Positive Psychology and School Discipline: Positive is not Simply the Opposite of Punitive

Historically, most educators have recognized two primary aims of school discipline: (a) managing student behavior, relying primarily on the use of teacher‐centered techniques for preventing and correcting misbehavior and (b) developing self‐discipline, combining teacher‐centered techniques with more student‐centered techniques that focus on inculcating students with social, emotional, moral, and behavioral competencies needed to manage their own behavior (Bear, 2005). Research in the areas of both parenting and classroom management coalesce in showing that both aims are equally important. Nevertheless, in both the past and the present, it is not uncommon to find approaches and models of school discipline in which only one aim receives much attention. More othen than not, it is the aim of managing or controlling student behavior, using punitive or “positive” techniques.