About the Positive Discipline Program

Relationship-building Tools for Parents and Educators

Positive Discipline is a program designed to teach young people to become responsible, respectful and resourceful members of their communities. This world-renowned method teaches important social and life skills in a manner that is deeply respectful and encouraging for both children and adults.

Recent research tells us that children are "hardwired" from birth to connect with others, and that children who feel a sense of connection to their community, family, and school are less likely to misbehave. To be confident, capable, contributing members of their community, children must learn necessary social and life skills.

Positive Discipline is based on the understanding that discipline must be taught and that effective discipline teaches important life skills by helping children feel a sense of connection, but developing mutually respectful relationships, and by teaching young people important social and life skills such as respect, concern for others, problem solving, and cooperation.

The word discipline has punitive connotation for many people today. The origins of the term, however, are much different. Discipline derives from the latin, discipulus, which literally means, “to learn”. True discipline invites children to discover how capable they are, and encourages the constructive use of personal power and autonomy. to learn to think and act on their own accord, with their own motivations and inclinations.

We live in a world that sets limitations for children. The goal of all the Positive Discipline tools is to help children overcome these limitations and discover how capable they are by encouraging the constructive use of their personal power and autonomy. Positive Discipline teaches adults to employ kindness and firmness at the same time, and is neither punitive nor permissive.

GET STARTED

The tools and concepts of Positive Discipline include:

Mutual respect. Adults model firmness by respecting themselves and the needs of the situation, and kindness by respecting the needs of the child.
Identifying the belief behind the behaviour. Effective discipline recognises the reasons children do what they do and works to change those beliefs, rather than merely attempting to change behaviour.
Effective communication and problem solving skills that benefit young people throughout their whole lives.
Authoritative discipline that is neither permissive nor punitive.
Focusing on solutions instead of punishment.
Encouragement instead of praise. Encouragement notices effort and improvement, not just success, and builds long-term self-esteem and empowerment.

Unique characteristics of the Positive Discipline Model also include:

Powerful tools are learned through engaging experiential activities. Experiencing the young person's position leaves a lasting impression.

Gain the cooperation of young people by learning how to model the behaviour we want our children and students to have.

Join a supportive peer-to-peer network of parents and educators in over 90 countries around the world

Learn practical tools and strategies that are evidence-based and backed by four decades of extensive global research.

The Evidence for Positive Discipline

Across diverse settings and cultures, Positive Discipline has been shown to improve relationships, behaviour, and learning outcomes. It creates respectful, connected communities where children and adults alike learn the skills of empathy, responsibility, and self-direction—the foundations of lifelong success.

Proven Results in Schools

Recent studies show that Positive Discipline leads to measurable improvements in behaviour, wellbeing, and academic performance. In schools implementing the approach, students demonstrate higher motivation, stronger relationships, and greater self-discipline. A large comparative study across two Egyptian schools found that Positive Discipline directly enhanced academic achievement and emotional maturity, with students showing stronger problem-solving, cooperation, and self-confidence across all grade levels.

Measurable Behavioural Change

Programs teaching Positive Discipline tools to teachers and parents consistently produce significant improvements in student behaviour and school climate. In classrooms where teachers use Positive Discipline practices, incidents of aggression and defiance drop, while empathy and responsibility increase. Parents who participate in related workshops report calmer homes, more cooperative children, and a lasting reduction in conflict.

Builds Connection and Wellbeing

Research confirms that when children feel connected, capable, and respected, they are less likely to engage in risky or disruptive behaviour. Positive Discipline helps schools and families replace control with collaboration—strengthening the sense of belonging that protects against anxiety, disengagement, and social isolation. Students learn to regulate emotions, resolve conflicts peacefully, and take ownership of their choices.

Lasting Protective Effects

Teaching social and emotional skills through Positive Discipline has long-term benefits that extend into adolescence and adulthood. Studies following children over time show that early experiences of encouragement, shared problem-solving, and mutual respect lead to greater academic persistence, resilience, and prosocial behaviour later in life. These protective effects help young people thrive in school and beyond.

