Classroom discipline and student responsibility: the students' view

There is, internationally, increasing interest in the quality of children's character. This paper examines, in 21 elementary and 21 secondary schools, the role of classroom discipline in promoting student responsibility for the protection of learning and safety rights in the classroom. The results indicate that teachers are seen by students to react to classroom misbehavior by increasing their use of coercive discipline, which inhibits the development of responsibility in students and distracts them from their schoolwork. Unfortunately, teachers fail to increase their use of more productive techniques, such as discussions, rewards for good behavior and involvement in decision-making, Implications of these findings are discussed. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.