Discipline in Public and Religious Elementary and Secondary Schools A Comparative Analysis

Abstract

The attitude of teachers toward pupil control can be conceptualized as a continuum ranging from custodial to humanistic. Previous studies have found that, in general, secondary-school teachers have a more custodial attitude toward pupil control than do primary-school teachers; public-school teachers have a more custodial attitude than do religious-school teachers. Using The Pupil Control Ideology Form (Willower, Eidell, & Hoy, 1967), this research studied 405 teachers from 40 schools in the Middle Atlantic region. This sample was divided evenly among public primary, public secondary, religious primary, and religious secondary schools. Findings indicate that secondary-school teachers are the more custodial, but no significant difference is noted between the ideologies of public-school teachers and religious-school teachers. An interaction effect was found—public-school teachers on the primary level were the least custodial; public-school teachers on the secondary level are most custodial; the difference in attitude between primary and secondary teachers in religious schools is insignificant. I propose several reasons for this interaction effect.