Empowers Parents and Teens

Positive Discipline equips parents with practical tools to be both kind and firm, balancing warmth with consistency. Recent studies show that parents who complete Positive Discipline programs become less authoritarian and less permissive, gaining confidence and reducing stress. Their teens are more likely to communicate openly, make responsible choices, and perform better academically. Families report stronger relationships built on mutual respect rather than control.

A History of Positive Discipline

The Positive Discipline Parenting and Classroom Management Model is based on the work of Alfred Adler and Rudolf Dreikurs. Dr Adler first introduced the idea of parenting education to United States audiences in the 1920s. He advocated treating children respectfully, but also argued that spoiling and pampering children was not encouraging to them and resulted in social and behavioural problems. The classroom techniques, which were initially introduced in Vienna in the early 1920s, were brought to the United States by Rudolph Dreikurs in the late 1930s. Dreikurs and Adler refer to the kind and ﬁrm approach to teaching and parenting as “democratic”.

In the 1980’s, Lynn Lott and Jane Nelsen attended a workshop facilitated by John Taylor. Lynn began training interns to teach experientially and wrote the first Teaching Parenting Manual. Jane was the director of Project ACCEPT (Adlerian Counselling Concepts for Encouraging Parents and Teachers), a federally funded project that had received exemplary status while in its developmental phase.

Jane wrote and self-published Positive Discipline in 1981.
It was published by Ballantine in 1987. In 1988, Jane and Lynn decided to collaborate on the book which is now titled, Positive Discipline for Teenagers, and began to teach parenting and classroom management skills experientially.

Lynn and Jane also wrote Positive Discipline in the Classroom and developed a manual filled with experiential activities for teachers and their students.

In the years since, Positive Discipline series has grown to include titles that address different age groups, family settings, and special situations. Positive Discipline is taught to schools, parents, and parent educators by trained Certified Positive Discipline Associates. Community members, parents, and teachers are encouraged to become trained facilitators and to share the concepts of Positive Discipline with their own groups.

Positive Discipline parent education classes are taught in about 90 countries around the world, and Positive Discipline is successfully used as the classroom management model in many schools. Dr Nelsen noticed that Montessori educators have been among the most enthusiastic adopters of her method, due to the compatibility between Adlerian concepts and the Montessori method.

Mark Powell

Mark Powell first read Positive Discipline for his Montessori training in New York in 1994. This foundation helped him successfully manage 6-9 and 9-12 classrooms in the US and Australia for 27 years. Mark trained with Jane Nelson and is now a certified Positive Discipline trainer. He also has a M.Ed. specializing in Conflict Resolution. He has published widely on Montessori education and designed many classroom materials now sold around the world. As a Montessori trainer he has delivered many workshops at international conferences and consulted for dozens of Montessori schools. In 2021 Mark joined Montessori Australia as Director of Education Services. He gives regular workshops on a variety of topics, although bringing this unique approach to relationship building to Australian parents and educators is a mission dear to his heart. He is the father of Bella, his 16 year-old daily reminder of why these skills are so important!

The Positive Discipline Association

The Positive Discipline Association is dedicated to promoting and encouraging the ongoing development of social and life skills and respectful relationships in families, schools, businesses and community systems.

The PDA exists to strengthen families, schools, and communities. It provides training for trainers who educate parents (including foster parents and house parents for residential settings), teachers, administrators and other helping professionals. The PDA also provides training materials and follow-up services.

All Positive Discipline courses and materials are based upon the principles of Adlerian psychology for issues relating to parenting, guidance, discipline, relationships, communication skills, and team building.

Specific target groups for workshops or trainings include, but are not limited to parents, grandparents, foster parents and other family caregivers; families; parent educators; teachers and school administrators for preschool through high school; child-care providers; therapists, counsellors, social workers; community organisations; communities of faith; and corporate trainers.