A Systematic Review of Early Childhood Exclusionary Discipline

Abstract

Young children (birth to age 5) are more likely to be expelled or suspended than school-aged children, but we know comparatively little about the precursors to and prevention of exclusion in early childhood settings. Furthermore, what research has been conducted has not been systematically synthesized to inform policy and funding decisions. The present review seeks to determine how early childhood exclusion is defined and assessed in the academic literature. Studies measuring early childhood suspension or expulsion were systematically gathered and coded for study characteristics, definitions, and measures of exclusionary discipline and disparity, and factors associated with exclusion rates. Results (n = 20) show an accelerating pace of inquiry that attends to multiple levels of the ecological system (children, teachers, and programs) across diverse settings (home-, center-, and school-based care). Additional research that draws on data spanning multiple types of early care and education settings is needed to inform legislation and intervention funding decisions.

Preschool and Childcare Expulsion

“…It is possible that studies using an alternative term for expulsion were missed. It also led to the exclusion of studies that solely focused on the issues of suspension in early childhood education (for a review of exclusionary discipline, see the studies in Zinsser, Silver, Shenberger, & Jackson, 2022). Although many of the identified studies addressed suspension as well as expulsion, we did not include results solely based on suspension to focus on expulsion, which was the purpose of the current review.…”

Associations Between Social–Emotional Teaching Practices and Reductions in Preschoolers' Challenging Behavior

“…The presence of challenging behavior can fracture relationships with adults and peers, reduce opportunities to learn social–emotional skills, result in exclusionary discipline in educational environments, and ultimately lead to lifelong physical and behavioral health concerns (DuShane & Yu, 2023; Fox, 2022; U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, 2022; Zinsser et al, 2022). For preschool-aged children, estimates of prevalence rates for challenging behavior vary from 10% to 20% (Brauner & Stephens, 2006; Egger & Angold, 2006; Lavigne et al, 2009; Wichstrøm et al, 2012), with reported prevalence rates three to seven times higher for young children with disabilities (Baker et al, 2002).…”

Effects of Tiered SWPBIS Fidelity on Exclusionary Discipline Outcomes for Students With Disabilities: A Conceptual Replication

“…Schools often respond to challenging behavior by removing students from the educational environment in an attempt to reduce inappropriate behavior (Massar et al, 2015; Zinsser et al, 2022). Students with disabilities (SWD) are suspended and expelled at more than twice the rate of peers without disabilities (Hurwitz et al, 2021; Zeng et al, 2021), and students who exhibit externalizing behavior challenges, such as students with emotional behavioral disorders, are particularly impacted by exclusionary discipline (Sullivan et al, 2014).…”