PATTERNS IN MIDDLE SCHOOL DISCIPLINE RECORDS

Two exploratory studies describe chronic discipline problems as record ed in referrals to the principal. In the first study, students who wer e chronically referred throughout their middle school career were iden tified (n = 18). In addition to establishing that each student had a p roblem of long duration, a measure of the density of the behavior prob lem was taken (i.e., the highest number of referrals received in a sin gle term). Two contrasting groups were formed co develop hypothesis ab out which events in the first term of Grade 6 predicted continued disc ipline problems. The second study was a comparison of discipline patte rns for violent behaviors (e.g., fighting, vandalism, harassment) and nonviolent behaviors (e.g., disruption, skipping class, insubordinatio n) for students with serious discipline problems (n = 36) from three m iddle schools. The use of school discipline referral patterns is discu ssed as a means of checking the need for additional assessments (e.g., functional assessments of problem behaviors, social skills assessment s), enhancing our understanding of students' problem behaviors, and co nstructing preventive interventions.