276 LEARNING & TEACHING NURSING Discipline is essential for maintaining a conducive environment in educational institutions.

Modern education has given due recognition to this vital aspect of educational management. Since discipline

comes under the purview of administration, we are limiting our discussion to some cardinal
features only. MEANING AND DEFINITION The word discipline is derived from disciplus (pupil) and discipere (to comprehend). In the context of education, it should refer to group conduct held to be desirable in the teaching situation and in relation to the personal development of individual students who comprise the learning group. Percynunn defined discipline as follows : "Discipline consists in the submission of one's impalses and powers to a regulation which imposes form upon chaos and brings efficiency and economy where there would otherwise be ineffectivenes and waste. Though part of our nature may resist this control, its acceptance must on the whole be willing acceptance, the spontaneous movement of a nature in which there is an inborn impulse towards greater perfection". An analysis of the above said definition reveals the following facts about discipline, (a) It is a vital component in the process of education, (b) It is the control of behaviour to attain a goal and purpose, (c) It implies a good understanding of right conduct, the formation of desirable habits and attitudes and an adherence to such standards as are just and necessary, (d) It implies the subordination of individual interests to group interests in order to bring efficiency and economy, (c) It implies the willing acceptance of the control, ic, the individual must do either what he is expected to do or must not do what he is forbidden to do. T H E MODERN CONCEPT OF DISCIPLINE The authoritarian discipline began to lose its significance at the beginning of the eighteenth century. Today, we teach students to obey, but we want this obedience to be a thinking obedience, not merely a reliance upon authority. Students are led gradually to discipline themselves. They are taught that there is a time for leisure and a time for learning, a time to converse and a time to listen and so on. Guarded freedom is granted to students. Many of the superimposed and unnecessary restrictions have been wiped. The teacher instead of working as a hard-task master, is viewed as a friend and a guide. Modern discipline satisfies the needs of self-respect and security. Present day discipline is of positive and creative type. The teacher who is a skilled disciplinarian always tries to inculcate good behaviour among students, in this way right attitudes and habits are formed in students. The modern educator believes in self-discipline. In self-discipline, the source of control is largely within the individual and not external to him. It is a combination of self-control and self-direction. In this sense, it is something internal and may be regarded as a response to an inner stimulus. It implies not only bringing under control but also submitting one's behaviour to self-imposed regulations. The student who controls his own behaviour, willingly and

DISCIPLINE 277 spontaneously identifies himself with what is right. Thus, self-discipline creates an earnest desire in the student to do the right thing and thereby enabling him to become an active member in the educational process. The student makes decisions and assumes responsibility for his actions even in the absence of supervision. In short, modern discipline helps the student to become sclf-propclled, self-controlled and self-guiding person.

N E E D FOR DISCIPLINE
Discipline is the most significant prerequisite for the successful implementation of the educational programme. It is essential for helping the child in the growth of individual personality, for giving him the feeling of security, a sense of confidence and the knowledge of boundaries of his freedom. Discipline is essential for the teacher also. Before he can teach the children, there must be proper conditions to do SO. For good teaching, good conditions arc as necessary as good ideas and good teachers. Discipline is a necessary condition for good administration. If the administration is interpreted as all those things administrators do for the purpose of creating a situation favourable to learning, it becomes evident that maintaining discipline is one of his major tasks. Discipline in an educational institution is also the requirement of the society. Without constructive and proper discipline, aims and aspirations of society cannot be realised.

FUNCTIONS OF DISCIPLINE
Discipline as a universal cultural phenomenon is considered as serving a number of specific functions in the growth process of young people : It facilitate learning; it assists in le?rning those standards of conduct acceptable within society; it helps to acquire characteristics of positive nature such as self-control and persistence; it assists in securing stability of the social order within which the young may achieve security and maturity.

AIMS OF DISCIPLINE
Heidgerken describes the aims of discipline in nursing education as follows : 1. 2. 3. To create and maintain desirable conditions in the teaching-learning situation (classroom or clinical setting). This will in turn assist in the achievement of objectives. To create favourable attitudes toward the establishment and the maintenance of conditions essential to effective work, in order to achieve the desired objectives. To assist in the development of self-control and co-operation which are regarded as essential traits in the daily living as well as in professional functioning.

