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Deep Dive
Survey: Teachers want multiple options for responding to student misbehavior
Linda Jacobson
July 30, 2019
Two-thirds of U.S. teachers say discipline policies are inconsistently
enforced in their schools, and 38% attribute a decline in suspensions
to “higher tolerance for misbehavior,” according to the results of a
survey released Tuesday by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute.
Teachers in high-poverty schools were also more likely than those in
low-poverty schools to report that during the 2017-18 school year, they
were either physically attacked by a student, that physical fighting
occurred in their school every day or week, or that they dealt with
verbal disrespect every day.
The survey draws responses from a sample of 1,200 teachers
participating in the RAND Corp.’s American Educator Panels and is part
of the conservative-leaning institute’s efforts to raise concerns over
“top-down” efforts to reduce suspensions. They conclude that teachers
want multiple options, including newer discipline models and
traditional approaches.
“Because sensibly balancing the interests of a minority of students
against those of the majority is impossible from hundreds or thousands
of miles away, federal and state policymakers should think twice before
wading into the moral bracken of school discipline,” the authors write,
adding that such policies can undermine school leaders’ authority and
increase “the incentive to engage in underreporting.”
“More often than not, administrators sweep incidents under the rug and
don't report them,” said one teacher who left an optional comment. “The
more they report, the worse it makes the school look."
California, Colorado and Texas are among states that have moved to
limit suspensions, particularly in the early grades. And recent studies
have linked suspension and expulsion to later drug use and delinquency.
But the survey findings also come in the midst of shifts — and somewhat
contradictory reports — in how schools are responding to student
behavior. For example, on one hand, the survey draws attention to
efforts to reduce suspensions, but last week the U.S. Commission on
Civil Right released data showing that during the 2015-16 school year,
2.7 million public school students received at least one out-of-school
suspension.
In another example, the Trump Administration last year rescinded
Obama-era guidance intended to reduce racial disproportionality in
school discipline. But the Fordham report notes that nine states are
still using suspension and/or expulsion rates as part of their school
accountability systems, and that 20 states and the District of Columbia
use such rates when deciding on school improvement efforts.
African American teachers weigh in
Because data shows black students and students in poverty are more
likely to be suspended or expelled than their white or middle-class
peers, Fordham oversampled African American teachers and those working
in high-poverty schools. Black teachers were far more likely to respond
that discipline consequences are harsher for black students — 77%
compared to 24% of white teachers.
But their views on whether schools should still be suspending students were more similar.
Half of African American teachers in high-poverty schools responded
that out-of-school suspension is not used enough, compared to 46% of
white teachers. Thirty-four percent of both groups said it was used the
right amount. Thirty-one percent of black teachers and 35% of white
teachers said they recommended that a student be suspended during the
2017-18 school year.
More than three-fourths of all teachers surveyed agreed with the
statement that other students suffer because of a “few persistent
troublemakers,” and 64% said they felt there were students with chronic
discipline problems that should not be in their class.
The authors recommend that policymakers “rely on teachers’ and
administrators’ professional judgment” when it comes to whether to
suspend a student.
Some experts say policies to reduce suspensions haven’t gone far enough.
“But efforts must always also be accompanied by the use of approaches
that reduce the likelihood of behaviors that teachers find troubling as
well as ways of addressing problematic behaviors,” said David Osher, a
vice president and fellow at the American Institutes for Research (AIR).
Social-emotional learning programs for teachers and students, enhancing
teachers’ "cultural competency," and providing access to mental health
services are among the approaches that he said should be in place when
suspension is not an option.
Alternative discipline approaches
The authors of the Fordham report, David Griffith and Adam Tyner, also
call for hiring more teaching assistants and mental health
professionals and say schools should spend funds on additional
personnel rather than “training teachers in largely unproven
alternatives that may do more harm than good.” Forty percent of
teachers in the survey also agreed that hiring more mental health
professionals would be the best use of additional funds for addressing
student behavior.
The survey also included questions for teachers on alternative models,
such as Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS),
restorative practices and trauma-informed practices. Eighty-one percent
of teachers responded that restorative justice approaches are at least
“somewhat effective,” with 36% choosing “very effective” as an option,
and 87% said that PBIS, which focuses on establishing schoolwide
behavior expectations and rewarding good behavior, is somewhat or very
effective.
The authors feature comments from teachers on their perceptions of such
approaches. One said, “PBIS and other ‘huggy’ programs are great for
some kids and can really benefit them,” but the teacher also said those
approaches can lead “to a lot of ambiguity regarding whether or not a
consequence will be implemented.”
