School discipline

The Importance of Discipline

Disciplining children is important to create a safe and fun learning environment. Discipline requires knowledge, skill, sensitivity and self-confidence; like any art, it is something that one will acquire through training and experience; it becomes easier with practice. Many people confuse discipline with classroom management; discipline is one dimension of classroom management and classroom management is a general term. Discipline can also have a positive influence on both the individual and classroom environment. Utilizing disciplinary actions can be an opportunity to reflect and learn about consequences, instill collective values, and encourage behavior that is acceptable for the classroom. Recognition of the diversity of values within communities can increase understanding and tolerance of different disciplinary techniques. Promoting positive correction of questionable behavior within the classroom dynamic, as opposed to out-of-class punishments like detention, suspension, or expulsion, can encourage learning and discourage future misbehavior. Learning to own one’s bad behavior can also contribute to positive growth in social emotional learning.

Discipline is a set of actions determined by the school district to remedy actions taken by a student that are deemed inappropriate. Some scholars think students misbehave because of the lack of engagement and stimulation in typical school settings, a rigid definition of acceptable behaviors and/or a lack of attention and love in a student's personal life. Recently, scholars have begun to explore alternative explanations for why students are being disciplined, in particular the disproportionate rate of discipline towards African American and Minority students.

Theory

School discipline practices are generally informed by theory from psychologists and educators. There are a number of theories to form a comprehensive discipline strategy for an entire school or a particular class.

Detention

Detention is one of the most common punishments in schools in the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Singapore, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and some other countries. It requires the pupil to report to a designated area of the school during a specified time on a school day (typically either recess or after school) and remain there for a specified period of time, but also may require a pupil to report to that part of school at a certain time on a non-school day, e.g. "Saturday detention" at some US, UK, and Irish schools (especially for serious offenses not quite serious enough for suspension).

Typically, in schools in the US, UK, and Singapore, if one misses a detention, then another is added or the student gets a more serious punishment. In UK schools, for offenses too serious for a normal detention but not serious enough for a detention requiring the pupil to return to school at a certain time on a non-school day, a detention can require a pupil to return to school 1–2 hours after school ends on a school day, e.g. "Friday Night Detention".

In Germany detention is less common. In some states like Baden-Württemberg there is detention to rework missed school hours, but in others like Rheinland-Pfalz it is prohibited by law. In schools where some classes are held on Saturdays, pupils may get detention on a Saturday even if it is a non-school day for them.

In China, long-time detention is less common than in the US, the UK, Ireland, Singapore, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and some other countries. Short-time detention by schoolteachers is still common, but usually lasts no more than 3 to 5 hours.

In Australia, the policy for school detention: the principal must consider circumstances when determining what a reasonable time and place for detention entails and make sure that any special conditions relating to the imposition of detention are specified in the school's 'Student Engagement Policy'. The conditions that schools must ensure are that: no more than half the time for recess is used for detention, when students are kept after school, parents should be informed at least the day before detention, and detention should not exceed 45 minutes.

Suspension

Suspension or temporary exclusion is mandatory leave assigned to a student as a form of punishment that can last anywhere from one day to a few weeks, during which time the student is not allowed to attend regular lessons. In some US, UK, Australian and Canadian schools, there are two types of suspension: In-School (ISS or Internal Exclusion) and Out-of-School (OSS). In-school requires the student to report to school as usual but attend a designated suspension classroom or room all day. Out-of-school suspension bans the student from being on school grounds during school hours while school is in session. Schools are often required to notify the student's parents/guardians of the reason for and duration of the out-of-school suspension, and usually also for in-school suspensions. Suspended students are often required to continue to learn and complete assignments from the days in which they miss instruction.

Expulsion

Expulsion, exclusion, withdrawing, or permanent exclusion terminates the student's education. This is the ultimate last resort, when all other methods of discipline have failed. However, in extreme situations, it may also be used for a single offense. Some education authorities have a nominated school in which all excluded students are collected; this typically has a much higher staffing level than mainstream schools. In some US public schools, expulsions and exclusions are so serious that they require an appearance before the Board of Education or the court system. In the UK, head teachers may make the decision to exclude, but the student's parents have the right of appeal to the local education authority. It was completely banned for compulsory schools in China. This has proved controversial in cases where the head teacher's decision has been overturned (and his or her authority thereby undermined), and there are proposals to abolish the right of appeal.

Expulsion from a private school is a more straightforward matter, since the school can merely terminate its contract with the parents if the pupil does not have siblings in the same school.

Counseling

Counseling is also provided when a kid/teen/adult will have to see a school counselor if they behave badly. The purpose of counseling is to help the student recognize their mistakes and find positive ways to make changes in the student’s life. Counseling can also help the student clarify the expectations and standards of the school, as well as understand the consequences of failing to meet those standards.

Restorative Justice

Traditional styles of western discipline do not always work well for students across every cultural community. Some districts around the United States have begun to take a new approach to discipline, called restorative justice. As an alternative to the normative approaches of detention, suspension, and expulsion, restorative justice was established to give students a voice in their consequences, as well as an opportunity to make a positive contribution to their community. This method of discipline typically involves peer-mediation or adult-supervised conversations surrounding a perceived offence. Each student has the ability to contribute to the conversation, the person who has misbehaved has the opportunity not only to give their side of the story but also has a say in their consequence. Consequences defy the traditional methods of punitive punishment (detention, suspension, expulsion) and instead give students an opportunity for restoration. Restorative justice focuses on relationship building and the community as a whole over the individual student and their offence, creating a sense that everyone has a part in the community and it is everyone’s responsibility to uphold the values of the particular community. This is a method that not only increases an understanding of perceived community values, but is also a method thought to work well in cultures and communities where there is a high value on the community, rather than just on the individual.

Corporal Punishment

Throughout the history of education the most common means of maintaining discipline in schools was corporal punishment. While a child was in school, a teacher was expected to act as a substitute parent, with many forms of parental discipline or rewards open to them. This often meant that students were commonly chastised with the birch, cane, paddle, strap or yardstick if they did something wrong.

Corporal punishment in schools has now disappeared from most Western countries, including all European countries. In the United States, corporal punishment is not used in public schools in 34 states, banned in 31, permitted in 19, of which only 16 actually have school districts actively administering corporal punishment. Every U.S. state except New Jersey and Iowa permits corporal punishment in private schools, however an increasing number of private schools have abandoned the practice, especially Catholic schools, nearly all of which now ban. Thirty-one U.S. states as well as the District of Columbia have banned it from public schools, most recently New Mexico in 2011. The other 19 states (mostly in the South) continue to allow corporal punishment in public schools. Of the 19 which permit the practice, three - Arizona, Colorado, and Wyoming have no public schools which actually use corporal punishment as of 2016. Paddling is still used to a significant (though declining) degree in some public schools in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas. Private schools in these and most other states may also use it, though many choose not to do so.

Official corporal punishment, often by caning, remains commonplace in schools in some Asian, African and Caribbean countries.

Most mainstream schools in most other countries retain punishment for misbehavior, but it usually takes non-corporal forms such as detention and suspension.

In China, school corporal punishment was completely banned under the Article 29 of the Compulsory Education Act of the People's Republic of China, but in practice, beating by schoolteachers is still common, especially in rural areas.

In Australia, school corporal punishment has been banned in most states.