"Yelling at Them Makes It Worse": Student and Faculty Perspectives on School Discipline and Youth Empowerment

Background and Purpose:

Unequal distributions of power are inherent in traditional exclusionary school discipline practices, such as suspensions and expulsions, as adults attempt to exert control over students. These power differentials are especially apparent in the disproportionate suspension and expulsion of students of color, with Black students being nearly four times more likely to be suspended than their White peers. These disparities reach beyond the classroom, as exclusionary practices can affect socioemotional skills, ability to graduate, and even lifetime earning potential.

In an effort to curb these effects, schools nationwide have begun to seek out alternatives to exclusionary discipline, such as restorative practices. Rather than seeking to deter behaviors through exclusion, restorative practices seek to integrate students into the community through accountability and relationship reparation. Restorative practices also have the potential to balance the power differential between faculty and students.

By applying the framework of empowerment theory to school discipline, this study seeks to answer the following questions: 1) What factors contribute to feelings of empowerment and disempowerment among students and faculty? 2) How are these factors similar, and how do they differ for these stakeholders?

Methods:

This study uses grounded theory methods with process coding. Thirty-one faculty members and students participated in one-on-one semi-structured interviews. Participants were chosen via purposive stratified sampling in three New Orleans area schools. Most participating students identify as African American, which is reflective of the population of the schools. All study participants have experienced both traditional exclusionary discipline and restorative practices.

Results:

Results show that high school student participants acutely feel the power dynamics inherent in traditional discipline practices, while K-8 student participants prefer more adult intervention and guidance. There is a strong preference for restorative approaches among both groups. Faculty participants also tend to favor restorative approaches for social emotional factors, although many expressed a preference for traditional discipline in the classroom because it allows them to maintain power over students. Interestingly, many faculty members themselves resent being subjected to top-down rulemaking by people whom they feel lack classroom experience. Almost every participant heavily stresses the importance of relationships to socioemotional development and more equitable power distributions. This suggests that the relationship-building aspects of restorative approaches may be key factors in personal and academic growth, as well as equity.

Conclusions and Implications:

This study identifies similarities and differences between adult and student perspectives on various types of school discipline policies at selected schools in the New Orleans area. Results indicate wide agreement that the relationships that are central to restorative approaches are also central to perceptions of equity and inclusion. This has important implications for equity in education in several areas, including curriculum, teacher education, and of course, school discipline policies. Future research would benefit students, school staff, and social workers in school settings by focusing on both student and adult perspectives on building, restoring, and transforming relationships to improve equity and justice.