Middle Schools as Safe Learning Communities: Character Education, Peer-Centered Aggression and Gender Violence

• In Event: The School Environment, Crime, and Juvenile Delinquency

Abstract

This exploratory study focuses on the strategies employed by middle school campuses (n=19) of a large urban school district in Texas to address peer-centered aggression and gender violence. Campus DEEDS discipline data for the Public Education Information Management system (PEIMS) reported in Campus Improvement Plans (CIP’s) is used to examine campus site-based decision-making responses to violations of Code of Conduct policies. The role of programs designed to address sexual harassment, bullying, disruption to learning environments, and school climate change [e.g., Positive Behavior Support (PBS) and Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)], are considered. Early results indicate that while implemented programs may have a role in reducing the numbers of minority students disciplined, the trend for Hispanics and African-Americans to be disproportionately (and more harshly) disciplined compared to non-minority youth is relatively unchanged. Recommendations for improving the social climate of middle schools through the use of peer mentoring and other restorative justice initiatives are highlighted as potential strategies to address disparate discipline rates at the campus level.

Author

• Michael Supancic, Texas State University