Managing problematic student behavior is one of the most persistent, challenging, and controversial issues facing schools today. However, despite the best intentions to build a more inclusive and punishment-free education system, school suspensions and expulsions persist.
Now, new research from the University of South Australia shows that exclusionary practices not only fail to identify the root causes of students’ challenging behaviours, they exacerbate negative problems rather than solve them.
Lead researcher Professor Anna Sullivan from UniSA says schools face difficult decisions around suspensions and expulsions.
“Suspensions and expulsions have been a mainstay of schools’ behavior management practices for decades, regardless of the fact that research has found them to be ineffective in disciplining bad behavior,” says Professor Sullivan.
“In fact, there is a clear relationship between school suspensions and a variety of detrimental health outcomes, including withdrawal from school, relationships with antisocial peers, alcohol and tobacco use, and lower quality of school life. and this contributes to a higher risk of dropping out of school and possible illegal behavior.
“What makes matters worse is that vulnerable students are at greater risk of being suspended or expelled, which in many cases exacerbates their life circumstances and opportunities.
“Children, Aboriginal students, students from low socio-economic backgrounds and students with disabilities are disproportionately excluded from schools.
“There is a clear blind spot about how school suspensions and expulsions perpetuate broader social inequalities.
“Schools and policymakers need to look beyond challenging behaviors to understand what contributes to the cause, rather than treating the effect, and it is this missing information that is needed to develop new school policies.”
Analyzing the recently revised NSW Student Behavior Strategy, researchers found that while there was more behavior support and management, the new iterations still included punitive practices.
“When a student is suspended or expelled from school, we ultimately remove them from their education and limit their life outcomes. And knowing that vulnerable groups are most at risk, these exclusion policies are ultimately discriminatory” says Professor Sullivan.
“We also see situations where children with disabilities, some on prescription medication, are excluded from school because they ‘already have problems.’ As a result, exclusion appears to be a reasonable solution given that schools do not have the time, experience or resources to manage complex and challenging behavioral needs.
“Added to that deficit thinking is the removal of a ‘problem child’ from the learning environment of others. Instead of helping these students, policies are exacerbating their struggles.
“What we need is more listening, more empathy towards at-risk students and a willingness to challenge the impact of broader social inequalities, including poverty, race, housing and unemployment, on the most vulnerable people in society. These Things do not work in isolation; they affect families and children and cannot simply remain at the school door.
“It is time to look again at the complex and challenging circumstances in which many young people find themselves. Only then can we hope to create a more inclusive and fair education system.”
Notes to editors:
- Published article: Down, B., Sullivan, A., Tippett, N., Johnson, B., Manolev, J. and Robinson, J., (2024). What is missing from political discourses on school exclusions? Critical studies in educationDOI: 10.1080/17508487.2024.2312878
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Media Contact: Annabel Mansfield METER:+61 479 182 489 MY: @unisa.edu.au” title=”mailto:Annabel.Mansfield@unisa.edu.au”>Annabel.Mansfield@unisa.edu.au
Investigator: Professor Anna Sullivan E: @unisa.edu.au” title=”mailto:Anna.Sullivan@unisa.edu.au”>Anna.Sullivan@unisa.edu.au