Disciplinary Practices and Perceptions of School Safety

Abstract

This study of a sample of 4,044 eighth grade students taken from the National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88) was designed to examine the contribution that zero-tolerance disciplinary policies, school climate, parents' and teachers' perceptions of disciplinary climate make to students' perceptions of the school's disciplinary climate. Additionally, this study examined whether school location (i.e., urban and suburban) and school type (i.e., public and private) are associated with differences in disciplinary practices, perceptions of school discipline and school climate. Zero-tolerance disciplinary policies were found to be both directly and indirectly associated with students' perceptions of fewer discipline problems. Additionally, private schools can be characterized as having: tougher discipline policies; less teacher concern about school discipline; more student concern about school discipline; and more positive perceptions of school climate among administrators and parents than their public school counterparts. Implications for social work practice are discussed.