In this general introduction, I plan to outline selected scholarly work which has been completed by many of my colleagues and others and which has direct and indirect bearing on issues surrounding classroom management and discipline. This should also serve as the introduction to two articles by Dr. King and one by Dr. Singh which appear in this issue and relate to the topic being considered herein.

Over the years, teachers, teacher interns, parents and the general public have desired to access knowledge on classroom management and discipline. We hope the material presented in this issue of the Morning Watch will meet their wishes in this area at least to some degree.

A Reflective and Critical Focus in Teacher Education

For the last twenty years or so my colleagues in this Faculty have been researching and publishing in the area of teacher education. Recently, some of us have focused on the reflective and critical aspects of teacher education locally, especially in the area of the teacher internship. We have also extensively consulted with colleagues at the University of Hawai'i at Mnoa, and at some Australian universities, who are involved in reflective and critical teacher internship programs. Our intention has been to test results of our research, mostly produced in the form of "local knowledge" and "local theorizing", in comparative and international contexts. In order to do this, we have attended several conferences and presented papers based on our research. The response has been very positive, to say the least. We have been encouraged to continue our work and expand it in many other directions.

Drs. Wilf Martin, Ishmael Baksh, Clar Doyle, Bill Kennedy, Roy Kelleher, Alice Collins, Frank Cramm, Amarjit Singh and Len Williams have been researching and writing in the area of teacher internship and teacher education for several years. Lately, Drs. Barrie Barrell, Andrea Rose, Elisabeth Yeoman, and Dennis Mulcahy have been deeply involved in reflective and critical thinking in teacher education and internship. Professor Fred Hawksley carries out similar research in the area of drama education.

In our work with teacher interns we have discovered that the phobia of classrooms is rampant among teacher interns. Interns also struggle, individually and collectively, with dominant discourses in many other areas such as instruction, resources, the ability level of students, the purpose of internship programs, as well as the culture of school life. Teachers in general, cooperating teachers who work with the interns during the internship program, and university based professors/supervisors are no less concerned with the phenomenon of classroom management/discipline and with other areas in teacher education.

In recent research efforts involving the complex classroom situations that teaching interns encounter, we found that the interns themselves are often obsessed with the mastery of technical skills for instruction and classroom management (Singh, Doyle, Rose & Kennedy, 1997). However, without intending to underestimate their concern with the fear of classroom management, we pose in our other work some critical and reflective questions. These are: how can we, as teacher educators, wean interns away from a focus on technical skills toward a process where they can feel safe to try to put their own work into a wider social, cultural, and political context (Doyle, Kennedy, Ludlow, Rose & Kennedy, 1994; Kennedy, Doyle, Rose & Singh, 1993; Kennedy & Doyle, 1995; Singh, Doyle, Rose & Kennedy, 1996).

A few words on methodology may be in order. In all of our work on reflective and critical teacher internship and education, we have used the concepts of voice, local theories, cultural, capital, problematizing dominant discourses, sites, social interaction and reflection as pedagogical categories for the purpose of analysis. For the analysis purpose we have mostly used the framework of qualitative methodology in the sense that we support our claims by using a number of quotations from data collected during interviews and reflective sessions. Finally, in all our work, there is an attempt to enable the teacher interns, cooperating teachers, university professors/supervisors and students in the class to speak for themselves.

The Concept of Voice as a Pedagogical Category

This is not the place to discuss our theoretical and practical orientations in detail; these can be readily found in articles and documents which are referred to above. On the whole, however, it is clear that for the purpose of organizing material relevant to teacher education and internship, and material relevant to the specific topic of classroom management, discipline and school culture, all of us have predominantly relied on the voice as a pedagogical category. In our work we focus on the voices of students, the voices of teacher interns, the voices of cooperating teachers, the voices of university professors/supervisors, and the voices of teachers at large.

While a great deal has been written on voice as a pedagogical category, no attempt is made here to review the literature on this category. However, very briefly, it suffices to mention that the exercise of listening to the voices of teachers, teacher interns, students, cooperating teachers and supervisors in teacher education programs enables us to see what these occupational groups bring to the educational organizations functioning as complex systems. Their voices make us realize what forms of knowledge and culture these groups produce while interacting with one another. These groups then bring this shared knowledge to their classroom and other work settings, i.e., the schools and the university. In this situation, we believe the goal should be to make knowledge and production of knowledge less external and more germane to the world of each group of people, who must be able to express their understanding of the world. All parties involved in teacher education and internship programs must realize that they can collaborate with each other to transform aspects of their lived experiences, if necessary. But as our friend and colleague Clar Doyle (1993, p. 130) often reminds us, transformation works "in an analogous position to hegemony. Transformation, which should be allowed to seep through our institutions and relationships usually comes in small doses and usually happens over time. Transformation usually happens with gentle hands. Transformation usually happens through cultural production."

