Making Discipline Positive and Making it Work!

Abstract

INSET work by educational psychologists in the field of behaviour management is increasingly addressing 'whole school' issues. In this article we hope to communicate some of the background to our current thinking about whole school approaches to behaviour management, and to outline a structure for development work in schools leading to action policies which we call 'Positive School Discipline Plans'. The time is ripe for looking at discipline in schools, given public concern and the concern expressed by teachers' unions about pupil behaviour. The Education Acts of 1986 and 1988, and the Elton committee's findings make discipline a topical subject and put the ball clearly in the court of schools, in terms of responsibility for creating and maintaining a positive climate in which good social behaviour is the norm. The 'effective schools' research published over the last decade suggests that schools can and do influence the behaviour of pupils. This does not mean that the home and parental influences on behaviour are regarded as unimportant, but is to suggest that behaviour can be influenced by the organisational context in which it occurs. In Leeds, as in many other Local Authorities, we have been addressing the question, 'How can schools go about the task of improving general standards of behaviour?' Our research and work with teachers has led us to explore the idea of 'corporate culture' or 'ethos', which transmits the central values of a school, and which is understood by staff, pupils, parents, governors etc. It is our belief that it is possible to systematically develop and maintain a positive ethos which encourages and models good social behaviour, and which 'marginalises' bad behaviour. We think that such development work will be most successful where the majority of people concerned believe the research which says that: 1. organisations can influence behaviour regardless of catchment areas or other factors; 2. some schools do this better than others, and that it is possible to identify the reasons for this and to learn from them; 3. even the best schools can strengthen the recognition and encouragement of the central value of good social behaviour in school; 4. consistency and consensus among staff, and between staff and pupils, are valuable in creating a climate in which good behaviour is the norm; 5. pupils learn best and behave best when: (a) they know what is expected of them, (b) they are positively encouraged to learn and behave well and have ample opportunity for success, (c) they are consistently, fairly and appropriately treated when they don't behave well.