Date

5-2021

Department

School of Education

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy

Chair

Margaret E. Ackerman

Keywords

Suspension, Disproportion, Policy, Prison Pipeline, Minority Students

Disciplines

Education | Educational Administration and Supervision | Educational Leadership

Abstract

The purpose of this case study was to understand the perspectives of school administrators in Ontario on policies and practices addressing disproportionality in student discipline and suspension rates for minority students. The problem is that minority students get school suspension at significantly higher rates than non-minority students. The theory guiding this study is the Black identity development theory. There are four research questions with a central research question is, what are school administrators' perspectives on policies and practices addressing disproportionality in student discipline and suspension rates for minority students in Ontario? This single qualitative case study design purposefully sampled 10 school administrators for 7th to 12th grade from the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) in Ontario, Canada, that have successfully reduced suspension rates in the last three years. The data collection methods include semi-structured open-ended interview questions, focus group interviews, and the collection of the administrator's school discipline policy for analysis. The research used cross-case analysis software to transcribe the participants' interviews, sort out the themes, and assess all the relevant terms from interviews. There are four central themes and 15 sub-themes generated from the participants' interviews. The focus group interview revealed the participants' knowledge of policies and practices addressing disproportionality in student discipline and suspension rates for minority students.

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