EFFECTIVE SCHOOLS RESEARCH

Research indicates that a child’s success in school is significantly influenced by having:

SAFE, ORDERLY LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS AND CLASSROOMS THAT ARE WELL-MANAGED WITH CLEARLY UNDERSTOOD PURPOSES AND DISCIPLINARY RULES

Research from the effective schools movement of the last several decades has identified the following common characteristics of high-achieving schools:

• vigorous instructional leadership.
• a principal who makes clear, consistent, and fair decisions.
• an emphasis on discipline and a safe and orderly environment.
• instructional practices that focus on basic skills and academic achievement.
• collegiality among teachers in support of student achievement.
• teachers with high expectations that all their students can and will learn.
• frequent review of student progress.

Good classroom management is essential for teachers to deal with students who chronically misbehave, but such students also benefit from specific suggestions from teachers on how to cope with their conflicts and frustrations. It should not be assumed that disruptive children cannot learn. By holding difficult children to high expectations, teachers demonstrate faith that all students can learn and promote students’ engagement with the content and the classroom activity.

Effective discipline policies contribute to the academic atmosphere by emphasizing the importance of regular attendance, promptness, respect for teachers and academic work, and good conduct.

When schools take the time to orient students transferring from one school to another, they ease the special stresses and adjustment difficulties those students face. The result is apt to be improved student performance.

Wang, 1998.
What works: research about teaching and learning. 1987.