So many efforts have been made, both at the legislative and policy-making level to ensure that learner discipline is handled more effectively and moves away from corporal punishment, which was the norm before the enactment of the current South African Schools Act. Some of the provisions of the Act stipulates that each school is responsible for setting up its own Disciplinary Code suited to its environment and developed in conjunction with relevant stakeholders like parents and other community leaders. The Act also makes provision for the setting up of structures such as the School Governance Body (SGB) and the School Management Team (SMT). A number of scholars have provided some insights on the issue of school discipline. Several of them have reported that in their research, several schools cited the lack of learner discipline as one of the problems hampering effective teaching and learning. The study, using various literature further attempts to make the distinction between discipline and punishment, stressing that the former is a process that uses teaching, modelling, and other appropriate strategies to maintain behaviour necessary to ensure a safe, orderly and productive learning environment by changing unacceptable behaviour to acceptable behaviour. On the other hand, punishment is a facet of discipline that involves action taken in response to inappropriate behaviour in order to correct or modify it, and to restore harmonious relations. Therefore punishment is a penalty or corrective measure inflicted on a person who has transgressed at school and is guilty of misconduct. The literature also shows that there are many difficulties and problems associated with implementing the discipline policy in South African schools in respect of the code of conduct. As a result, incidences of violence, gangsterism, stabbings, assaults on teachers and the rape of girls are quite common. Other researchers like Harber (2001) shows that such cases are actually increasing. Some findings from the research include the fact that there is no universally understood and clear definition of discipline which means it is interpreted differently 5 page with both learners and educators. Consequently, they perceive problems differently and come up with different solutions. Generally, both parties are of the opinion of the fact that the whole disciplinary process is not working as effectively as it should. The primary recommendation therefore is to review the whole policy and the statutory instrument in which both learners and educators base on the policy so that it reflects the current situation and takes cognisance of the challenges faced.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--West Virginia University, 2009. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains ix, 104 p. : ill. (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 72-81).

The purpose of the study was to develop strategies for maintaining discipline among learners in secondary schools in Kenya in the post-caning era. More specifically, the objectives of this study were to: - Examine disciplinary strategies that are revealed in the relevant literature that will assist the Kenyan public secondary schools manage student discipline in the post-caning area; - Examnine the exsisting approaches to discipline that are being adopted by secondary schools in Kenya in the post-caning era; - Develop strategies for managing student discipline in public secondary schools in Kenya in the post-caning era.

This small-scale study was designed to investigate post-corporal punishment disciplinary strategies used by level one educators in an ex-HOD secondary school in South Durban. This qualitative study gathered data through the case study approach for the following key questions : 1. What are the challenges being faced by educators in maintaining pupil discipline? 2. What strategies do educators employ to cope with post apartheid reforms such as large, multiracial classes, abolition of corporal punishment and the removal of a guidance counsellor? 3. What are the educators' perceptions of the support they receive from the school and the community, if any, in dealing with pupil indiscipline? As this research examines educators' perceptions on pupil discipline, it naturally lends itself to the qualitative research design. Within the qualitative design the case study provides the opportunity to obtain first hand information which can be used to do an in depth analysis of how educators relate to various factors and processes regarding learner discipline in the school under study. In order to obtain a full picture of discipline in the school under study the investigator obtained data through semi-structured interviews, observations of managers', level one educators' and pupils' behaviour as well as review of documents such as the staff minute books and the educators' discipline records. In response to the numerous post apartheid reforms that schools find themselves experiencing, schools need to develop strategies such as teamwork, collaboration, delegation and open communication. The collective creativity and energy generated as a team is what is needed to face the reforms that schools are constantly being bombarded with. It is these reforms which can adversely affect the discipline of learners if not anticipated timeously by monitoring mechanisms in the school. These monitoring mechanisms such as regular networking can result in improvement to present policies and procedures so that they can align themselves with these post apartheid educational reforms. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2004.

