Effects of middle schoolers' perceptions of school disciplinary practices on their behavioral choices

The purpose of this quantitative study and correlational design was to study aspects of school disciplinary practices that influence the beliefs and behavioral choices of Grade 6-8 students in a Gwinnett County Public School, located in Georgia. The problem is that current discipline plans offer procedures for removing or preventing some types of behavioral disruptions but do not address the cause of misbehavior or the way in which existing student perceptions influence behavior. The results indicated the 19-question Likert-type survey provided a model for predicting positive behavior choices. Findings also indicated a positive relationship between previous experiences with authority figures and perceptions of teacher fairness and consistency as well as discipline reporting practices. These results provide administrators, classroom teachers, and those who design teacher training programs with predictive tools for minimizing classroom disruptions.