Introduction
School discipline—the systems, policies, and practices that regulate student behavior and maintain order in educational environments—has evolved dramatically over the centuries. From corporal punishment to zero-tolerance policies to restorative justice, approaches to school discipline reflect broader social values, psychological theories, legal frameworks, and educational philosophies. The following list highlights the 100 most influential individuals who have shaped our understanding and implementation of school discipline across different eras, disciplines, and perspectives. These influential figures include educational philosophers, researchers, policymakers, legal advocates, practitioners, and reformers whose work has redefined how schools approach behavior management, student support, and the creation of safe, equitable learning environments.
Historical Foundations
1.Johann Amos Comenius (1592-1670)
Czech educational reformer whose “Didactica Magna” (Great Didactic) advocated for humane discipline focused on engaging instruction rather than punishment, laying early foundations for child-centered approaches to classroom management.
2.John Locke (1632-1704)
English philosopher whose “Some Thoughts Concerning Education” (1693) rejected harsh physical discipline common in his era, advocating instead for reasoning with children and using natural consequences—ideas that would influence progressive educational thinking for centuries.
3.Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778)
French philosopher whose “Émile, or On Education” (1762) argued against artificial restraints and punishments, suggesting that natural consequences were the most effective teachers—a perspective that would influence progressive education movements.
4.Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi (1746-1827)
Swiss educational reformer who established schools based on love rather than fear and coercion, demonstrating that effective discipline could emerge from supportive relationships rather than punishment.
5.Friedrich Froebel (1782-1852)
German educator and founder of kindergarten who emphasized play, self-activity, and developmental appropriateness as alternatives to strict discipline, influencing early childhood approaches to behavior management.
6.Horace Mann (1796-1859)
American education reformer who, as Secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education, advocated for moving away from harsh corporal punishment toward more humane disciplinary methods in public schools.
7.Herbert Spencer (1820-1903)
English philosopher whose concept of “natural consequences” in discipline influenced progressive educators to move away from arbitrary punishments toward logical connections between behavior and outcomes.
8.William T. Harris (1835-1909)
U.S. Commissioner of Education who advocated for disciplinary approaches based on developing self-control and moral character rather than merely enforcing obedience through punishment.
9.Edward L. Thorndike (1874-1949)
Psychologist whose “Law of Effect” demonstrated that behavior followed by positive consequences tends to be repeated, laying groundwork for behavioral approaches to school discipline.
10.Maria Montessori (1870-1952)
Italian physician and educator whose approach emphasized structured environments and intrinsic motivation rather than external discipline, demonstrating that child-directed learning could minimize behavioral issues.
Behavioral and Classroom Management Pioneers
11.B.F. Skinner (1904-1990)
Behaviorist psychologist whose operant conditioning principles revolutionized approaches to behavior management in schools, introducing systematic reinforcement and behavior modification techniques that would influence generations of classroom management practices.
12.Rudolf Dreikurs (1897-1972)
Psychiatrist who applied Adlerian psychology to classroom discipline, introducing the concept that misbehavior stems from children’s mistaken goals (attention, power, revenge, or inadequacy) and requiring logical consequences rather than punishment.
13.Fritz Redl (1902-1988)
Psychoanalyst who, with William Wattenberg, developed influential approaches to understanding and managing group behavior and discipline problems in “Mental Hygiene in Teaching” (1951) and “Controls from Within” (1952).
14.William Wattenberg (1911-1996)
Educational psychologist who collaborated with Fritz Redl on analyzing group dynamics in classroom behavior management and discipline challenges.
15.Jacob Kounin (1912-1995)
Educational researcher whose groundbreaking observational studies in “Discipline and Group Management in Classrooms” (1970) identified teacher behaviors that prevented discipline problems, introducing concepts like “withitness,” “overlapping,” and “group management.”
16.Lee Canter (1947-2021)
Educator who developed Assertive Discipline in the 1970s, a structured approach emphasizing clear expectations, consistent follow-through, and positive reinforcement that became one of the most widely implemented classroom management systems.
17.Marlynn Canter
Educator who collaborated with Lee Canter to develop and disseminate Assertive Discipline, influencing teacher preparation and classroom management practices across North America.
18.Thomas Gordon (1918-2002)
Psychologist whose Teacher Effectiveness Training introduced active listening, I-messages, and no-lose conflict resolution as alternatives to power-based discipline, influencing democratic classroom management approaches.
19.Haim Ginott (1922-1973)
Child psychologist whose books “Between Parent and Child” and “Teacher and Child” pioneered communication approaches to discipline focused on preserving children’s dignity while addressing behavior.
