Redirecting the School-to-prison Pipeline to the STEM Pipeline: The Impact of School Discipline on Math Outcomes

• In Event: 2484 - Section on Sociology of Education Refereed Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 04. Crime, Deviance, and Education

Abstract

This article explores how high schools can redirect the pipeline from prison cells to STEM fields for marginalized students. Using both student and school-level variables from a recent nationally-representative longitudinal study of high school students, this article tested the relationship between discipline and STEM-related outcomes for high school students, finding that the relationship is bidirectional. By operationalizing these pipelines within high schools and demonstrating their interactions, stakeholders can gain a more comprehensive, nuanced, and robust understanding of how opportunity is structured in relation to discipline and STEM. These findings can inform future policies and practices that can decrease exposure to the school-to-prison pipeline, while increasing access to the STEM pipeline—positively impacting marginalized students and the communities they live in.

Author

• Jason F. Jabbari, Washington University-St. Louis