ABSTRACT
We take it for granted that discipline is very much on the minds of student teachers, but what about “old hands” in teaching? Discipline problems can be so difficult that they are on the minds of even the most experienced teachers, as you can see in the following words, reported by Clapp (1989):
Discipline and classroom management were my biggest fears as I entered teaching. After 19 years of teaching (though I am considered by others to have very good classroom management-my principal always recommends that visitors observe my classroom), each summer before school starts I still have nightmares featuring my class in an out-of-control situation. (p. 32)
This teacher was one of 1,388 respondents to a questionnaire study of 10 educational issues of concern by the education magazine Instructor in 1989. Discipline was ranked first of the 10 issues by 69% of the teachers who responded. It ranked ahead of such issues as teacher salaries, teacher preparation, and teacher
empowerment, and continues to do so in recent surveys of teachers and the general public (Tauber, 1999).