O'Neill (1976, p. 12) draws our attention to the function of the teacher when he states that "the function of the teacher is to challenge, arouse, interest, make anxious, give confidence, coordinate achievement, and encourage reflection." The notion of voice when used in this sense puts emphasis on building rather than enhancing, on producing rather than reproducing. We should also remind ourselves that in any educational setting all parties involved are simultaneously teachers and learners. We all, one way or the other, teach others and learn from others. Pedagogical intents are omnipresent in all sites or situations in many subtle ways.

Our orientation is that if teachers, especially the teacher interns, can produce "local knowledge" and "local theories" about classroom management in relationship to the larger debate in society about the so-called crisis in the classroom, they might be able to speak to their own classroom reality with more confidence. They could self-consciously reflect on their own construction of classroom reality and on their own transformation. This process in the end should lead to locally manufactured (produced) classroom practices, which promotes democracy and democratic living.

In the internship situation, it has been important for us that the supervisors and the interns reflect together and make the internship together. Therefore, in our work with the teacher interns, we have (Doyle, Kennedy, Rose & Singh) consciously resisted the idea of inviting "experts" on classroom management, control, discipline, professional lesson planners, who could tell the teacher interns how to go about managing classrooms. We have often sought a balance between students', teacher interns', voices and the voices of the "experts" who are readily willing to provide in-service training programs on classroom management organized by various professional agencies.

Local and Other Studies Using the Concept of Voice

After having said a few things on the notion of voice as a pedagogical category, I wish to draw the attention of readers of the Morning Watch to the work done by Martin, Baksh & Martin, Baksh & Singh, and Williams & Kelleher. All these authors have extensively used the notion of voice (students' perspectives) in their research. Many of their articles have been published in the Morning Watch.

My article in this issue entitled, "Voice of Teacher Interns and the Fear of Classroom Management" uses the concept of voice. The article in this issue by my colleague, Dr. Irvin King, who teaches in the College of Education, the University of Hawai'i at Mnoa, attests to the voice of an experienced teacher as it relates to the issue of discipline in the classroom.

In an attempt to balance subjective voices of teachers and teacher interns, Dr. King splits his article into two sections. In one section he voices his own experiences with classroom discipline and presents his personal perspective on it. In the second part of his paper, he presents an extensive review of research done by some of the well-known scholars in the area of classroom discipline and management.

The Morning Watch

Since 1972, members of this Faculty have published their work on various aspects of teacher education in the Morning Watch which is edited by Baksh and Singh. The articles which appeared in this local journal have been compiled in five different volumes (Singh & Baksh, 1977; Singh & Baksh, 1982; Singh & Baksh, 1991) and are readily available to teachers and students in this province. Copies of The Morning Watch should also be available to the libraries of many Canadian Universities. The readers of The Morning Watch may like to know that it no longer appears as "hard copy"; it is now available as an electronic journal on the Faculty's home page. This is in line with the many changes organizations are making in order to adopt to the larger cultural change taking place due to many factors (e.g., globalization, downsizing, etc.).

Series of Monographs

In a series of monographs, published by the Publication Committee, Faculty of Education, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Wilf Martin has documented the voices of students from the classroom. He summarized the main aspects of this research methodology and the findings of his research in his book entitled Voices From the Classroom (see Martin, 1985). Everybody involved in teacher education, especially teacher interns, will find a wealth of material in his book and monographs which will enable them to be effective teachers in the classroom. As demonstrated by Martin's research classroom management and disciplinary problems cannot be completely separated from the process of effective teaching, which should take into account the voices of students and the classroom culture.

In the Voices From the Classroom and in his other monographs, Martin focuses on such issues as school rules, homework, teachers' pets and classroom victims, student embarrassment, helpful, understanding, and cooperating teachers. In each of these major areas, he finds that students have identified themes that reflect the school/classroom cultures. For example, many students voice their concerns about being embarrassed by teachers. Martin highlights the causes of student embarrassment as voiced by students. In other contexts, students think that there are teachers who show "understanding" and "patience" when dealing with them. Then there are teachers who are "caring" and "respect" students. On the other hand, some teachers are "rude" and "ignorant", while others hold "grudges" and bestow "favours" on some students.

These categories have special meaning for students which are quite different from the meaning attached to these categories by teachers. This dissonance or discrepancy between students' and teachers' meaning has significant implications for classroom discipline and management. It is quite clear that if teachers' actions and behaviors are embarrassing students, then they will resist, deviate and misbehave in the class just to challenge teachers' authority. Martin's studies show that the consequences of student embarrassment are that students develop dislikes for teachers, they are afraid of teachers' actions, and they develop negative self-concepts. All these factors most likely have potential to contribute toward classroom management and disciplinary problems.

