Hidden History and Context: Explaining the Rates of and Disparities in School Discipline Outcomes

Format

Individual Presentation

First Presenter's Institution

University of Georgia

Second Presenter's Institution

NA

Third Presenter's Institution

NA

Fourth Presenter's Institution

NA

Fifth Presenter's Institution

NA

Location

Verelst

Strand #1

Academic Achievement & School Leadership

Strand #2

Safety & Violence Prevention

Relevance

This study fits neatly at the intersection of the “Head” and “Hands” strands given the focus on school discipline. The empirical analysis examines the role contextual factors plays in predicting the the rates of and disparities in exclusionary discipline outcomes.

Brief Program Description

This study uses quantitative methods and school- and district-level data from multiple sources including the Georgia Department of Education, the National Center Education Statistics, the Civil Rights Data Collection, the U.S. Census Bureau, and the Federal Bureau of Investigations to examine how school-related and contextual factors may contribute to the rates of and disparities in the use of exclusionary discipline practices.

Summary

The ongoing dialogue on educational opportunities and experiences of the nation’s disadvantaged students of color has placed a microscope on issues of equity in K-12 education that may be influencing educational opportunities and outcomes. In the past decade, school discipline policies have garnered increasing attention among researchers and policymakers due in large part to equity concerns. Disparities in exclusionary discipline outcomes (or the discipline gap) that range across all grades (starting as early as preschool) indicate a systematic problem and raise serious questions about educational equity in schools and school districts. Although disparities in disciplinary infractions are well-documented, relatively little is known about the underlying driving factors of the discipline gap.

This paper examines the relationship between school discipline outcomes and school, district and neighborhood characteristics in Georgia. This study uses quantitative methods and school- and district-level data from multiple sources including the Georgia Department of Education, the National Center Education Statistics, the Civil Rights Data Collection, the U.S. Census Bureau, and the Federal Bureau of Investigations to examine how school-related and contextual factors may contribute to the rates of and disparities in the use of exclusionary discipline practices. This study’s intellectual merit lies in its contribution to interdisciplinary debates on the causes of the discipline gap and broader policy implications, namely alternatives to zero-tolerance policies. This study contributes to the extant literature on school discipline and neighborhood effects by investigating how school, district and neighborhood characteristics influence disproportionalities in school discipline outcomes.

Evidence

I employ linear probability models to examine the relationship between exclusionary discipline outcomes and school and district and neighborhood characteristics. Specifically, I investigate whether school, district and neighborhood characteristics predict the rates of and disproportionalities in exclusionary discipline outcomes using the following model

Biographical Sketch

Richard O. Welsh is an Assistant Professor in the Program of Educational Administration and Policy. Dr. Welsh specializes in the economics of education and K-12 education policy. His research interests entail examining school choice policies such as the portfolio management model and key mechanisms such as student mobility using quasi-experimental methods.

Keyword Descriptors

school discipline, zero-tolerance policies, disproportionality in discipline, suspensions, expulsions, neighborhoods

Presentation Year

2017

Start Date

3-6-2017 10:30 AM

End Date

3-6-2017 11:45 AM

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS
 
Mar 6th, 10:30 AM Mar 6th, 11:45 AM

Hidden History and Context: Explaining the Rates of and Disparities in School Discipline Outcomes

Verelst

This study uses quantitative methods and school- and district-level data from multiple sources including the Georgia Department of Education, the National Center Education Statistics, the Civil Rights Data Collection, the U.S. Census Bureau, and the Federal Bureau of Investigations to examine how school-related and contextual factors may contribute to the rates of and disparities in the use of exclusionary discipline practices.