Date of Conferral

2-15-2024

Date of Award

February 2024

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

School

Education

Advisor

Dr. Mary Kropiewnicki

Abstract

Educators in the United States have become increasingly concerned about students who are suspended out of school because they miss classroom instruction and are then less likely to graduate. The problem addressed in this study was that school administrators continued to use exclusionary practices for discipline negating more culturally responsive practices. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore middle and high school administrators’ perceptions on their approaches to discipline and culturally responsive practices when considering disciplinary consequences as an alternative to out of school suspension. Culturally responsive school leadership served as the conceptual frameworks for this study. Four high school and six middle school administrators, who comprised two embedded units, participated in semistructured interviews. Thematic data analysis was used to identify the categories and themes for each unit. Themes that emerged from the analysis of the data included building relationships, communication, consistent expectations, effective discipline methods, school support staff, interventions, and alternatives to exclusionary discipline consequences. Findings can be used for school district leaders to collaboratively create a comprehensive framework using restorative practices to reduce the use of exclusionary practices for discipline. Middle and high school administrators can benefit from the results of this study through an effort to use culturally responsive leadership practices to create a positive and inclusive school climate and decrease the number of students who are excluded from the educational setting.

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