20.William Glasser (1925-2013)
Psychiatrist who developed Reality Therapy and Choice Theory, promoting discipline approaches based on meeting student needs for belonging, power, freedom, and fun rather than using coercion or punishment.
21.Fredric Jones (1932-2018)
Educational psychologist whose “Positive Classroom Discipline” and structured classroom management training emphasized efficient room arrangement, incentive systems, and body language to prevent and respond to misbehavior.
22.Spencer Kagan (1944-2019)
Educational researcher whose work on cooperative learning structures provided alternatives to traditional discipline by increasing student engagement and addressing classroom management through effective instructional design.
23.Harry K. Wong (b. 1932)
Educator whose “The First Days of School” emphasized classroom procedures and routines as the foundation of effective discipline, influencing how countless teachers establish classroom management systems.
24.Rosemary Wong
Educator who collaborated with Harry Wong to develop influential teacher training materials emphasizing proactive classroom management through procedures and routines.
25.Richard Curwin (1944-2018)
Educator who, with Allen Mendler, developed Discipline with Dignity, emphasizing respect for students while maintaining clear boundaries and consequences for misbehavior.
26.Allen Mendler
Educational consultant who co-developed Discipline with Dignity, providing practical strategies for managing challenging behaviors while building student self-esteem and responsibility.
27.Alfie Kohn (b. 1957)
Educational critic whose books, including “Beyond Discipline: From Compliance to Community” (1996), challenged conventional behavior management approaches, arguing against rewards and punishments in favor of building caring classroom communities.
28.Randy Sprick
Educational consultant who developed CHAMPS (Conversation, Help, Activity, Movement, Participation, Success) and Safe & Civil Schools, comprehensive approaches to school-wide positive behavior support systems.
29.Jim Fay
Educator who co-developed Love and Logic, an approach emphasizing natural consequences, empathy, and shared thinking that became widely used in schools and homes.
30.Robert MacKenzie
Educational psychologist whose “Setting Limits in the Classroom” provided practical strategies for clear boundaries and consistent follow-through in classroom management.
School Safety and Zero Tolerance Era
31.Ronald Reagan (1911-2004)
U.S. President whose administration’s “War on Drugs” and emphasis on “law and order” set the stage for zero-tolerance policies that would transform school discipline in the 1980s and 1990s.
32.William Bennett (b. 1943)
U.S. Secretary of Education (1985-1988) whose advocacy for character education and “values” in schools influenced disciplinary approaches focused on strict rule enforcement and traditional authority.
33.John DiIulio (b. 1958)
Political scientist whose warnings about juvenile “super-predators” in the 1990s fueled fear-based approaches to youth discipline and contributed to zero-tolerance policies in schools.
34.Delbert Elliott
Criminologist whose research on school violence informed prevention approaches and influenced policy debates about appropriate responses to safety concerns.
35.Ronald Stephens
Executive Director of the National School Safety Center who influenced school discipline policies nationally through training, publications, and advocacy around school safety measures.
36.Jane Bluestein
Educational consultant whose work on “win-win discipline” and emotional safety provided alternatives to punitive approaches while still addressing teacher concerns about classroom management.
37.William Modzeleski
Former Associate Assistant Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools who shaped federal responses to school safety concerns and disciplinary policies.
38.Albert Bandura (1925-2021)
Psychologist whose social learning theory provided frameworks for understanding aggression and prosocial behavior in schools, influencing approaches to violence prevention and discipline.
39.Dewey Cornell
Clinical psychologist whose work on threat assessment offered alternatives to zero-tolerance approaches by providing systematic frameworks for evaluating actual risk.
40.Pam Riley
Former Director of the Center for the Prevention of School Violence who influenced policies and practices around school safety and disciplinary responses to violence.
Equity, Disproportionality, and Legal Reform
41.Thurgood Marshall (1908-1993)
Civil rights attorney and Supreme Court Justice whose legal advocacy against racial segregation laid groundwork for later challenges to discriminatory discipline policies and practices.
42.Willis D. Hawley
Educational researcher who directed the Racial Disparities in School Discipline project, documenting disproportionate impact on students of color and influencing policy reforms.
43.Daniel J. Losen
Director of the Center for Civil Rights Remedies whose research and advocacy around discipline disparities and the “school-to-prison pipeline” have influenced federal policy and local reform efforts.
44.Russell Skiba
Educational researcher whose studies on racial disproportionality in school discipline have documented patterns of inequity and evaluated alternatives to exclusionary discipline.