In a similar manner, Martin highlights other categories and provides deep insight into the school and the classroom cultures. Some other categories he focuses on are: amount of homework, distribution of homework, problems of uneven distribution, time preferences for homework, school rules, schools with no written rules, meaning of rules, misbehaviors and punishment, making and implementing rules, teachers' pet and classroom victims, teachers' attitudes toward students, criteria for categorizing students' academic performance, student behavior, family background, geographical location, gender, disliking students, nature of favours and mistreatments (expectations for student behavior, selection of students for activities, attention students receive, assessing students' performance), the consequences of class victims and others ("being left out", the marking process, discipline, disliking teachers, anticipating and empathy among students, disagreement with pets-victims phenomena), helpful, understanding and cooperative teachers, getting along with teachers, helpful teachers (the need for help, obstacles to helping, students blaming themselves), understanding and friendly teachers (understanding teachers, friendly teachers), help through encouragement and cooperation (nature of encouragement, reciprocal nature of encouragement), listening to students' point of view (the sensitivity of teachers, "teachers are never wrong", students need to be understood, the consequences of not being understood).

Baksh & Martin (1992), Martin and Baksh (1984) highlight many other aspects of the school and the classroom cultures. Their most recent book length monograph on school humour is full of insights which will enable teachers, teacher interns, and others to understand the complexities of everyday school life (Martin & Baksh, 1995). Two earlier monographs by Baksh and Singh (1979, 1980) document voices of teachers in small rural Newfoundland communities which provide useful insights for the teacher interns.

It is up to the teachers, supervisors, and other teacher interns to learn about these categories. Understanding the intricacies of the classroom and school cultures should enable all parties involved in educational process to modify their actions and behaviors toward students, which in turn should overcome some difficulties involved in classroom discipline and management.

Baksh, I.J. & Martin, W.B.W. (1992). Gender differences in students' perceptions of schooling. St. John's: Faculty of Education, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

Baksh, I.J. & Singh, A. (1980). Teachers' perceptions of teaching: A Newfoundland study. St. John's, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

Baksh, I.J. & Singh, A. (1979). The teacher in Newfoundland community. St. John's: Faculty of Education, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

Doyle, C., Kennedy, W., Ludlow, K., Rose, A. & Singh, A. (1994). Toward building a reflective and critical internship program (The RCIP Model): Theory and practice. St. John's: Faculty of Education, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

Doyle, C. (1993). Raising Curtains on Education. Westport, CT: Bergin & Garvey.

Kelleher, R.R. & Williams, L.E. (1988). Teaching internships in England: Student perspectives. St. John's: Faculty of Education, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

Kennedy, W. & Doyle, C. (1995). Perceptions of internship evaluation. St. John's: Faculty of Education, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

Kennedy, W., Doyle, C., Rose, A. & Singh, A. (1993). Teaching internship: A reflective practice, in Partnership of schools and institution of higher education in teacher development (eds.). Hoz, Ron & Silberstein, Mose, Beer-Sheva, Israel: Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Press.

Martin, W.B.W. & Baksh, I.J. (1995). School humour: Pedagogical and sociological considerations. St. John's: Faculty of Education, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

Martin, W.B.W. (1985). Voices from the classroom. St. John's: Creative Publishers, Newfoundland.

Martin, W.B.W. & Baksh, I.J. (1984). Student observations on school rules in Newfoundland and Labrador. St. John's: Faculty of Education, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

O'Neill, C. (1976). Drama guidelines. London: Heinemann Educational Books.

Singh, A., Doyle, C., Rose, A. & Kennedy, W. (1997). A reflective internship and the phobia of classroom management (forthcoming). Australian Journal of Education, Vol. 41, No. 2.

Singh, A., Doyle, C., Rose, A. & Kennedy, W. (1996). Collaborative research and the voices of seconded teachers as internship supervisors, The Morning Watch, Vol. 23, No. 3-4, Winter, pp. 65-79.

Singh, A. & Baksh, I.J. (1991) (Eds.). Dimensions of Newfoundland society and education, Vol. I & Vol. II. St. John's: Faculty of Education, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

Singh, A. & Baksh, I.J. (1982) (Eds.). Society and education in Newfoundland, Vol. 1 & Vol. 2. St. John's: Faculty of Education, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

Singh, A. & Baksh, I.J. (1977) (Eds.). Society, culture and schooling: Issues and analysis. St. John's: Faculty of Education, Memorial University of Newfoundland.