CONVENTIONAL WISDOM IS A POOR PREDICTOR OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DISCIPLINE POLICY, STUDENT MISBEHAVIOR AND TEACHER STRESS

Will an effective discipline policy improve student misbehaviour and r esult in a reduction of teacher stress? It is commonly believed that s tudent misbehaviour is a major cause of teacher stress, and that the d egree of student misbehaviour is reflected in student suspension rates . Moreover, it is believed that student misbehaviour can be reduced by improving a school's discipline policy through the collaborative effo rts of whole school communities. As a result of growing concern about student misbehaviour and teacher stress, a Whole School Approach to Di scipline and Student Welfare programme was implemented throughout the Australian state of Victoria. This paper reports on the evaluation stu dies that were conducted to assess the effectiveness of the programme and examine the assumptions which underpinned its implementation. Data were obtained from 4,072 primary and secondary school teachers. Altho ugh longitudinal analyses suggested that the programme was effective i n reducing teacher stress, there was no mean change in student misbeha viour. Structural equation analyses showed that there was little relat ionship between a school's discipline policy and the perceived level o f student misbehaviour. It was also found that student suspension rate s were not related to student misbehaviour, bur could be predicted on the basis of a school's discipline policy and the self-esteem of teach ers. Two and three wave causal analyses also demonstrated the problems associated with using cross-sectional research to support major polic y decisions. Overall, these studies showed that there is little point in trying to reduce teacher stress by reducing student misbehaviour. R ather, it is more appropriate to develop a supportive organisational c limate that enables teachers to cope with the student misbehaviour tha t confronts them.