45.Anne Gregory
Researcher whose work on racially responsive discipline approaches and teacher-student relationships has informed equity-focused reforms to reduce disproportionality.
46.Prudence Carter
Sociologist whose research on cultural mismatch between schools and minority students has illuminated how discipline disparities relate to broader educational inequities.
47.Pedro Noguera (b. 1959)
Educational sociologist whose research and advocacy around the experiences of Black and Latino students has highlighted the relationship between discipline practices and academic outcomes.
48.Monique W. Morris
Researcher and advocate whose work, including “Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools,” has illuminated the unique discipline challenges facing girls of color.
49.Gloria Ladson-Billings (b. 1947)
Educational researcher whose work on culturally relevant pedagogy has shown how cultural misunderstandings contribute to discipline problems and how responsive teaching can prevent them.
50.Michelle Alexander (b. 1967)
Legal scholar whose book “The New Jim Crow” illuminated connections between school discipline, juvenile justice, and mass incarceration, influencing advocates working on the school-to-prison pipeline.
51.Catherine Kim
Legal scholar whose research and advocacy around the relationship between school discipline and juvenile justice has informed policy reforms.
52.Judith Browne Dianis
Civil rights attorney and Executive Director of the Advancement Project whose legal advocacy and organizing work has challenged exclusionary discipline policies nationwide.
53.Arne Duncan (b. 1964)
U.S. Secretary of Education (2009-2015) whose Department issued influential guidance on reducing discipline disparities and whose “Rethink Discipline” initiative prompted policy changes nationwide.
54.Catherine Lhamon
Civil rights attorney who, as Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education, led the development of guidance on discriminatory discipline practices that prompted nationwide reforms.
55.Russlynn Ali
Former Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education who helped launch federal investigations into discriminatory discipline patterns in school districts.
56.Harold Jordan
Educational equity advocate whose work with the ACLU on school discipline reform has influenced policy changes across multiple states.
57.Nancy Riestenberg
School climate specialist whose work in Minnesota demonstrated how restorative practices could provide effective alternatives to zero-tolerance policies.
58.Barbara Raymond
Program officer at The California Endowment whose grantmaking strategy around school discipline reform influenced practice changes across California and nationally.
59.Advancement Project Legal Team
Civil rights attorneys who filed influential complaints about discriminatory discipline practices in multiple school districts, driving policy changes.
60.American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Legal Team
Civil rights attorneys whose legal challenges to discriminatory and overly harsh discipline policies have established important precedents and prompted reforms.
Positive Behavior Supports and Prevention Approaches
61.George Sugai
Co-developer of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS), a comprehensive school-wide framework that has transformed discipline approaches in thousands of schools by emphasizing prevention and tiered supports.
62.Rob Horner
Co-developer of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) whose research and implementation guidance have made this evidence-based approach to school discipline the most widely adopted reform framework in U.S. schools.
63.Anne Todd
Researcher and implementer who helped develop and disseminate PBIS practices, particularly at the classroom level.
64.Kent McIntosh
Educational researcher whose work on sustainability of PBIS systems and culturally responsive behavior supports has influenced implementation practices nationwide.
65.Brandi Simonsen
Educational researcher whose work on classroom-level positive behavior supports has provided practical strategies for teachers implementing PBIS frameworks.
66.Timothy Lewis
Special education researcher whose work on functional behavioral assessment and behavior intervention plans has influenced how schools respond to students with challenging behaviors.
67.Susan Barrett
Implementation specialist whose work translating PBIS research into practice has influenced how schools and districts adopt and sustain positive behavior support systems.
68.Lucille Eber
Educational leader whose work on integrating mental health supports with PBIS frameworks has expanded approaches to supporting students with emotional and behavioral challenges.
69.Mark Greenberg
Psychologist whose development of the PATHS curriculum (Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies) demonstrated how social-emotional learning could prevent discipline problems.
70.Roger P. Weissberg (1951-2021)
Psychologist whose research and leadership at the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) established the evidence base for social-emotional learning as a prevention approach for behavior problems.
71.Maurice Elias
Psychologist whose work on social-emotional learning and school climate has provided alternatives to punitive discipline through prevention and skill development.
72.Carol Dweck (b. 1946)
Psychologist whose research on growth mindset has influenced approaches to student motivation and responses to academic and behavioral challenges.
73.Ross W. Greene (b. 1957)
Child psychologist whose Collaborative & Proactive Solutions approach (formerly Collaborative Problem Solving) has transformed understanding of challenging behavior as skill deficits rather than willful misconduct.
