DIFFERENCES IN EXCLUSIONARY DISCIPLINE PRACTICES FOR GRADES 5 AND 6 STUDENTS: A TEXAS MULTIYEAR STATEWIDE INVESTIGATION

Harkrider, Tim, Differences in exclusionary discipline practices for Grades 5 and 6 students: A Texas multiyear statewide investigation. Doctor of Education, December 2020, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, Texas.

Purpose The overall purpose of this journal-ready dissertation was to determine the degree to which economic status was related to the number of days that students were assigned to an exclusionary discipline consequence. In the first study, the effect of economic status (i.e., Not Poor and Poor) on the number of days that Grade 5 and 6 Asian, White, Hispanic, and Black boys were assigned to an in-school suspension. In the second study, the effect of economic status (i.e., Not Poor and Poor) on the number of days that Grade 5 and 6 Asian, White, Hispanic, and Black girls were assigned to an in-school suspension. In the third study, the effect of economic status (i.e., Not Poor and Poor) on the number of days that Grade 5 and 6 Asian, White, Hispanic, and Black boys were assigned to an out-of-school suspension. As such, the extent to which trends are present in the number of days students were assigned to an exclusionary discipline consequence by their economic status for the four major ethnic/racial groups of boys over a 3-year time period was determined. Method In this analysis, a causal-comparative research design was used. Archival data were obtained from the Texas Education Agency through a Public Information Request for the 2015-2016, 2016-2017, and 2017-2018 school years. Findings Results were consistent across all three school years and both grade levels and across all three articles in this journal-ready dissertation. For each exclusionary discipline assignment investigated, Grade 5 and 6 boys and girls who were Poor were clearly assigned to more days of exclusionary discipline than Grade 5 and 6 boys and girls who were Not Poor. Grade 5 and 6 Black boys and Black girls who were Poor were assigned more days of exclusionary discipline than Asian, Hispanic, and White boys and girls who were Poor. The transition from Grade 5 to Grade 6 resulted in an increase in the number of days boys and girls who were Poor were assigned exclusionary discipline consequences. Results discussed herein were consistent with existing literature regarding exclusionary discipline assignments by economic status and ethnicity/race.