Prevention Means Doing It Differently: Applying An Evidence-Based Model to School Discipline

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Prevention Means Doing It Differently Applying
An Evidence-Based Model to School Discipline

• Russell Skiba
• Equity Project at Indiana University
• Presented at the Protective Schools
• Revisited Symposium
• Tucson, AZ October 21, 2008

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Evidence Based Practice

• Integration of the best available research with
  practice
• Implies rigorous research tests of interventions
• Systematic reviews, effect sizes,
  statistical/clinical significance, body of
  supporting evidence
• Gold Standard for new interventions
• But what about current practice?

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The APA Zero Tolerance Task Force

• 2005 Commissioned to examine and make
  recommendations regarding the development andd
  implementation of Zero Tolerance policies in
  elementary and secondary schools.
• Provide recommendations for implementing ZT
  policies in ways to benefit children as opposed
  to inflicting damage upon them.
• Approved by Council August 9, 2006

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Questions Addressed

• 1. Have zero tolerance policies made schools
  safer and more effective in handling disciplinary
  issues?
• 2. What has been the impact of ZT on students of
  color and students with disabilities?
• 3. To what extent are zero tolerance policies
  developmentally appropriate as a psychological
  intervention, taking into account the
  developmental level of children and youth?

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Questions Addressed (Contd)

• 4. How has zero tolerance affected the
  relationship between education and the juvenile
  justice system?
• 5. What has been the impactboth negative and
  positiveof zero tolerance policies on students,
  families and communities?
• 6. Are there other disciplinary alternatives
  that could make a stronger contribution toward
  maintaining school safety or the integrity of the
  learning environment, while keeping a greater
  number of students in school?

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Question 1 Safer and More Effective?

• Assumption Removal of students who violate
  rules creates more conducive learning climate for
  the rest.
• More removal Less satisfactory climate and
  governance
• Emerging evidence of negative r between
  exclusionary discipline and achievement

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Percent Passing ISTEP by School Disciplinary Use
(Adjusted for Demographic and Economic Indicators)
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Question 1 Safer and More Effective?

• Assumption Swift and certain punishments of ZT
  have deterrent effect, improving student behavior
  and discipline.
• Predicts higher future rates of misbehavior
  discipline
• Long term relationship with dropout, failure to
  graduate on time

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Question 2 Impact of Zero Tolerance on Students
of Color With Disabilities

• Assumption By removing subjective, contextual
  factors, will be more fair to all students.
• Black students suspended 2-3x as frequently
• Studies since find disproportionality in
• Office referrals
• Suspension Expulsion
• Corporal Punishment

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Alternative Explanations of Disciplinary
Disproportionality

• Disproportionality is related to SES
• SES and disproportionality correlate, but
• Effects of race remain after control
• Do black students misbehave more?
• No supporting evidence
• May in fact be treated more severely for same
  offenses

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What Behaviors are Students Referred For? By Race
Of 32 infractions, only 8 significant
differences

• White students referred more for
• Smoking
• Vandalism
• Leaving w/o permission
• Obscene Language

• Black students referred more for
• Disrespect
• Excessive Noise
• Threat
• Loitering

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What Might Be Causing Disciplinary
Disproportionality?

• Doesnt appear to be related to AA enrollment
• Perhaps correlated with overuse of suspension and
  expulsion
• May originate at classroom level
• No differences at office level (Skiba et al.,
  2002)
• Violations of implicit interactional codes
  (Vavrus Coles, 2002)

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Disproportionality in Discipline Students with
Disabilities

• Students with disabilities over-represented
• 11-14 of population
• App. 20-24 of suspensions
• Do students with disabilities misbehave more?
• GAO Principals say yes
• Data analyses No differences

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Question 6 Are There Alternatives to
Disciplinary Removal?

• Creating the Climate
• Bullying Prevention
• Conflict Resolution/Life Skills
• Classroom Management
• Early Identification/Intervention
• Threat Assessment
• Mentoring, Anger Management
• Effective Responses
• In-School Alternatives
• Functional Assessment
• Restorative Justice

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What Do Effective Principals Do?

• No compromise on discipline
• We will not put up with misbehavior. You are
  here to learn and were going to do everything we
  can to provide the proper education. Your
  teachers are here to work with you. Were doing
  everything we can to support you but then again
  we will not deal with any misbehaviors. Thats
  the bottom line. If you hit somebody youre
  going to be suspended.