PRINCIPLES OF DISCIPLINE
Below listed principles of discipline will help in maintaining discipline in a student friendly manner, (a) Disciplinary procedures should be in harmony with the total goals of education, (b) Discipline should be based on and controlled by love and not by fear, (c) The discipline should be mainly positive and constructive, (d) Discipline should ensure equal justice for all, respect

278 LEARNING & TEACHING NURSING tor the rights and dignity of the individual and humanitarian treatm&ent for all. (e) Discipline is not an end. It is just a means for the successful implementation of the educational programme, (f) Disciplinary policies and procedures should be primarily preventive, secondarily corrective and never retributive, (g) Discipline should be designed to place upon the student more and more responsibility in respect of his own choices, purposes and behaviour as he grows in the ability to shoulder such responsibility, (h) Discipline is something which the teacher helps children to attain-not something that a teacher maintains, (i) Muke most disciplinary talks in private. 0 Definitely relate the act of misconduct to the act of correction. Be sure that the student understands the correction, otherwise it is not educative. Unless the correction contributes to the development of the student, it is not justified, (k) Avoid collective punishments, such as punishing a whole class when only one or two individuals are culpable. Such action will provoke unnecessary resentment from the innocent members. (1) As far as possible do not let disciplinary measures interfere with other educative opportunities. Avoid banishing a student from the classroom if possible. Where you feel isolation is needed try to let it be within the classroom, (m) Only send a student to the head of the institution as a last resort or when you are confronted with a particularly serious case of misbehaviour. other faculty members. TYPES OF DISCIPLINE Based on the nature, discipline can be classified into authoritarian discipline, democratic discipline, self-discipline and assertive discipline. Since the authoritarian and democratic discipline is known to all, we will discuss the other two types in detail. SELF-DISCIPLINE The modern educator believes in self-discipline. In self-discipline the source of control is largely within the individuahmd not external to him. It is a combination of self-control and self-direction. In this sense, it is something internal and may be regarded as a respond to an inner stimulus. It implies not only bringing under control but also submitting one's behaviour to self imposed regulations. The student who controls his own behaviour, willingly and spontaneously identifies himself with what is right. Thus, self-discipline creates an earnest desire in the student to do the right thing and thereby enabling him to become an active member in the educational process. The student makes decisions and assumes responsibility for his actions even in the absence of supervision. In short, self-discipline helps the student to become self-propelled, self-controlled and self-guiding person. Self-discipline is regarded as true discipline. Conditions for self-discipline to grow are (a) A common purpose sufficiently to control the action of the individual, (b) A compelling desire to achieve that purpose and willingness to take up a common endeavour, (c) A clear understanding of functions to be performed by each member of the gorup. (d) An agreement on the regulations to be imposed on the group. However, do not hesitate to seek advice from

DISCIPLINE 279 ASSERTIVE DISCIPLINE

According to Louschan, this comparatively recent approach to behaviour management is based on five key principles : (a) Clear expectations for the required behaviour are set out by the teacher, (b) Specific, concrete and verbal praise and rewards are given for the behaviour, (c) There is a graded sequence of negative consequences of undesirable behaviour, (d) teacher is assertive in insisting on the application of the rewards and sanctions, (e) or sanctions resides with the student. In this approach, a student who is misbehaving is told to stop and told explicitly what will happen if he or she does not stop. The student can choose the teacher's orders persists, then (ie, to stop) disciplinary TO to comply with or not to comply (ie, to demonstrate the undesirable measures are imposed. DISCIPLINE T h e Power

resides with the teacher, while informed choice of whether to follow a path that leads to rewards

behaviour again and thereby to incur the negative sanctions). If the unacceptable behaviour stronger

SPECIFIC

MEASURES

MAINTAIN

CLASSROOM

There are no golden rules for the maintenance of discipline in class; each problem requires a separate analysis ^and set of responses as it occurs. The following measures suggested by Curzon should be The 1. strategies involved found useful, in class always the provided that they are interpreted classroom not in a situations. mechanical way, but in accordance with control exigencies of specific match

must always

context.

Ensure, as far as possible, that the classroom conditions appropriate to your lesson requirements have been prepared. Seating arranagements are important : thus, to seat students where they are unable to see or hear important parts of the lesson is create an atmosphere in which order can breakdown. suitable level so that an appropriate by being standards to

2.

Prepare your lesson impossible standards. asked to participate

thoroughly.

Pitch it at a

climate is established, make sure that you do not depress class morale by demanding Ensure, similarly, that students do not in trivial activities which obviously feci degraded minimum require

only. Students who believe that their time is being wasted-no matter what the pretext-are unlikely to approach their tasks in disciplined fashion. Provide opportunities for success in class. 3. Where the objective of a task is not immediately obvious, be prepared to explain its significance. It is difficult to maintain discipline when students arc asked to engage in 4. and activities to study for incomprehensible backgrounds ends. is demonstrating effect on an interest in be those for whose in this Know your class. The teacher who is interested to learn the names of his students their instruction he is way, with 5. responsible. Teacher-student co-operation can positive problems intensified

a corresponding,

of behaviour in

class.

