Zero tolerance, zero evidence: An analysis of school disciplinary practice

Skiba, Russell J.; Knesting, Kimberly

doi:10.1002/yd.23320019204

Cited by 298 publications

(300 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Zerotolerance policies are intended to protect students and staff at schools from perceived harm. In some school districts across the country, however, suspensions, expulsions, and police involvement are being used not only for violent and drug-related school offenses, but also for minor school disruptions such as swearing or smoking cigarettes (Skiba, 2000).…”

Section: Scope Of Problemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Disparities in School Discipline Practices for Students with Emotional and Learning Disabilities and Autism

Miller¹,

Meyers²

2015

JEHD

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Numerous researchers have explored discipline practices in schools in the United States and have found racial disparities as well as the disproportionate use of exclusionary practices for students with disabilities. However, less attention has been paid to students with a subgroup of disabilities, including emotional disturbances, learning disabilities, and autism. We compared rates of suspension, expulsion, referral to law enforcement, and drop out among students with and without those particular disabilities within the Chicago Public Schools system to see if there were disparities. We hypothesized that students with these specified disabilities would experience higher rates of exclusionary discipline practices. We conducted a series of chisquare analyses using system-wide data and determined that students with these disabilities were suspended, expelled, referred to law enforcement, and dropped out at higher rates than those without disabilities. The magnitude of these disparities varied as a function of the specific disciplinary practice and the disability type. We provide suggestions for future research in addition to alternatives to exclusionary discipline.

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Section: Scope Of Problemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Disparities in School Discipline Practices for Students with Emotional and Learning Disabilities and Autism

Miller¹,

Meyers²

2015

JEHD

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Furthermore, suspensions have led to lengthy absences with the onus on the family to find accommodations (Carroll, 2008;Pirrie et al, 2009;Skiba & Knesting, 2001). Consistent with this research, these participants were excluded from the disciplinary and educational decisions that impacted them, and the reasons underlying their behaviours were not considered or were given little weight.…”

Section: Maintaining School Servicesmentioning

confidence: 86%

“…The target programs all had zero-tolerance policies aimed at reducing school violence and drug-related offences and thereby increasing student safety (Skiba, 2002;Skiba & Knesting, 2001). However, the use of these policies has been controversial (Dinkes, Cataldi, Kena, Baum, & Snyder, 2006;Fenning et al, 2012) for resulting in school exclusion, with the excluded youth often coming from disadvantaged backgrounds (Bear, 2012;Carroll, 2008).…”

Section: Maintaining School Servicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Students’ Perceptions of Schooling: The Path to Alternate Education

Pereira

Lavoie

2016

IJCYFS

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Policies governing education in North America have given schools the responsibility of meeting the needs of a diverse student population, including those with emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBD). To balance their need for individualized programs with their right to inclusion in schools, students with EBD may be placed in alternate programs within a mainstream school setting. However, little is known about student experiences leading to this placement or their experiences in these programs. The purpose of this study was to explore youth's perceptions of the factors that influenced their being placed in an alternate program for students with EBD. Six eighth-grade students participated in semi-structured interviews and created a visual map of their school trajectories. An interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) of the data suggested that their schooling was a tumultuous journey that contributed to their emotional, behavioural, and academic struggles, and to their placement in an alternate school program. Students described disrupted school services, lack of supports, a negative school climate, and disengaging instructional strategies as contributing to their difficulties. An understanding of the influence of school context and policy on student behaviour is necessary if we are to improve educational outcomes and properly support child and adolescent development.

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“…However, there is as yet little evidence that such disciplinary policies contribute to improved student behavior or overall school safety (Skiba, 2000). Rather, zero-tolerance polices are becoming a threat to all youth and to any notion of equal educational opportunity.…”

Section: Discussion / Conclusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although the goal of zero-tolerance polices is to secure a safe school environment for the well-being of the students, overreliance on zero-tolerance policies has caused more harm than benefits to students as it often results in antidemocratic and unfair actions including racially discriminatory sanctions (Skiba, 2000). It further legitimizes teachers and school administrators to find a "quick and easy" solution to a complex problem without exercising deliberation and…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding student resistance as a communicative act

Kim

2010

Ethnography and Education

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In the current era of "zero tolerance", disciplinary practices including punishment, expulsion, physical and psychological surveillance, and confinement, are a major part of resistant students' lived experiences. This article is an ethnographic study of student resistance that is observed in an alternative high school in the U.S., which serves students expelled from regular schools for their acts of resistance. The purpose of this study is to explore how understanding of the meaning of student resistance can be used as a theoretical and pedagogical medium with which teachers can create an equitable, educational milieu that upholds views and experiences of the marginalized students. The study also offers a new insight into resistance theory drawing upon Dewey's transactional theory of resistance as a communicative act to further suggest what might be possible for the teachers and students to transcend conflicts in order to establish a more meaningful teacher-student relationship, moving beyond zero-tolerance policies.The Meaning of Student Resistance 2

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Zero tolerance, zero evidence: An analysis of school disciplinary practice

Abstract: Because there is little or no evidence of the efficacy of zero tolerance, schools and school districts need to explore preventive alternatives.

Cited by 298 publications

References 13 publications

Disparities in School Discipline Practices for Students with Emotional and Learning Disabilities and Autism

Disparities in School Discipline Practices for Students with Emotional and Learning Disabilities and Autism

Students’ Perceptions of Schooling: The Path to Alternate Education

Understanding student resistance as a communicative act

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