UMD Theses and Dissertations

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/3

New submissions to the thesis/dissertation collections are added automatically as they are received from the Graduate School. Currently, the Graduate School deposits all theses and dissertations from a given semester after the official graduation date. This means that there may be up to a 4 month delay in the appearance of a given thesis/dissertation in DRUM.

More information is available at Theses and Dissertations at University of Maryland Libraries.

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2016 - 20192

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Subject: search.filters.subject.disproportional discipline

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    Predictors of Disproportionate Use of Suspensions and Expulsions
    (2019) Williams, Alisa; Strein, William; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    This study used the nation-wide U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights dataset to investigate the school characteristics that influence disproportionate rates of harsh discipline in public schools. At the individual student level, research indicates that racial minority students receive suspensions and expulsions at rates that are greater than their membership in their schools’ population. However, there is little research investigating whether school-level variables (i.e., school characteristics) can predict disproportional discipline and how predictors may differ between groups. This study used school-level discipline data from schools in all fifty states as well as the District of Columbia with a minimum enrollment of 15 each of African American, Hispanic and White students to investigate potential school characteristics that predict disproportional discipline as well as whether the effect sizes of these predictors vary for disproportionality with regard to African American and Hispanic students. Predictors were school-level and included student body size, diversity and poverty level; school level and typology; student: teacher ratio and percentage of new teachers, and the presence of school resource officers, while states were used as a clustering variable and controlled for state-level effects such as state discipline policies. Results indicated that on average, disproportional discipline continues to affect both African American and Hispanic students, but that the degree of disproportionality varied considerably between schools. Few of the included variables predicted disparities in African American discipline. However, several variables, including the percentage of minority student enrollment, percentage of Hispanic student enrollment and being a middle school, high school or rural school, predicted disparities in Hispanic discipline. Results are interpreted and discussed in the context of existing, relevant research literature.
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    A longitudinal analysis of disproportionality in statewide exclusionary discipline of students with disabilities
    (2016) Williams, Alisa Michele; Strein, William; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    The study examined the state-by-state changes in the rates of exclusionary discipline of students with disabilities compared to their non-disabled peers. Historically, students with disabilities have been excluded at rates that are out of proportion with their population. This study used state discipline to investigate the current status of disproportional exclusion of students with disabilities and if there are any regional trends in the discipline of students receiving special education services. Results indicate that in both the 2009-2010 and 2011-2012 school years, there were significant differences between the rates at which students with and without disabilities were disciplined. Students with disabilities were suspended at higher rates during both school years and expelled at higher rates during the 2011-2012 school year. Results also suggest that rates of suspensions and expulsions continue to be high, particularly for students with disabilities. Findings may help states and schools develop policies that promote fair discipline of students with disabilities.