Adopt an appropriate professional style in the classroom and keep to it. To be either too friendly or too remote is, almost always, to forfeit respect, with marked effects on class discipline.

280 LEARNING & TEACHING NURSING 6. Watch very carefully for signs of trouble. Just as a successful navigator learns'to recognize and react to storm signals, so the teacher must learn to watch for those events which can lead to loss of class control. The conversations which continue after the teacher has complained of their interference with the lesson, the 'clenche silence which follows a request for co-operation, the continued failure to complete assignments, a record of unexplained absence or unpunctuality-these are some signals which require swift assessment and action. 7. Establish momentum at an early stage. Avoid over-long introductions to lessons and focus attention swiftly. Keep up a reasonable pace of class activity and involvement. Periods of inactivity can produce the boredom which spills over easily into indiscipline. Check performance regularly. 8. Do not confuse the trivial and the important. Over-reaction to a minor breach of a rule can be counter-productive. Learn to assess swiftly the real significance of events in the class. 9. Be seen as fair-minded and impartial : Favouritism of any kind, conscious or unconscious, bias and prejudice, will be interpreted by a class as an indication that fair consideration from the side of the teacher cannot always be expected. Students have a rudimentary but keen sense of justice which, when outraged, often leads to a withdrawal of co-operation. 10. When you have to issue orders, do so firmly and unambiguously. 'Be sparing of commands. Command only when other means are inexplicable or have failed do command, command with decision and consistency (spencer). 11. The reprimand is the most common form of primary reaction to misbehaviour in the college. The teacher must know when and how to reprimand. Reprimands are based on overt responses to unacceptable behaviour; they may be verbal or non-verbal, formal or informal. The precise form will be dictated by the situation, the nature of the behaviour and the effect desired by the teacher. The rules are do not over-react; use the reprimand sparingly; avoid expressions of hostility and idle threats; do not injure a students self-esteem; consider the effect of the reprimand in the short-term and long-term on the offender and the rest of the class; learn when to ignore a minor, 'one-off, manifestation of misbehaviour, but . watch for a build-up of potentially disruptive activities and reprimand firmly any important violation of previously announced rules. 12. If you feel that you have to punish, ensure that the situation really demands it and that the consequences seem worthwhile. You must decide what constitutes misbehaviour and when it requires punishment; your judgement on the necessity for punishment may vary from group to group of student to student, but it must be based consistently on principle . The decision to punish is in no sense a confession of failure. On the contrary, it may be a perfecdy appropriate response to behaviour which critically threatens the maintenance of class control. Punishment should be consistent in nature and neither random nor haphazard. But whenever you
1

DISCIPLINE 281 The alternative desirable behaviour ought to be understood by the person who is being punished and should be reinforced immediately on its occurrence. Let the punishment follow a warning; let it be just and exemplary. 13. Without hesitation consider the dismissal of a student who continuously threatens the maintenance of class control. Dismissal ought to be followed by discussions with the student and his family. Note, however, Dewey's warning on the use of the dismissal : 'It may

strengthen the very causes which have brought about the undesirable anti-social attitude such as desire for attention or show off. 14. Follow up all important disciplinary matters. Analyse what initiated and precipitated the breakdown of discipline. Do not confuse symptom and underling cause. Learn and apply in the future whatever lessons you have learned from your solution of disciplinary problems. SUMMARY Discipline is a vital component in the process of education. It is the control of behaviour to attain a goal and purpose. Discipline ^an be classified into authoritarian discipline, assertive discipline, democratic discipline and self-discipline. Self-discipline is a combination of self-control and self-direction. Discipline is the most significant prerequisite for the successful implementation of the educational programme. Discipline is essential for the teacher also. It plays an important role in the growth process of young people. Without constructive and proper discipline, aims and aspirations of the society cannot be realised. In nursing education, discipline helps in the development of proper attitude, self - control and co-operation which are regarded as essential traits in the daily living as well as in professional functioning. Knowledge about the principles of discipline and specific measures to maintain classroom discipline will help the teacher to create a student centered classroom atmosphere. KEY IDEAS A N D C O N C E P T S F O R REVIEW Discipline Need for discipline Aims of discipline Functions of dscipline Authoritarian discipline Democratic discipline FOR 1. 2. 3. DISCUSSION Self-discipline Assertive discipline Principles of discipline Specific measures to maintain discipline

List down the aims of discipline in nursing education. List down the types of discipline, as a teacher which discipline do your prefer and why? Explain in detail regarding the specific measures meant for maintaining discipline in the classroom.