I’m sorry, although i’m concerned for Australia, as a teacher here in the United States I’ve got much bigger fish to fry. Apparently ice cream consumption increases murder rates over here. Pray for us.
Knowing that suspensions are ineffective and there’s growing evidence that they’re actually harmful to children and adolescents, the real question is ‘Why do schools, education authorities and policy makers persist with exclusionary disciplinary practices, like suspensions?'
Greg covers this topic in great detail both referencing research and explaining why we should or might not give it some weight. I think you should do the same here. A lot of research papers are underwhelming in terms of the strength of their case. I don’t think people should bother reading something unless someone first explains why it is a worthwhile contribution.
The or does a lot of work there. Managing violent behaviour by removing the violent person is going to look pretty good to everyone else. It may even help the violent person by removing the opportunity to get into even more trouble.
I’m sorry, although i’m concerned for Australia, as a teacher here in the United States I’ve got much bigger fish to fry. Apparently ice cream consumption increases murder rates over here. Pray for us.
Hi Greg,
If you read the research (e.g., https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8277153/) I think you’ll find there IS growing evidence of a causal link between suspensions and subsequent levels of offending.
Regardless, even without causality, there’s ample evidence that suspensions are an ineffective mechanism for improving or managing student behaviour. In fact, the NSW Department of Education said so in their 2021 ‘Student Behaviour Strategy’ (paragraph 10, page 7 - https://education.nsw.gov.au/content/dam/main-education/student-wellbeing/attendance-behaviour-and-engagement/media/Student_Behaviour_Strategy_March_2021.pdf).
Knowing that suspensions are ineffective and there’s growing evidence that they’re actually harmful to children and adolescents, the real question is ‘Why do schools, education authorities and policy makers persist with exclusionary disciplinary practices, like suspensions?'
I have my theories. No doubt you have yours.
James
In what sense do you suggest suspensions are ‘ineffective?’ What are they ineffective at?
As I wrote in my comment above, suspensions are an ineffective mechanism for improving or managing student behaviour.
Greg covers this topic in great detail both referencing research and explaining why we should or might not give it some weight. I think you should do the same here. A lot of research papers are underwhelming in terms of the strength of their case. I don’t think people should bother reading something unless someone first explains why it is a worthwhile contribution.
The or does a lot of work there. Managing violent behaviour by removing the violent person is going to look pretty good to everyone else. It may even help the violent person by removing the opportunity to get into even more trouble.
Well it certainly helps all the non-violent people in the room.