next, the author proposes a social psychology framework. He hypothesizes that social loafing, deindividuation, and social facilitation can explain patterns of student participation, off-task behavior, and in-class performance, respectively, as a function of the size of the class. Data from interviews with eight middle-school teachers suggest that these concepts are marginally applicable to the behaviors in question. At the same time, other class size effects on student behavior are described which may be inherent in class size and thus be reasonably predictable.
Teachers' classroom management practices are rooted in assumptions based on their experiences and perceptions. At times, these assumptions are only partially informed, and serve to limit action and perceived responsibility. In this article, five common "halftruths" that guide classroom management are discussed. For each, the basic premise is identified, along with the important relevant details, which are often overlooked. It is suggested that a more complete picture of each of these assumptions may reveal many management situations to be much more dynamic, with more options for action available.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.