Although girls make up a small portion of students identified as having emotional or behavioral disorders (EBD), there has been a steady and significant increase in the number of violent incidences in schools involving girls. Yet few intervention programs are in place to address the unique needs of girls with EBD problems of an aggressive nature. This study examined the effectiveness of Time Away (TA), a conflict resolution program emphasizing social skill training currently being employed at the elementary school level in an Indiana school district. TA involves three phases (Albrecht, 1992): timeout—after several unsuccessful attempts by the teacher to resolve conflicts, the offending student is sent to the TA room and placed in a 10-min timeout ("cool down") period; redirection—the student then participates briefly in an academic ("getting back on track") activity; and conflict resolution—a subsequent debriefing period during which time the student is encouraged to examine the events leading to the problem behavior, the specific unacceptable actions that resulted in removal from the classroom, and the consequences along with possible alternative actions that could avoid such problems in the future.This study compared two school districts, one using TA and another using traditional disciplinary practices. TA referrals and disciplinary referrals were compared for both school districts and variables such as gender, socioeconomic status, and the number of referrals made were analyzed. In addition, teachers using TA were surveyed to determine their perceptions of the effectiveness of the TA program and their possible use of it in the future. Their responses to open-ended survey questions were examined qualitatively by grouping them according to themes that emerged from a content analysis. Results of the referral analysis gave support to its effectiveness for girls: In the school district where TA was implemented, girls received 30% fewer referrals than boys in that district and 28% fewer referrals than either boys or girls in the comparison school district that did not use TA. Possible reasons for these results along with recommendations for improving the TA program are discussed. / Department of Special Education

This qualitative research study was conducted to ascertain how urban school leaders conceptualized school discipline policies in ways that supported the education of students of color as well as how their values and beliefs informed the implementation of school discipline policies in ways that supported the education of students of color. Urban school leadership participants’ experience was primarily in the nation’s largest school district, New York City. Two research questions guided the framework of this study: (a) How do urban school leaders conceptualize school discipline policies in ways that change the way students of color are disciplined? and (b) How do the values and beliefs of urban school leaders inform their implementation of school discipline policies in ways that support the education of students of color? Qualitative research methodology was used for this study. Data were collected through individual interviews with participants and expert participants. The findings and data analysis constructed a road map for culturally relevant school leaders to conceptualize and implement school discipline policies to support students of color in schools and change the way they were disciplined.

This dissertation historicizes the formation of the school-prison nexus and its impact within the nation’s broader carceral landscape in the decades following the Supreme Court's ruling in Brown. It uses Boston as a case study to examine the fusion of law enforcement and educational policy during the postwar period. Through the legal contest over Boston Public School’s Code of Discipline in the early years of court-ordered desegregation, the project analyzes how these policies and the statistical discourses they perpetuated about Black criminality furthered the expansion of law enforcement, promoted punitive education reforms, diminished the democratic functions of schools, and facilitated untold numbers of students into under- and unemployment as well as the criminal justice system. In doing so, the work makes explicit the role of schools in spurring mass incarceration by implementing policies that unjustly targeted and punished Black youth.

Public school systems are required to provide a safe learning environment free of violence and disruption. For students who threaten the learning of themselves or others, schools frequently develop a disciplinary alternative education placement. Students with a history of behavior problems at school are at greatest risk for future behavior problems and academic failures. In response to evidence that removal discipline techniques had little efficacy, schools have focused on identifying alternative methods of maintaining order and safety. This study evaluated the outcomes of an elementary-level alternative discipline placement with unique intervention programming. The program includes interventions to increase the effectiveness of traditional alternative discipline placements. Activities focus on promoting social competence and developing social information-processing skills intended to increase the behavioral and academic success of student participants. The program excludes students from the general student population and consists of a behavior management system with gradually increasing behavior expectations, reinforcements and consequences, focused social skills lessons, counseling, and parenting classes. Participants were consistently lower performing academically than control group students both before and after the program. However, students who experienced fewer discipline removals after the program had higher report card grades. Overall, participants had a decrease in discipline removals after participating in the program but continued to have more lost instruction days due to discipline than control group students. The higher grade level students had less behavior improvement following the program than younger students. No relation was found between a student’s level of success in the program and their academic or behavioral performance changes. Future research needs include a comparison of students referred for persistent misbehavior and those referred for a single, serious incident and the need to assess the specific skills addressed in the program. / Department of Educational Psychology

