Can School Program and Neighborhood Crime Levers Improve School Suspensions? A Multilevel Analysis

• In Event: Research on School Discipline Policy: Exploring Bias, Race, and Local Context

Abstract

Adolescents’ exposure to neighborhood crime level can have damaging effects especially in relation to the experiences of exclusionary discipline practices (EDP). Using the Education Longitudinal Study (ELS), we tested the protective effects of schooling strategies to predict EDP among adolescents aged 16-17 by reconstructing experimental and control groups (i.e., participating rates in delinquency prevention program) using propensity score matching (PSM). Our multilevel analysis based on the nested data structure showed that no statistical evidence was found for the high suspension rates in the schools where more students participate in the prevention program and where more students enroll in the free/reduced lunch program. Also, the influence of GPA became smaller on the suspension with high crime neighborhood.

Authors

• Jiwon Nam, University of Baltimore

• Mido Chang, Florida International University

• Hulya Yurekli, Yildiz Technical University