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Clarify Expectations and Train in Behavior
Management

• Once you send a child to the office as a
  classroom teacher you give up a part of your
  control over that child. It sends a message to
  the child that you know you really dont have
  control...
• So I think as a school weve come to realize
  that its a lot better to handle the discipline
  within the team of teachers if we can because
  that sends a message to the student that the team
  has control.

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Teach Appropriate Skills through Preventive
Programs

• There are 17 or so character values. Respect,
  cooperation, honesty, perseverance, caring,
  courage our staff members have embraced it and
  you see it everywhere. You see it in the
  hallways. You see it on bulletin boards. You
  see it in the classrooms. The teachers take time
  to talk about those life skills and then you
  begin also embedding this in your curriculum
  what you end up having are kids who are very
  respectful to one another, that are willing to
  work cooperatively.

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Communicate and Collaborate with Parents

• Teachers know that if they send someone to
  the office, we shouldnt be the first one to
  contact the parents about the problems the kids
  is having.
• I have very few parents who get upset with me
  because a lot of times weve done a lot of
  interventions Theres no surprises. And I have
  to think the parents appreciate that through the
  entire process theyve been part of it.

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Communication Connection All Students

• Communication is really stressed, were
  increasing email, they do newsletters, really
  chatting, we have input forms from parents. I
  think its part of the culture of the building
• Every time he the principal has the student
  body together he reminds them that if there is
  anything out there thats lingering thats
  dangerous to make sure that you bring it forward.
  He is just continually impressing upon the kids
  how important communication is.

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Communication Connection At Risk or
Alienated Students

• We look to intervene early if we see some things
  that are developing. We worked really hard
  helping teachers identify internalizers as well
  as externalizersThis isnt a way of identifying
  a student. Its more like trying to predict the
  problem and prevent it.
• And all we asked was that an adult would meet
  with these kids once a weekI would have lunch
  with this child and we would play chess and we
  would talk and he would share things that were
  going on in his lifeWe saw that were making
  progress with these kids because really a lot of
  these kids didnt have anyone who really took an
  interest in them.

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The SRS Philosophy Increase Resources to
Decrease Exclusion

• Safe and Responsive Schools
• 3 Year USDOE Grant
• Teaching schools to develop comprehensive
  needs-based approaches to school violence
  prevention

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Keys to School Reform A Structure for Change

• School Teams
• Teachers, parents, administrators, students
• Key Representatives of School Community
• Needs Assessment
• Building the Knowledge Base
• Strategic Planning

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The importance of added resources

• I just think that we work harder with individual
  students towards keeping them in school, and
  keeping them from dropping out or being expelled.
  I think that there are other options now that we
  look at and theres a larger range of
  opportunities for them to remain in school.
  HS Teacher

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APA Task Force Recommendations Reducing
Suspension/Expulsion

• Implement a Graduated Set of Consequences
• Teach alternative ways of getting along
• Improve communication and connection w/ students,
  parents
• Increasing available options

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APA RecommendationsReducing Disciplinary
Disproportionality

• Teacher Training in Classroom Behavior Management
  
• Reducing Cultural Mismatch
• Avoid One-Size-Fits-All Discipline
• Use Data to Transform

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The Difficulty of Talking About Race
When you say minorities, are you, what are you
speaking of?...INTERVIEWER Ethnic and racial
minorities...Oh....OK...Alright...We have
like...I guess we have about half and half. I
dont know that Ive ever really paid attention
to it . --Classroom Teacher
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Perspectives on Katrina Washington Post/ABC
News Poll, 9/13/05
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"Adolescents play pranks. I dont think it was a
threat against anybody.--Roy Breithaupt,
Superintendent, Jena Public Schools
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• The noose meant the KKK, it meant 'We're going
  to kill you, we're gonna' hang you 'til you
  die.'
• --Caseplia Bailey, Parent of one of Jena 6
  students

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What is Our Theory?

• Poverty?
• Deficits in classroom management?
• Negative community influences?
• Lack of cultural competence?
• Negative peer culture?
• Historical discrimination?

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Issues of EBP in Practice

• What counts as quality evidence?
• Who has the burden of proof?
• Moving towards evidence-based practice
• Successive approximations
• Are we doing the right thing for our kids? How do
  we know?

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Websites

• APA Zero Tolerance Report
• http//www.apa.org/ed/cpse/zttfreport.pdf
• Equity Project at Indiana University
• ceep.indiana.edu/equity
• Children Left Behind
• ceep.indiana.edu/ChildrenLeftBehind