Claire Palermo-Re

9/27/15
Educ 370
Classroom discipline theories/ models.
Lee and Marlene Canter- Assertive Discipline
Lee Canter and Marlene Carter are the developers of a classroom discipline theory. They
saw how kids disruptive behavior had increased and wanted to try to fix it. Lee Canter has a
bachelors degree in history from California State University Northridge and he earned a
masters degree in social work from the University of Southern California (Canter).
Lee and Marlene Canters theory that they developed on classroom discipline is called
Assertive Discipline. They realized that a significant amount of classroom learning time is
interrupted because of disruptive students. They saw how much of an impact these kids have on
instructional time. If there are multiple disruptive kids then it will take away from the learning of
other students. Kids used to respect a teacher because they were a teacher and that was how they
had been taught but that is not always true now. As time has progressed kids have started to lose
respect for their teachers. Assertive discipline is based off the fact that most teachers have not
had the training necessary to deal with disruptive kids (Canter). The Assertive Discipline theory
is supposed to help train teacher how to deal with disruptive kids so that they do not interrupt the
learning of other kids. Teachers are supposed to learn how to stop discipline problems before
they get out of hand. Canter lists some characteristics an effective teacher possess: a strong
teacher voice, high expectations for student behavior, an effective classroom discipline plan,
policies and procedures taught at the beginning of the year, the ability to motivate all students to
quickly follow directions and to get and stay on task, the ability to build trusting relationships
with their students and the ability to gain support from parents and administrators (Canter).

Canter believed that if those steps were followed all teachers as long as they were motivated and
willing to try could become a more effective teacher. It did not matter how long the teacher had
been teaching as long as they are willing to try and make a change.
One of Canters first points was teachers need to have a strong teacher voice. They need
to learn how to talk to their students so that the kids understand that they are being serious and
that what they are saying is important and they mean it. This will help ensure that they have
respect and the authority necessary to be in charge in their own classroom. The next point is
teachers need to have a high expectation for their students. If a teacher expects a lot from their
students the students will try to reach it. If a teacher does not expect much then kids will not
really care. An effective classroom discipline plan is also important. Teachers need to tell the
kids up front what will happen if they break the rules, then follow through. A teacher cannot lay
out the rules, but then never follow through. If they do not follow through kids will continue to
misbehave because there are no repercussions. Another thing teachers need to establish early is
their policies and procedures. The sooner the teacher lays them out clearly, the more likely the
children will understand them and follow them. According to Canter an effective teacher is able
to motivate students to quickly follow direction and to get on task and to then stay on task. A
teacher needs to get all her students on task and keep it that way. If one student is off task it can
quickly turn into most of the class off task. Students need to know when they are able to talk
with classmates and when they need to sit and get their work done. In able to accomplish this
teachers also need to have a trusting relationship with their students. Their students will be much
more likely to respect and listen to them if they feel like they can trust them. It is important for
students and the teacher to have a positive relationship. Teachers also need to be able to gain
support from parents and administrators. If a child is disruptive they will not also be able to

handle it on their own. They will need to be able to discuss with the childs parents and have
them help them out. The parents might know how to keep the child on task or certain things that
may set them off. Teachers also need to be able to know that if necessary they have the
administrations support and help. The last point that Canter makes is that all teachers can
become effective teachers. As long as a teacher is motivated and willing to make changes they
can work to reduce the disruptive behavior that occurs in their classroom. An example of
Assertive Discipline at practice in a classroom is if many kids are talking during silent reading
time, the teacher would complement the kids who are following the directions and are reading
quietly. Instead of giving attention to the misbehaving child you are giving attention to the kids
who are behaving. Sometimes kids may misbehave because they want attention.
Assertive discipline in a classroom would look like a teacher who had everything all laid
out. The rules and procedures would be hanging on a wall somewhere. Kids could easily see
them and students would know what is expected from them from day one. The teacher would
have high expectations for their students and would not accept anything less. A teacher who
follows Assertive Discipline would have a good relationship with their students parents and with
the administrators in their school. They would also have a good relationship with their students.
The students would respect them, but they would also feel as though they could talk to them if
necessary. Another example would be if a child is misbehaving rather than calling them out move
towards them while still teaching. You do not need to stop what you are even teaching, but just
walking towards them can make them realize that they are off track. With older students it is
better to take them into the hallway and talk to them. You do not want to give the child who is
misbehaving too much attention because that might be the reason why they are misbehaving. It is
also important to repeat the rules multiple times and make sure they are enforced. If you set a

due date for an assignment the assignment is due then. You cannot change the due date every
time a child comes up to you and has an excuse. Otherwise, they will think they can do that for
every assignment.
There is limited evidence on whether or not assertive discipline is effective. It hard to
conduct a survey to prove its effectiveness. Some people argued against Assertive Discipline by
saying that teachers would say any form of intervention could make a change in a classroom full
of disruptive students (Krank). This article was written in 1989, but there are not many articles
written with hard facts to support Assertive Discipline. This could be because it is teachers who
are noticing the changes and teachers are not likely to conduct research studies. They are too
busy teaching and thinking of ways to better teach their students the necessary material.
One study was done on the effectiveness of Assertive Discipline in a school in Liverpool
that is for students with emotional and behavior problems. This study found four positive
improvements: there was an increase in appropriate student behavior, decrease in disruptive
incidents, dramatic increase of teachers use of positive feedback and there was a decrease in
telling off or use of negative statements (Swinson). For this research people observed classes
before the teachers received training and then again after teachers were trained.
I personally agree with Assertive Discipline. It makes sense to me. I think that if a teacher
follows those steps/ instructions that Canter laid out it will make a difference. Teachers need a
good relationship with their students and they need to have all the rules laid out ahead of time. It
is also important to have a good relationship with the parents and with the administration in your
school. Everything that is written as important to Assertive Discipline makes sense to me.
However, I have not taught in a classroom that is completely my own so I do not have
experience. I cannot say whether or not I think it is affective until I have tried it out in a

classroom that is my own. Some of the steps need to be done at the beginning of the year such as
laying out the rules and procedures that you expect.

Reference List
Canter, Lee. (2010). Assertive Discipline: Positive Behavior Management for Todays
Classroom. Bloomington: Solution Tree Press.
Swinson, Jeremy & Cording, Mike. (Jun 2002). Assertive Discipline in a School for Pupils with
Emotional and Behaviour Difficulties. British Journal of Special Education, 29, 72.
Retrieved from Academic Search Complete.
Krank, M. H., Padilla, J. M., & Render, G. F. (1989). What Research Really Shows About
Assertive Discipline. Educational Leadership, 46, 72. Retrieved from Academic Search
Complete.