Thesis (MEd)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The study aims to research discipline in schools and I explored alternative forms of discipline. The literature indicates that alternative forms of discipline exist to the canings that were inflicted in the past, which have now been outlawed. However, effective alternatives to corporal punishment are not obvious. Before deciding on alternatives, it is advisable that teachers go through an experimental phase, and be prepared to make adjustments along the way. The literature also shows that classes with fewer behavioural problems have teachers who tend to use non-violent and child-centred approaches to classroom discipline. Studies show that the vast majority of disciplinary problems result from the circumstances in which such learners find themselves, which are characterised by problems at home, learning barriers, trauma, and ineffective teaching methods. I conclude that the application of corporal punishment aggravates such problems, rather than solving them. Present-day educators are required to fill a greater pastoral role than they did in the past, as learners nowadays tend to face many more difficult challenges than they used to do in the past and also are likely to experience less support outside the school. Most educational psychologists recommend that educators place learners, in cases of them suffering from emotional problems, child abuse, sexual abuse, HIV/AIDS, or alcohol and drug abuse, in an intensive process of counselling, with them being referred to experts in the fields of reference (Porteus et al., 2001:45). I conclude that attempts to improve classroom discipline can be effective if the whole school community is involved. One of the ways in which the whole school community can become involved in attaining a better discipline system is through the adoption of a code of conduct that is arrived at by means of consultation, persuasion and agreement with all role-players concerned. The maintenance of such a code is, however, only likely to be successful if it is strictly enforced and the appropriate sanctions are imposed against those who violate it. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie doen navorsing oor dissipline in skole, en spesifiek alternatiewe vorme daarvan. Die literatuur dui op die bestaan van alternatiewe vorme van dissipline na die afskaffing van lyfstraf in Suid-Afrikaanse skole. Alternatiewe vorme van dissipline is egter nog nie duidelik sigbaar nie. Voordat daar besluit kan word oor alternatiewe vorme is dit egter raadsaam dat onderwysers eers eksperimenteer en die haalbaarheid van alternatiewe vorme probeer vasstel. Die literatuur dui aan dat klaskamers met min of geen dissiplinêre probleme, onderwysers het wat nie-geweldadige en kindergesentreerde benaderings volg. Studies dui aan dat kinders met dissiplinêre probleme uit huise kom met leerprobleme, trauma, en oneffektiewe onderrig metodes. My gevolgtrekking is dat lyfstraf sulke problem vererger, eerder as om dit op te los. Daar word van hedendaagse onderwysers verwag om meer as ooit tevore 'n pastorale rol te vervul. Sielkundiges adviseer dat leerders met ernstige dissiplinere problem eerder na deskundiges verwys behoort te word in plaas daarvan om dit in die klaskamer te probeer oplos. My gevolgtrekking is dat klaskamer dissipline kan effektief toegepas kan word indien die hele skool, ouers en gemeenskap betrokke word. Dit kan slegs geskied met 'n gedragskode wat deur wye konsultasie, beraadslaging en in ooreenstemming met al die rolspelers daar gestel word. Die handhawing van so ʼn kode kan slegs slaag indien dit streng toegepas word en indien daar strafmaatreëls in plek is vir diegene wat die kode verbreek.

The framework of this study was monitoring classroom management strategies and student behaviors in the classroom, then providing strategies and feedback to increase effective classroom management and decrease problem student behaviors. There were 15 evidence–based practices that were researched and used in the study. Specifically teachers were asked to focus on 5 of them. These practices were: using 5 positive feedback comments to 1 negative comment; having classroom rules and expectations that were posted, taught, practiced, consistent, and positively reinforced; using an attention getting cue that had been taught, practiced and positively reinforced; having continuous active supervision including moving and scanning; and managing minor problem behaviors positively, consistently and quickly. Teachers filled out a self–assessment tool on how well they think they implemented these strategies in the classroom, and then received coaching sessions on how to use them more effectively in the classroom. These coaching sessions were given throughout the study as teachers had days where they needed positive reinforcement themselves. The results of these coaching sessions and the use of the strategies are presented in this study.