Schoolwide discipline policies and practices

¶ … Logic a Viable Option for School wide Discipline?

Schools are responsible for providing an atmosphere where children are safe and able to learn. Children are eager learners when they are provided an environment free from distractions. However, as we all know, life is not perfect and some children decrease the ability of others to enjoy learning in a stimulating environment. In order to provide an environment that stimulates children to do their best, it is sometimes necessary to provide children with discipline problems choices that they can use to make decisions in the future.

Traditional methods of discipline are based largely on operant conditioning where children are provided rewards and punishments according to their behavior. There are many variants of these discipline methods, most of which are based on sound theory. However, many of these methods fall short in that they do not consider that children are all unique individuals with different needs and motivators.

Unless the discipline method can be adjusted for each child, it is not likely to yield satisfactory results. Current discipline methods are a one size fits all approach where there are set punishments for certain sets of behaviors. The problem is that all children are not one size and what is a punishment for one may be a reward for another. Take for instance the child that is highly introverted and does not like to be in the classroom with the other children. In this case removing the child from classroom and isolating them would not be a punishment. Instead, removing the child from the rest of the class would be a reward and would be likely to increase the behavior rather than decrease it.

This research is based on the hypothesis that the problem is not with the children, but that it is with the method. This research will explore a new philosophy regarding discipline issues. The Love and Logic Institute has developed a method of discipline that is adaptable to a number of learners and their individual personalities. The Love and Logic discipline is based on the following principles (Fay, 1996).

Shared control: Gain control by giving away the control you don't need.

Shared thinking and decision-making: Provide opportunities for the child to do the greatest amount of thinking and decision-making.

Equal shares of empathy with consequences: An absence of anger causes a child to think and learn from his/her mistakes.

Maintain the child's self-concept: Increased self-concept leads to improved behavior and improved achievement." (Fay, 1996).

The Love and Logic approach to discipline is not a new way of disciplining, but rather a new way of thinking about discipline. In this form of discipline the child has a high degree of control over their environment. They share in the responsibility for their actions. The adult must be willing to allow this to happen. They give up a certain degree of control and allow the child many more choices in the outcome.

Hypothesis and Research Questions

Love and Logic differs significantly from traditional ways of thinking about the relationships between adults and children. As with any new philosophy, there is some controversy over the effectiveness of the approach. This research will explore the opinions regarding and effectiveness of the Love and Logic approach to discipline by using an online survey of teachers and administrators. The survey will compare those that use traditional reward/punishment systems with those that have adopted the Love and Logic approach. It will support the hypothesis that the Love and Logic approach will be more effective in diminishing unwanted behaviors among school-aged children than traditional methods.

The research will support the hypothesis by focusing on the following research questions.

Does the Love and Logic approach to school wide discipline decrease the frequency of discipline problems within the classroom?

Does the Love and Logic approach to school wide discipline decrease the severity of incidences of discipline problems?

Are teachers and administrators knowledgeable about the Love and Logic approach to discipline?

Do teachers and administrators feel that the Love and Logic program is an effective means to control discipline issues within the classroom, as compared to traditional reward/punishment systems?

By addressing these research questions the study will determine the potential success or failure of the Love and Logic program as a solution to the discipline problems that currently plague our educational system. It will use both quantitative and qualitative data to answer these questions and support the hypothesis.

The study will examine current theory on discipline and the various models currently being used by schools today. The Columbine High School shooting led to an explosion of interest in developing better ways to deal with school discipline and the problems that lead to school violence. This study will reexamine these methods and explore their effectivness. This research will contribute to the development of better methods for handling discipline problems in our school systems.

Literature Review

Discipline in Schools

In order to better understand the importance of the school discipline issue and the many approaches to resolving it, we must first gain an understanding of academic research within the past several years. This research forms the basis for the current research and theoretical practices that have developed in response to this growing problem. It will also shed light on the importance of the study and the need to develop more effective discipline practices in our schools.

The Columbine High School shootings brought the issue of school violence and school discipline to the forefront of public concern. Incidences of school violence have been highlighted in the mass media over the past several years. This has placed the issue of discipline at the front of the public eye and at the forefront of the many issues confronting the schools themselves. Research into this growing problem indicates that in 1996 52% of teachers and administrators in rural schools believed that violence was increasing at the middle/high school level, but that the types of problems were not those that led to school violence (Peterson and Skiba, 2000). Only three percent of the schools, either rural or urban, reported no discipline problems during the course of the school year (Peterson and Skiba, 2000).

Discipline that Supports Instruction

School atmosphere has been associated with decreased or increased discipline problems among the population (Peterson and Skiba, 2000). Concern over discipline issues is not only an American problem, but evidence indicates that Asian schools are also concerned over discipline problems their school systems (Fields, 2000). Fields also points out a concern over bias in reports of school discipline problems. It appears that there is considerable disparity in the opinions about the severity of the problem, depending on who conducts the study. Fields points out conflicting results that make it difficult to determine the true magnitude of the problem.

One of the key difficulties is translating discipline theory into practice within the classroom setting (Golly et. al., 2001). Effective behavioral support (EBS) is a school wide model that has come into popularity in recent years. This approach is based on the idea of addressing antisocial behavior and maladaptive coping skills. It is based on several key principles that make it actionable. The first principle is that problem behaviors are clearly defined for students and staff members. The second is that positive behaviors are also defined for students and staff (Golly et. al., 2001).

