School discipline: The expected, the real, and the ideal

• In Event: Roundtable: Hot Potato - Blame and Responsibility Surrounding Delinquency and Youth Violence

Abstract

Schools are tasked with playing a central role in shaping adolescent behavior, yet they are often caught in the tension between disciplinary responsibilities and educational missions. As one of the first institutions to respond to youthful transgressions, schools are thought to be responsible for balancing accountability, student support, and legal compliance - often with limited resources and competing expectations from families, communities, and the juvenile justice system. This contribution to the discussion will explore how schools and their varying staff members (e.g., teachers, school police officers, guidance counselors) respond to student misbehavior, the extent to which school policies align with broader social responses, and how exclusionary punishment practices can disrupt pathways to intervention. Special attention is paid to the ways schools may unintentionally perpetuate cycles of blame or exclusion, and how improved collaboration within schools and with other social spheres can foster more consistent, restorative approaches to youth socialization.

Author

• Jillian Leigh Chamberlain, University of South Carolina