Discipline in Schools: Psychological Perspectives on the Elton Report

The Elton Committee was set up in 1989 to consider ‘what action can be taken to secure the orderly atmosphere necessary in schools for effective teaching and learning to take place’. In this collection of papers, originally published in 1992, ten leading figures in the psychology of education reflect on some of the issues raised by the Elton Report and provide a series of psychological models for tackling problems of discipline, disorder and disruption in schools. Areas covered include whole-school approaches to discipline, the connection between learning difficulties and discipline problems, the effectiveness of positive behavioural methods of classroom management, the possible uses of techniques derived from family therapy in classroom discipline situations and the ‘good relationship’ between teacher and student as an agent of change. Though the perspectives of the contributors are very different, the emphasis throughout is on establishing a way forward for schools that will be valid and workable both in institutional terms and for the individual teacher in the classroom.