Date of Award

1985

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Education

Department

Education

First Advisor

Mary Louise Hawkings

Second Advisor

Rebecca Glenn

Third Advisor

Dolores Graham

Abstract

Determining Successful Discipline Approaches : Reducing Student Tardiness was designed to determine what approaches administrators might employ to aid high school students in reducing excessive tardies. For nine weeks, randomly selected subjects were placed into one of three treatment groups . The null hypothesis was:

There is no statistically significant difference at the 0.01 level in the recidivism rate among three groups of students:

  • 1. Those referred to an administrator's office for excessive tardies who are cited the tardy policy and assigned a detention. (Treatment Group Number One)
  • 2. Those referred to an administrator's office for excessive tardies who are engaged in up to two instructional discussions concerning the effects of tardiness and punctuality. (Treatment Group Number Two)
  • 3. Those referred to an administrator's office for excessive tardies who are cited the tardy policy and warned that an additional referral will result in an assigned detention . (Treatment Group Number Three)

After the study was concluded, the Chi-square statistical test was applied to the data . It was determined that the null hypothesis could be rejected, and the three groups were significantly different at the 0.01 statistical level . Subjects in Treatment Group Number Two, those engaged in up to two instructional discussions , had a significantly lower recidivism rate than the subjects in groups one or three . There was a 10% recidivism rate for Treatment Group Number Two. The recidivism rate for Treatment Group Number One, those cited the tardy policy and assigned a detention, was 58%, and the recidivism rate for Treatment Group Number Three, those cited the tardy policy and warned that an additional referral would result in an assigned detention, was 56% .

The study, designed to determine which of three treatments would be the most effective approach in reducing student tardiness, determined that:

  • 1. Applying a rule in a ''blanket fashion" was the least successful treatment.

  • 2. Providing a warning was only a moderately successful treatment .

  • 3. Engaging students in instructional discussions that included an explanation of the reason for the existing tardy policy and a dialogue regarding the effects of tardiness and punctuality have on the individual, the teacher , classmates and the total school climate was a highly successful treatment.

The significantly low recidivism rate for Treatment Group Number Two suggested that when high school students were involved in instructional discussions, they were capable of 1) understanding the reasons for the existing rule, 2) internalizing information, and J) modifying behavior or , specifically, reducing tardies.

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