ABSTRACT
If classroom control is focused on punishments it demands a high degree of 'policing' and teachers turn into monitors rather than managers of learning. Research has demonstrated that strongly authoritative or disciplinarian teachers create an atmosphere that is counter-productive to learning. Similarly for pupils, a focus on punishment may serve to generate compliance rather than self-regulated behaviour. So the challenge is to develop an ethos where disruption is less likely to happen and to put the choice of appropriate or inappropriate behaviour in the hands of the pupiL
If codes of conduct are made explicit and displayed, then broken by pupils without any consequences, the message is that rules are useless. Some pupils live chaotic lives without boundaries. Sanctions offer clear boundaries and a safe framework. Teenagers test their power and they have learned that if they nag for long enough, parents will give in. They need to know that school boundaries are secure, especially as for some young people, the only place they feel 'safe' is at schooL Sanctions can allow a pupil to work off a 'debt', which can then be forgotten about; the 'slate' is wiped clean.
