Dissertation

Beyond suspensions: perspectives of middle school students

Zero-Tolerance policies led the way for school systems to adopt stringent discipline policies. As a result, the use of suspensions and expulsions became commonplace in schools. While commonplace, suspensions proved to be an ineffective behavioral intervention. Additionally, the use of suspensions disproportionately targets marginalized populations, contributes to long-term negative student effects such as increased rates of high school dropout and lower academic achievement, and feeds students into a pipeline to prison. This study offers an opportunity to consider more effective discipline practices by examining suspensions and discipline through the lens of middle school students attending a K-8 public school located in northern California. Offered is the design of a mixed-method study that seeks to answer three research questions: 1) According to middle school students, what discipline practices are most effective in encouraging prosocial behaviors? 2) How effective do middle school students believe suspensions are in changing negative student behavior? 3) How effective do middle school students believe restorative justice practices are in changing negative behavior? Schools that want to create socially just and effective discipline practices are schools that will seize upon the opportunity presented through this dissertation and build their discipline practices on the findings of this study.

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