Date of Award
2004
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Fischler Graduate School of Education and Human Services
Advisor
Anne Joslin
Committee Member
Maryanne Roesch
Committee Member
Maryellen Maher
Keywords
behavior modification, classroom management, classroom managers, classroom techniques, conflict resolution, disciplinary database, disciplinary referrals, discipline concerns, discipline referrals, elementary schools, grade 4, grade 5, grade 6, misbehavior, private Christian schools, school-wide disciplinary programs, staff development, student behavior, student discipline, teacher training
Abstract
This applied dissertation describes a program to reduce disciplinary referrals among the 4th–6th grade students in a private Christian elementary school. Historical data indicated a steady incline of disciplinary referral issuances over a 3-year period (1999-2002). In the school year 2001-2002, the 4th-6th grades were averaging 62% of the total disciplinary referrals among the student body. Classroom teachers did not uniformly implement staff guidelines for student discipline. Also, the student disciplinary protocol was lacking structure and a plan for student behavior modification; therefore, misbehavior reoccurred.
The writer developed an intervention plan to address the discipline concerns. The planned strategies included (a) 10 staff development sessions, 1-hour each, on classroom management techniques with an emphasis on student classroom managers; (b) student conflict resolution sessions for those who received two disciplinary referrals; and (c) created a centralized school-wide disciplinary database. This program was implemented over an 8-month period.
An analysis of the data revealed a decrease in disciplinary referral submissions by the 4th- through 6th-grade teachers. This project helped to reduce the disciplinary referral rate among 4th- through 6th-grade students from 62% of the total referrals for the school to 44% for an 18 percentage point decrease. Compared with 2001-2002, discipline referrals for the targeted grades decreased by 23%. The overall findings demonstrated that the institution of a school-wide disciplinary program decreases the number of disciplinary referral submissions.