Discipline Patterns in a Public-School District with a History of Disproportionate Suspensions

Nationwide concerns include disproportionate discipline referrals and suspensions of certain student groups and the associated negative student outcomes. The state's department of education cited a school district for suspending Black students with disabilities (SWD) at more than 3 times the ra...

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Main Author: Slingerland, Barbara M
Format: Others
Language:en
Published: ScholarWorks 2017
Subjects:
Online Access:https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/4329
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5432&context=dissertations
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spelling ndltd-waldenu.edu-oai-scholarworks.waldenu.edu-dissertations-54322019-10-30T01:15:54Z Discipline Patterns in a Public-School District with a History of Disproportionate Suspensions Slingerland, Barbara M Nationwide concerns include disproportionate discipline referrals and suspensions of certain student groups and the associated negative student outcomes. The state's department of education cited a school district for suspending Black students with disabilities (SWD) at more than 3 times the rate of all other student groups; yet, the complex nature of the disciplinary disproportionality in this district was unknown. The purpose of this study was to investigate how student-related characteristics including race/ethnicity, gender, age, grade level, disability status, and school location, may predict number of discipline referrals, types of discipline referrals, and types of suspensions issued to students. Guided by the theory of behaviorism, this nonexperimental, ex post facto study examined archival discipline data for the 5523 students who received at least 1 office referral during the 2015-2016 school year. Chi-square analyses showed SWD had higher numbers of referrals, received referrals for subjective offenses, and were more likely to receive out-of-school suspension than no suspension or in-school suspension compared to nondisabled students. Regression analyses indicated students who were Black, male, identified as SWD, or in secondary school were at significantly greater risk of office referral and exclusionary discipline than other student groups. By understanding the patterns of discipline outcomes associated with student-related characteristics, school administrators within the local district are now able to select and implement evidence-based practices that may reduce exclusionary discipline, allowing all students to participate equally in school. Over time, these practices may lead to positive student outcomes including higher school engagement and increased graduation rates. 2017-01-01T08:00:00Z text application/pdf https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/4329 https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5432&context=dissertations Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies en ScholarWorks behaviorism disability discrimination disproportionality school discipline school exclusion school-to-prison pipeline Educational Administration and Supervision
collection NDLTD
language en
format Others
sources NDLTD
topic behaviorism
disability discrimination
disproportionality
school discipline
school exclusion
school-to-prison pipeline
Educational Administration and Supervision
spellingShingle behaviorism
disability discrimination
disproportionality
school discipline
school exclusion
school-to-prison pipeline
Educational Administration and Supervision
Slingerland, Barbara M
Discipline Patterns in a Public-School District with a History of Disproportionate Suspensions
description Nationwide concerns include disproportionate discipline referrals and suspensions of certain student groups and the associated negative student outcomes. The state's department of education cited a school district for suspending Black students with disabilities (SWD) at more than 3 times the rate of all other student groups; yet, the complex nature of the disciplinary disproportionality in this district was unknown. The purpose of this study was to investigate how student-related characteristics including race/ethnicity, gender, age, grade level, disability status, and school location, may predict number of discipline referrals, types of discipline referrals, and types of suspensions issued to students. Guided by the theory of behaviorism, this nonexperimental, ex post facto study examined archival discipline data for the 5523 students who received at least 1 office referral during the 2015-2016 school year. Chi-square analyses showed SWD had higher numbers of referrals, received referrals for subjective offenses, and were more likely to receive out-of-school suspension than no suspension or in-school suspension compared to nondisabled students. Regression analyses indicated students who were Black, male, identified as SWD, or in secondary school were at significantly greater risk of office referral and exclusionary discipline than other student groups. By understanding the patterns of discipline outcomes associated with student-related characteristics, school administrators within the local district are now able to select and implement evidence-based practices that may reduce exclusionary discipline, allowing all students to participate equally in school. Over time, these practices may lead to positive student outcomes including higher school engagement and increased graduation rates.
author Slingerland, Barbara M
author_facet Slingerland, Barbara M
author_sort Slingerland, Barbara M
title Discipline Patterns in a Public-School District with a History of Disproportionate Suspensions
title_short Discipline Patterns in a Public-School District with a History of Disproportionate Suspensions
title_full Discipline Patterns in a Public-School District with a History of Disproportionate Suspensions
title_fullStr Discipline Patterns in a Public-School District with a History of Disproportionate Suspensions
title_full_unstemmed Discipline Patterns in a Public-School District with a History of Disproportionate Suspensions
title_sort discipline patterns in a public-school district with a history of disproportionate suspensions
publisher ScholarWorks
publishDate 2017
url https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/4329
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5432&context=dissertations
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