Date

1-9-2024

Department

School of Education

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in Education (PhD)

Chair

Rich Jensen

Keywords

discipline gap, differential involvement, differential selection, critical race theory, implicit bias, self-control theory, social learning theory

Disciplines

Educational Leadership

Abstract

This quantitative, correlational study aims to determine how accurately out-of-school suspensions can be predicted from a linear combination of student delinquency, in-school delinquency, and prior suspensions for Black and White high school students. Further, a causal-comparative design is used to determine if there is a statically significant difference in out-of-school suspensions between Black and White high school students when controlling for student factors, school factors, and student delinquency factors. The study consists of five guiding theories that inform two general hypotheses. The first hypothesis, referred to as the differential selection hypothesis, is guided by critical race theory (CRT) and implicit bias theory. The second hypothesis, referred to as the differential involvement hypothesis, is guided by self-control, social learning, and attachment theories. These general hypotheses are used to guide the selection of control variables to determine if there is a statistically significant difference in out-of-school suspensions between Black and White high school students. This study will fill a gap in the literature concerning the understudied differential involvement hypothesis and the fidelity of the differential selection hypothesis. Using a series of instruments and student survey to collect demographic, school, and delinquency information, data was collected from 120 White and 120 Black high school students in central California. Data was analyzed using multiple regression and an ANCOVA. A discussion of the study’s limitations and future recommendations is offered following the findings.

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