Ties That Bind: Understanding the Relationship Between School-Family Ties and School Discipline Patterns in New York City

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Sesion 4
  In Roundtable Session: Family Engagement: Exploring the Possibilities of Family Engagement in Complex and Contentious Contexts

Abstract

A wide body of research has examined the use exclusionary discipline in schools, however, the extent to which student-family relations influences disciplinary outcomes for students remains poorly understood. Using middle school administrative and parent survey data from New York City, this study investigates whether trust between parents and principals, parents and teachers, parent engagement, and school communication and outreach predict the likelihood of students experiencing exclusionary discipline. Overall, the results indicate that stronger trust between families and school staff is associated with better disciplinary outcomes for students, with some evidence to suggest that stronger school-family ties matters more for Black and Hispanic students and students receiving special education services.

Authors

• Luis Alberto Rodriguez, New York University

• Richard O Welsh, New York University