Industrial arts teachers' personal characteristics related to the frequency of discipline problems.

by Puckett, William Gary

A lack of discipline has frequently been reported as a major problem in public school systems. The lack of discipline manifests itself in many problem areas. This lack may be stimulated by student rejection of authority. Gallup (1974: 21) reported that discpline "again heads the list of problems cited most often by survey respondents." Discipline has, infact , been named in the Phi Delta Kappan "Sixth Annual Gallup Poll of Public Attitudes Toward Education" as the number-one problem of the schools in five of the last six years. Most i n s t i t u t i o n s of authority have been challenged including the police, the m i l i t a r y , t h e church, the high schools, and the universities. Young people do not seem to want t o be admonished by their superiors, that is, if they even recognize their superiors at a l l (Dobson, 1973). One school of thought supports the belief that many discipline problems are caused by teachers. Jessup (1971: 27) maintained that " far to often additional trouble of a significant nature arises after a teacher has verbally pounced on a student, denouncing him before the class ." Rules and regulations developed by teachers t o govern students should be reasonable. Harsh and excessively numerous rules can create behavior problems in classrooms and excessive control may manifest