Addressing student behavior to meet everyone’s needs

Problem behavior disrupts classrooms across the United States, impacting student learning. Despite the adverse consequences, teachers often exclude disruptive students from school as a punitive and default response to problem behavior. Alternatives to exclusion are becoming increasingly popular in many school districts to improve behavior and keep students in the classroom. But these alternatives tend to group students without identifying and addressing their individualized needs. Nasaskyia R. Hicks reviews the existing literature on punitive school discipline, considers the benefits of alternative discipline, and strengthens the underexplored gaps in research by conceptualizing an approach teachers can use.