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Too Cruel for School: Exclusionary Discipline and the Incorrigible Student

Morgan, Mark A
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2457-4175
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1535467231530543

Abstract Details

2018, PhD, University of Cincinnati, Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services: Criminal Justice.
Maintaining order in the classroom is one of the most important responsibilities of a teacher. Historically, during the colonial era in America, educators often relied upon the harsh practice of corporal punishment to enforce discipline in accordance with religious tradition. Following the end of the eighteenth century, however, the spread of progressive values led many scholars to challenge its ethical appropriateness in the classroom. As a useful replacement, suspension was employed to removal particularly troublesome students from the school temporarily and, failing that, permanent expulsion. Moreover, rising juvenile crime rates during the early 1900s began to foster a close bond between schools and the criminal justice system. This complementary relationship would eventually lead to the formation of what is now known as the “school-to-prison pipeline”—a metaphorical process by which socially disadvantaged or minority youth are removed from the positive influences of the school and further criminalized. Unfortunately, despite this rhetoric, there has been a lack of detailed research conducted to ascertain how exclusionary discipline operates, why it is used, and the typical characteristics of suspended or expelled students. Using a sample of serious adolescent offenders, this study examines the long-term consequences of school exclusion over a seven-year period on various measures of criminal offending. The findings suggest that the influence of a single suspension is relatively weak, that expulsion is generally detrimental, and that only excessive amounts of cumulative suspensions show a persistent longitudinal effect. Accordingly, a synthesis is provided in an attempt to resolve the conflict between student disciplinary procedures and the fundamental objectives of the school in modern society. Finally, these results are incorporated into a wider body of literature that recognizes the pervasive danger of antagonistic or physically violent children and the damage caused to others by their pernicious presence at school.
John Wright, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Brian B. Boutwell, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
J.C. Barnes, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Joseph Nedelec, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
252 p.
Criminology
school discipline; suspension; expulsion; school-to-prison pipeline; exclusionary discipline; racial disparities

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Morgan, M. A. (2018). Too Cruel for School: Exclusionary Discipline and the Incorrigible Student [Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1535467231530543

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Morgan, Mark. Too Cruel for School: Exclusionary Discipline and the Incorrigible Student. 2018. University of Cincinnati, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1535467231530543.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Morgan, Mark. "Too Cruel for School: Exclusionary Discipline and the Incorrigible Student." Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1535467231530543

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ucin1535467231530543
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This open access ETD is published by University of Cincinnati and OhioLINK.