Leadership and Discipline: Examining the Relationship Between Principal Influence Over School Discipline, Suspensions, and Students' Perceptions of School Disciplinary Climates

• In Event: Hilton Roundtable Session 21
  In Roundtable Session: Contemporary Research on Teachers and Principals

Abstract

Although principals play a key role in maintaining order within schools, prior literature often fails to consider how this role impacts students’ perceptions of school disciplinary climates. This is an important oversight, as discipline is a key component of school authority, and students’ perceptions of authority are vital to its legitimacy and efficacy. Using the Education Longitudinal Study (ELS: 2002), this paper examines relationships between principal-reported influence over disciplinary policies, suspension rates, and students’ perceptions of school discipline. Although not associated with the likelihood of suspension, principal-reported influence over discipline policy is significantly associated with perceptions of disciplinary climates. Students report a better balance of strictness and fairness and more consistent discipline when principals have more influence over disciplinary policy.

Author

• Doreet Preiss