And while some said they think restorative justice doesn’t work and
teaches students they can get away with misbehaving, one respondent
wrote: “I am an advocate for the use of restorative practices,
restitution and prevention techniques. I oppose suspensions and believe
that no student should be ‘thrown away.’ These are children, and they
need our support, not a punishment.”
‘Not easy work’
Osher said when implementing restorative justice programs, it’s
important to “build the motivation and capacity of teachers,”
especially if they are working with culturally and linguistically
diverse students.
“Practice change is not easy … for professionals who are set in ways or
are unaware of the effect of biases on their thinking,” he said. “This
is not easy work and should include ongoing professional development
and support.”
Griffith and Tyner cite older research showing that turnover is higher
among white teachers in high-poverty schools than it is among black
teachers. They suggest that “as a group, they may be less experienced,
and their classroom management skills, as well as their relationships
with students and parents, may be weaker.”
These reasons, instead of implicit bias, might contribute to suspension
rates, they said, but also added that “it’s certainly possible that
white teachers are (on average) more biased.”
Osher noted AIR’s Concerns-Based Adoption Model, which focuses on
understanding staff members’ attitudes and beliefs when trying to
implement a new program.
Elizabeth Smull, a lecturer at the International Institute for
Restorative Practices, says that when trainers for the organization’s
SaferSanerSchools program work with schools, they stress that everyone
who comes in contact with students, including cafeteria staff and bus
drivers, for example, participate in initial overview sessions.
“We really encourage that everyone in the building has a role to play
in the implementation,” Smull said, adding that even after two and a
half years of work, schools are still in the early stages of the
program. The institute has recently provided training to schools in 35
states and the District of Columbia.
A RAND Corp. evaluation of a Pittsburgh Public Schools program based on
SaferSanerSchools found having district- and school-level leaders who
take ownership of the program and model the practices can lead to more
positive effects.
The results of the program were mixed. In addition to a decrease in
suspensions for black students, the program was associated with an
increase in attendance among elementary students and those in special
education. Teachers also said they had improved relationships with
students.
But school mobility rates did not drop, and math performance declined
among middle-schoolers and among both black and white students in
majority-black schools. Teachers also didn’t find that the program was
improving student behavior.
Views on in-school suspension
The Fordham survey also asked teachers about in-school suspension
programs. Teachers said in-school suspension is more effective than
out-of-school suspension for removing disruptive students so others can
learn (25% compared to 11%), and especially for helping misbehaving
students to stay on-track academically (58% compared to 3%).
But comments from teachers suggested such in-school programs don’t always work as intended.
“A joke,” and “ineffective” were two descriptions that teachers gave of
the programs in their schools, suggesting that students are often not
held accountable for schoolwork. One teacher offered this
recommendation: “I think lunchtime detention without electronics is
much more effective than any in- or out-of-school suspension. Students
lose socialization time and phone time. Both are highly coveted by
teenagers.”
Osher said in-school suspension programs should be “student- and
learning-centered, not informed by a punitive mentality.” He
highlighted the Planning Centers in the Cleveland Metropolitan School
District in Ohio as an effective model.
Others include Alternatives to Suspension, a week-long program with a
restorative practices curriculum, as well as some schoolwork from
students’ regular classes.
Griffith and Tyner advocate for more alternative centers with mental
health professionals. “Rather than bouncing back and forth between a
regular classroom and an ill-functioning [in-school suspension] (or the
street), students with chronic behavior problems should be connected
with the services they need in whatever setting is best suited to the
task,” they write.
A recent report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO),
however, shows alternative schools already serve a higher proportion of
black boys and boys with disabilities than other student groups, and
are less likely than regular schools to have support staff members,
including counselors and social workers.
Charter alternative schools were less likely than district alternative
schools to have support staff members. Administrators of these schools
told GAO that many students they serve have experienced trauma,
including abuse, a death in the family, or leaving a conflict zone in
another country.
The teacher survey follows other efforts at the Fordham Institute to
draw attention to the challenges surrounding discipline policies. In
May, Michael Petrilli, president of the organization, participated in a
Milliken Dialogues and Policy Summit with representatives from
Communities in Schools to discuss the federal role in making sure
discipline policies don’t violate students’ civil rights.
At that event, Gallup data was released showing that Americans have
wide-ranging opinions on whether they think educators are adequately
trained to handle discipline issues in the classroom. More than half —
54% — responded that teachers are unprepared or very unprepared to
respond to students’ behavior problems, while 43% said that teachers
are either prepared or very prepared.
A large share of the respondents, however, did not think that stricter
disciplinary practices, including detention, suspensions or expulsions,
would be effective, and a large majority — 89% — agreed increasing
access to mental health services in schools would be an effective or
very effective way to improve discipline.
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