Disruptive student behavior in the classroom is a major concern in school systems
today. Students in classrooms with frequent disruptive behavior experience less
academic engagement and lower academic outcomes (Shinn et al., 1987). Teachers
who experience difficulty controlling classroom behavior have higher stress and
burnout (Smith & Smith, 2006) and find it difficult to meet the instructional
demands of the classroom (Emmer & Stough, 2001). Lack of effective classroom
management may also worsen the progression of aggressive behavior for children in
classrooms with higher levels of disruption (Greer-Chase et al., 2002). Effective
approaches to managing the classroom environment are necessary to establish
environments that support student behavior and the learning process as well as to
reduce teacher stress and burnout. The purpose of this review was to examine the
effects of teacher‟s universal classroom management practices to reduce disruptive,
aggressive, or inappropriate behaviors of children in kindergarten through 12th
grade.