74.Stuart Ablon
Psychologist who has collaborated with Ross Greene and extended applications of the Collaborative Problem Solving approach to school settings.
75.Jessica Minahan
Behavior analyst whose work on anxiety-related behavior has provided practical strategies for supporting students whose emotional challenges manifest as discipline problems.
76.Dan Olweus (1931-2020)
Norwegian researcher whose pioneering work on bullying prevention developed systematic approaches to addressing peer aggression in schools.
77.Rosalind Wiseman
Educator whose work on girl aggression and bullying, including “Queen Bees and Wannabes,” expanded understanding of relational aggression in school discipline contexts.
78.Deborah Temkin
Researcher and advocate whose work on bullying prevention and school climate at federal and non-profit levels has influenced anti-bullying policies nationwide.
79.Dorothy Espelage
Educational psychologist whose research on bullying, sexual harassment, and homophobic teasing has expanded understanding of peer aggression and informed prevention approaches.
80.Susan Swearer
Psychologist whose research on bullying and cyberbullying has informed school-based prevention and intervention strategies.
Restorative Practices and Contemporary Innovations
81.Howard Zehr (b. 1944)
Criminologist considered the “grandfather of restorative justice” whose work translating Indigenous peace-making principles into contemporary justice practices laid groundwork for school-based restorative approaches.
82.Belinda Hopkins
Restorative practices pioneer who brought restorative approaches to UK schools and whose books have guided implementation internationally.
83.Kay Pranis
Restorative justice practitioner whose work on peacemaking circles has influenced school-based applications of circle processes for building community and addressing harm.
84.Lorraine Stutzman Amstutz
Restorative justice practitioner whose guides to school-based implementation have supported educators adopting these approaches.
85.Ted Wachtel
Founder of the International Institute for Restorative Practices whose work systematizing restorative approaches has influenced school implementation globally.
86.Bob Costello
Restorative practices trainer whose work at the International Institute for Restorative Practices has influenced classroom-level implementation.
87.Rita Alfred
Restorative justice practitioner whose work with Oakland Unified School District established one of the first district-wide restorative justice initiatives.
88.Fania Davis
Restorative justice advocate whose leadership in Oakland helped demonstrate the potential of restorative approaches to address racial disparities in school discipline.
89.Tom Cavanagh
Educational researcher whose studies on restorative practices in New Zealand and North America have documented their effectiveness in improving school discipline outcomes.
90.Mara Schiff
Criminologist whose research on restorative justice in schools has evaluated implementation models and outcomes.
91.Carol Miller Lieber
Educational consultant whose work on building classroom communities and restorative approaches has provided practical guidance for teachers implementing relationship-based discipline.
92.Laura Mirsky
Writer and researcher whose documentation of restorative practices implementation has disseminated effective models to educators worldwide.
93.Eric Butler
Restorative justice coordinator featured in the documentary “Circles” whose work at Oakland’s Fremont High School demonstrated the transformative potential of restorative approaches.
94.José Medina
Educational leader whose implementation of trauma-informed approaches in high-need schools has demonstrated their potential to transform discipline systems.
95.Craig Hauser
Educational leader whose trauma-informed discipline reforms in Washington state have influenced policy and practice nationally.
96.Christopher Emdin (b. 1978)
Educational researcher whose “reality pedagogy” approach has addressed cultural disconnects between teachers and students that often manifest as discipline problems.
97.Zaretta Hammond
Educational consultant whose work on culturally responsive teaching has provided frameworks for addressing the cultural dimensions of classroom management and discipline.
98.Karen Mapp
Educational researcher whose work on family engagement has expanded approaches to discipline by creating authentic partnerships between schools and families.
99.David Osher
Educational researcher whose work on trauma-informed schools and social-emotional learning has influenced comprehensive approaches to school climate and discipline.
100.James Comer (b. 1934)
Child psychiatrist whose School Development Program demonstrated the importance of supportive, developmentally oriented school environments for preventing discipline problems, particularly for children experiencing adversity.
Conclusion
The evolution of school discipline reflects broader developments in educational psychology, policy, law, and practice over time. From the strict authoritarian approaches of early education to today’s emphasis on prevention, restoration, and equity, these 100 influential figures have shaped how schools understand and respond to student behavior. Their collective work has transformed discipline from a narrow focus on rule enforcement to a comprehensive approach addressing school climate, relationships, skill development, and systemic factors affecting student behavior. As schools continue to seek effective, equitable approaches to maintaining safe learning environments while supporting student development, the legacy of these influential thinkers provides both cautionary lessons and promising directions for future innovation.
