School discipline is the system of rules, punishments and behavioral strategies appropriate to the regulation of children and the maintenance of order in schools. Its aim is to control the students actions and behavior.
An obedient student is in compliance with the school rules and codes of conduct. These rules may, for example, define the expected standards of clothing, timekeeping, social behaviour and work ethic. The term discipline is also applied to the punishment that is the consequence of breaking the rules. The aim of discipline is to set limits restricting certain behaviors seen as harmful.
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Throughout the history of education the most common means of maintaining discipline in schools was corporal punishment. While a child was in school, a teacher was expected to act as a substitute parent, with many forms of parental discipline or rewards open to them. This often meant that students were commonly chastised with the birch, cane, paddle or strap if they did something wrong.
Corporal punishment in schools has now disappeared from most Western countries, including all European countries. Thirty U.S. states have banned it, the others (mostly in the South) have not. Paddling is still used to a significant (though declining) degree in some public schools in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas. Private schools in these and most other states may also use it, though many choose not to do so.
Official corporal punishment, often by caning, remains commonplace in schools in some Asian, African and Caribbean countries.
Most mainstream schools in most other countries retain punishment for misbehaviour, but it usually takes non-corporal forms such as detention and suspension.
School discipline practices are generally informed by theory from psychologists and educators. There are a number of theories to form a comprehensive discipline strategy for an entire school or a particular class.
Detention is one of the most common punishments in schools in the United States, Britain, Ireland, Singapore, Canada, Australia and some other countries. It requires the pupil to remain in school during a specified time on a school day (either break or after school) -- or even (for serious offences) to attend school at a certain time on a non-school day, e.g. "Saturday detention" at some UK and US schools.[8] In the UK, the Education Act 1997 obliges a (state) school to give parents or guardians at least 24 hours' notice of a detention outside school hours so transport can be provided.[9] In UK schools, for offences too serious for a normal detention but not serious enough for a detention requiring the pupil to attend school at a certain time on a non-school day, a detention can require a pupil to attend school 2 hours after school ends on a school day, e.g. "Friday Night Detention". Students not attending lunch,recess,after school,Friday night,or Saturday detention will be suspended from school. Friday Night Detention Hours are from 3:00 to 5:00pm,while Saturday Detention hours are from 8:00 to 10:00am.
Suspension or temporary exclusion is mandatory leave assigned to a student as a form of punishment that can last anywhere from one day to several weeks, during which time the student cannot attend regular lessons. In some US and Canadian schools there are two types of suspension: In-School Suspension (ISS) and Out-of-School Suspension (OSS). In-school suspension requires the student to report to school as normal but sit in a special room all day. Out-of-school suspension bars the student from being on school grounds.[10] The student's parents/guardians are notified of the reason for and duration of the out-of-school suspension, and normally also for in-school suspensions. Sometimes students have to complete work during their suspensions, for which they receive no credit. In some UK schools, there is Reverse Suspension as well as normal suspension. A pupil suspended is sent home for a period of time set. A pupil reverse suspended is required to be at school during the holidays. Some pupils often have to complete work while reverse suspended.
Exclusion, expulsion, withdrawing or permanent exclusion is the removal of a student permanently from the school. This is the ultimate last resort, when all other methods of discipline have failed. However, in extreme situations, it may also be used for a single offense.[11] Some education authorities have a nominated school in which all excluded students are collected; this typically has a much higher staffing level than mainstream schools. In some US public schools, expulsions and exclusions are so serious that they require an appearance before the Board of Education. In the UK, head teachers may make the decision to exclude, but the student's parents have the right of appeal to the local education authority. This has proved controversial in cases where the head teacher's decision has been overturned (and his or her authority thereby undermined), and there are proposals to abolish the right of appeal.
Expulsion from a private school is a more straightforward matter, since the school can merely terminate its contract with the parents.