{"id":135,"date":"2021-07-30T06:14:15","date_gmt":"2021-07-30T06:14:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ecins.wpenginepowered.com\/us\/2021\/07\/30\/early-intervention-not-school-suspension\/"},"modified":"2022-01-18T14:49:33","modified_gmt":"2022-01-18T14:49:33","slug":"early-intervention-not-school-suspension","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ecins.com\/us\/early-intervention-not-school-suspension\/","title":{"rendered":"Early Intervention – Not School Suspension"},"content":{"rendered":"

School suspension\u2014the temporary removal of a student from school\u2014is a relatively common response to student misbehaviour in schools. But evidence suggests that not only does this form of punishment not work to reduce misbehaviour, it can set students up for lifelong negative impacts. One of the most worrying of these is the correlation between being expelled from school and ending up in prison, something which has been coined the \u2018school-to-prison pipeline\u2019.<\/a><\/p>\n

But there is a different way forward. Early intervention not only has proven positive results on the worrying behaviour schools want to eliminate, it has the potential to have positive lifelong impacts not just on at-risk children, but on their families and the wider community.<\/p>\n

So why doesn\u2019t school expulsion work?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Trauma is often the driver of bad behaviour<\/strong><\/p>\n

Many times, students who act out at school with disruptive behaviours like talking back to teachers, interrupting lessons, swearing, theft, fighting, truancy, dress code violations, drinking alcohol or taking drugs while on school property \u2013 behaviours that commonly end in suspension or expulsion \u2013 have a history of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). These include experiences of family violence, abuse or neglect, having parents with mental health or substance use problems, instability due to parental separation, unstable housing, family members in jail or loved ones who have attempted or died by suicide. Certain racial and ethnic minority groups are over-represented in dealing with the impact of four or more ACEs.<\/p>\n

Lack of appropriate modelling makes \u201cgood\u201d behaviour harder<\/strong><\/p>\n

Many students at risk of expulsion due to \u201cbad\u201d behaviour may be growing up in homes with caregivers who have poor attitudes to school (which often springs from their parents\u2019 own negative schooling experiences, especially in populations where racist attitudes or cultural insensitivity in the past have primed them to expect to be treated badly by schools). Parents, who may themselves be traumatised, may also display favourable attitudes to antisocial behaviour, swearing and drugs and exhibit ineffective conflict resolution strategies. Having a code of conduct at home that is very different to the one expected at school makes it easy for students slip up to their familiar accepted norm.<\/p>\n

Adding disadvantage to disadvantage<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the broader context, the use of suspension runs counter to the educational philosophy of inclusion and equity in educational opportunity, especially given that the students most disadvantaged by suspension are those already disadvantaged by trauma, poverty and racism. When you consider many children who are excluded from school may have poor attachment to unreliable parents, be battling impulsivity issues and carry a sense of shame and failure from a history of low academic achievement, being told they don\u2019t belong to a school group can be a severe blow. Not only that, study after study has shown suspension simply does not work to improve school conduct and change undesirable behaviour.<\/p>\n

Why doesn\u2019t suspension work?<\/strong><\/p>\n

For a start, many children who are suspended already have a history of below grade level academic achievement. Time spent not learning while on suspension compounds academic underachievement. These children are often disengaged from, or actively dislike, school, so time away from school can also be seen as a reward rather than a punishment.<\/p>\n

In addition, suspension means significant time spent unsupervised outside the school environment, which allows young people greater opportunity to associate with antisocial peers.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, suspended students can become labelled as \u2018problem kids\u2019. This can lead to them becoming alienated or detached from the school community, where they develop an outsider mentality that they internalise as part of their identity, and which may lead them to engage in criminal behaviours that can become an entrenched lifestyle. School attendance and the feeling of belonging to mainstream society is a potential protective factor against heading down this path.<\/p>\n

The long term impacts<\/strong><\/p>\n

When an individual\u2019s schooling is cut short through expulsion, they not only lose opportunities for learning, but the opportunity of connection to a wider prosocial community group. But the impacts extend beyond the individual. \u00a0There are very real economic costs to society when a person is expelled from school. Costs in health, social welfare, crime prevention and lower tax revenue as these young people struggle to find work without adequate education, to name a few. Reducing expulsion rates not only benefits students themselves, but also their families, schools and the broader community.<\/p>\n

So what is the alternative?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Recognising the wider role schools play in our society<\/strong><\/p>\n

Schools play a much broader role than teaching academic information to children. They have an enormous potential to positively impact the lives of children so they might grow into self-reliant, responsible, caring and contributing members of society.<\/p>\n

According to Dr. Brenda Suatner, Associate Superintendent, fort McMurray Public School Division, \u201cSchools play a supportive role to families and communities in helping students develop desirable personal characteristics and the ability to make ethical decisions. Schools also help students take increasing responsibility for their learning and behavior, develop a sense of community belonging, and acquire an understanding of community values and how they relate to personal values.\u201d<\/p>\n

Supporting rather than punishing students <\/strong><\/p>\n

Students are people first and foremost. When they are struggling with multiple issues in their lives, it makes sense that their behaviour at school will be affected. Understanding more about the issues students are facing outside of the school, and helping them find the support they need to address those issues, is what is needed.<\/p>\n

We don\u2019t have the resources for that<\/strong><\/p>\n

But what about the extra time this approach takes? Schools are already burdened with a heavy workload. While they may agree philosophically with the concepts of providing children with support, they have identified a number of impediments to their capacity to do this effectively.<\/p>\n

These impediments include:<\/p>\n