The third principle is that students are taught alternative behaviors to ones that are undesirable. They are given assistance that will allow them to acquire these new skills and enable them to make the desired behavior change (Golly et. al., 2001). The fourth principle involves the development of effective incentives and motivators to encourage the new behavior set. The fifth principle is that the staff commits to long-term support and intervention. The staff receives regular feedback on how they are doing with the interventions (Golly et. al., 2001). There is also a concern for the development of a monitoring and measurement system to make certain that the interventions are working. The EBS has many similarities to the Love and Logic program in that it contains a system for developing motivational plans that are correct for each child in the program (Golly et. al., 2001).

Maintaining discipline is a growing problem for schools that are forced to include a growing number of children with emotional and behavioral problems. The most effective programs are now considered to be those that are proactive in addressing problems before they start and those that are school-wide (Algozzine, et. al., 2001). Unified Discipline is another school wide intervention that is designed to support administrators, teachers, and other school personnel in meeting the needs of student by establishing unified attitudes, expectations, correction procedures and team roles (Algozzine, et. al., 2001). The key strength of this program is consistency. Rather than focusing on the student alone. As with the EBS approach, the Unified Discipline approach involves the support of families and the community to serve students in the least restrictive environment.

The Unified Discipline approach involves four steps. When a student violates one of the clearly defined rules the adult will "apply consequences consistently and in a warm, assertive, firm voice using four steps: State the behavior, state the violated rule, state the unified consequence, and offer encouragement to prevent future violations " (Algozzine, et. al., 2001). The Unified Discipline approach focuses on negative consequence, but forgets one important step of the learning process. Positive reinforcement for good behaviors must be included in the theoretical models as well as punishers for negative behaviors. This is one of the key shortcomings of the Unified Discipline approach.

With the Unified Discipline approach and the EBS approach, the student has no choice or input into the desired behaviors or the outcomes. They are subject to rules that are forced upon them from their external environment. They may oppose the rules themselves and may not be motivated to follow the rules as they stand. These disciplinary approaches do not take into consideration the individuality of the student. A majority of the school wide disciplinary approaches found in the literature review fell into this category.

Office Discipline Referrals is another form of school wide discipline that is being used in many school systems. This theory is based on a three-tiered approach based on the idea that in any school, three types of children can be identified: (a) typical children not at risk for problems (primary prevention), (b) children at risk (i.e., evidence one or more risk factors) for developing maladaptive behavior patterns (secondary prevention), and - children who show signs of life course-persistent maladaptive behavior patterns (tertiary prevention)" (Benner, 2002).

Office referrals serve as a means to identify and classify the types of interventions needed by each of these three risk categories.

Suspensions and detentions are a common form of discipline in many urban schools. These punishments are assumed to be an undesirable consequence for behavior. However, in certain populations, such as urban and low-income schools, suspensions and detentions were found to be a positive reinforcer rather than a punishment. If the child did not like to go to school, then they would be more likely to misbehave so that they did not have to attend (Arvantis, et. al., 2002; Anthony, et. al., 2001).

It is generally agreed that school wide support is needed to develop an effective disciplinary system that curbs undesirable behaviors and enhances a positive learning environment. Some school districts are taking the school wide approach to the district level (Lehmann, et. al., 2000). The High Five Program incorporates strategies that are associated with positive behavioral interventions and supports (Kartub and Taylor-Greene, 2000). This program involves the implementation of five cardinal rules, with the theory that these behaviors are the root of other behavioral problems. "The High Fives are: be respectful, be responsible, follow directions, keep hands and feet to self, and be there - be ready" (Kartub and Taylor-Greene, 2000). The key criticism of this program is that these principles are vague and children may not know exactly what to do.

In an evaluation of five different strategies used by teachers to maintain order, it was found that many of the strategies are ineffective (Traynor, 2002). The five strategies were labeled as coercive, task oriented, laissez-faire, authoritative, and intrinsic. "control is the major issue and always at the center of the student-teacher relations. Orderly behavior can never be expected; it is always problematic and always requires attention" (Cusick, 1992 in Traynor, 2002). Of the strategies discussed, the coercive strategy was found to be the least effective and most damaging to student-teacher relations. Students saw the adult as having a lack of self-control and therefore lost respect for them (Traynor, 2002).

The Laissez-faire strategy involved "non-teaching" as a means to control the class. It appears to avoid evoking misbehavior, but also fails in challenging students to grow intellectually (Traynor, 2002). The task-oriented strategy involves giving students "busy work" so that they do not have time to misbehave. This strategy is ineffective and has been found to harm the choice of class materials as they may be chosen for their ability to keep students busy rather then for their instructional content (Traynor, 2002). The authoritative strategy relies on consistent enforcement of a set of established classroom rules. This strategy is consistent and supportive. The final strategy is the intrinsic strategy. This strategy involves the student in deciding for him or herself that they wish to behave in a way that is conducive to good classroom behavior (Traynor, 2002). This is the strategy upon which the Love and Logic Program is based.