Weaving Wide and Deep: School Discipline Rooms as Nets of Social Control

• In Event: Student Discipline Policies and Practices

Abstract

In this paper, we share findings from a study of school discipline rooms conducted in a large, urban district. Using Irby’s theory of school discipline systems as nets of social control, we generate a typology of school discipline rooms, based on their width and depth (Irby 2013, 2014). Our analysis revealed three types of school discipline nets, each becoming increasingly punitive and impacting a larger number of students: (1) narrow and shallow nets (2) wide and shallow nets, and (3) wide and deep nets. Each net produced racial and gender disparities. This analysis marks an important turning point in the literature, using an innovative framework to reveal dimensions of in-school discipline spaces rarely documented in previous research.

Authors

• Kathryn Wiley, University of Colorado - Boulder

• Cierra Townsend, University of Denver

• Miguel Trujillo, University of Denver

• Yolanda Anyon, University of Denver