Patterns and Hidden Forms of Exclusionary School Discipline

• In Event: Reckoning With Exclusionary School Discipline: Illuminating Cross-National Patterns

Abstract

This paper examines exclusionary school discipline across regions of the U.S. and UK jurisdictions (Scotland, England, Wales, N. Ireland), reflecting complex intersections of policy, practice, and systemic inequities (Del Toro & Wang, 2021; Tefera et al., 2023). We provide a review of how racialized practices perpetuate inequities (Zimmermann, 2024), disproportionately impacting historically marginalized student populations, specifically racialized students, and those with disabilities (Liu et al., 2022; Davison et al., 2022). While official exclusion rates are well-documented, less is known about the prevalence and impact of 'informal' or 'hidden' forms of exclusion (Children's Commissioner, 2013; Losen et al., 2017) and how these areas compare in their use of alternatives to exclusion (Cole et al., 2019; McCluskey et al., 2019; Tawell & McCluskey, 2022). Through a cross-national, intersectional lens (Kramarczuk, Voulgarides et al., 2021), we aim to provide a nuanced comparative overview of both official and unofficial exclusionary practices, uncovering policy mechanisms that have led to better outcomes.

Theoretical Framework: This study employs Nancy Fraser's three-dimensional theory of justice (redistribution, recognition, and representation) to critically analyze the economic, cultural, and political structures operating across U.S. and UK jurisdictions (Fraser, 2000; Keddie, 2012), examining how these structures may foster disparities and impede parity in school discipline practices. We extend Fraser's concept of the 'problem of displacement' (Fraser, 2000:108) to analyze the proliferation of alternative disciplinary spaces and practices, including 'inclusion units', 'support bases', and 'removal rooms' in the UK (McCluskey et al., 2016), and assignment to alternative schools, expulsions, and referrals to disciplinary hearings in the U.S. (Welsh, 2020). This analysis illuminates how these ostensible alternatives to formal exclusion may function as 'hidden' exclusion, potentially perpetuating rather than mitigating disciplinary disparities.

Methods & Data: This paper draws on publicly available national level datasets from U.S., England and Scotland, as well as an analysis of national policy documents and individual interviews and focus groups with key stakeholders to explore the use of both official and unofficial forms of exclusionary school discipline.

Results: While large disparities exist in the rates of school exclusion between the U.K. and U.S., across contexts available data suggest disproportionately high rates of suspension/exclusionary discipline (albeit on different scales) experienced by young men aged 13-15, those who have social care involvement or experience (foster care), have an additional educational need or disability, live in families affected by poverty, or who are of certain minority ethnic backgrounds. Qualitative data results indicate teacher frustration about lack of resources to respond to student needs, and widespread use of informal and internal exclusion.

Authors

• Alice Tawell, University of Oxford

• Michael D. Corral, University of California - Los Angeles

• Gillean McCluskey, University of Edinburgh