Disciplinary Approach Which Supports Students and Reduces Infractions
Format
Poster Presentation
Location
Harborside Center East and West
Strand #1
Social & Emotional Skills
Strand #2
Safety & Violence Prevention
Relevance
Social & Emotional Skills and Safety & Violence are inextricably connected. The paradigm shift from punitive disciplinary strategies to nontraditional disciplinary practices improve students' social/emotional skills and ultimately translates to fewer disciplinary infractions in the school setting.
Brief Program Description
Social/Emotional Skills and Safety/Violence are inextricably connected. The paradigm shift from punitive disciplinary strategies to nontraditional disciplinary practices improve students' social/emotional skills and ultimately translates to fewer disciplinary infractions in the school setting. Increasingly, research supports strategies that supports students and reduces discipline recidivism with at-risk students.
Summary
Educators have repeatedly complained that having to confront student problem behaviors is one of the most arduous concerns facing them in the classroom. The frequent responses to discipline problems have included detention, suspension, and expulsion. Researchers have acknowledged that punitive measures have been identified as not having a positive effect on persuading students from engaging in negative behaviors and altering negative social and emotional behaviors. Schools that use techniques that include restorative practices are causing dramatic reductions in misbehavior, violence, suspensions, and expulsions. Schools must identify clear and measurable outcomes for decreasing problematic behavior and collect data to guide the decision making for future polices with a focus on the nontraditional modes of addressing behavior that includes, but is not limited to: behavioral counseling, school service, mentoring program, and alternative placement. A solid "relationship" should be established with students before one attempts"relevance" and "rigor."
Evidence
Strategies were implemented at a large comprehensive high (approximately 2000 students) with a 75% poverty rate. The school was touted by many as the worse with students who were thought incorrigible. After the implementation of the alternative diciplinary practices that promoted student growth, disciplinary infractions reduces by 50% the first year and continues to decrease three years later. Additionally, the overwheming majority of the student population as benefited socially and emotionally. Teachers were challenged to focus on student RELATIONSHIP before RELEVANCE and RIGOR.
Biographical Sketch
The presenter has over 18 years of education experience and has served as a principal for 12 in at-risk secondary schools. He holds a doctorate degree in Educational Leadership, Policy & Law, and he has conducted extensive research on the topic of alternative disciplinary practices. He is known for his unorthodox approach to discipline and has an uncanny ability to reach troubled teens. The presenter has been challenged with leading some of the toughest at-risk schools in the tri-county area of Montgomery, Alabama.
Keyword Descriptors
At-Risk, Discipline, Safety, Social, Relationship, Alternative, Punitive, Nontraditional
Presentation Year
2015
Start Date
3-3-2015 4:00 PM
End Date
3-3-2015 5:30 PM
Recommended Citation
Pharrams, Lorenza, "Disciplinary Approach Which Supports Students and Reduces Infractions" (2015). National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference. 19.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/nyar_savannah/2015/2015/19
Disciplinary Approach Which Supports Students and Reduces Infractions
Harborside Center East and West
Social/Emotional Skills and Safety/Violence are inextricably connected. The paradigm shift from punitive disciplinary strategies to nontraditional disciplinary practices improve students' social/emotional skills and ultimately translates to fewer disciplinary infractions in the school setting. Increasingly, research supports strategies that supports students and reduces discipline recidivism with at-risk students.
