School Suspension: A Study with Secondary School Students

Abstract

A survey on school suspension was conducted with 620 middle and high school students. Two school districts, located in an inner city and in a rural town, were represented. All respondents provided demographic information and completed the Student Rating Scale (SRS) (Hightower, 1988). Students who reported they had been internally and/or externally suspended completed additional questions regarding their perceptions of this event. Males and Black students were overrepresented in the suspended subsamples. Students who had been suspended were more likely to be involved with the legal system. Two factor scores, Rule Compliance and School Interest, and the total score on the SRS differed in the three groups of students. Responses from the suspended subsamples of students indicated that physical aggression, attributed to lack of self-control, was the most common reason for suspension. When suspended, students reported that they felt “angry” or “happy to get out of the situation.” Of all students who had been suspended, 32% found suspension “not at all” helpful and thought that they would “probably be suspended again”; 37% found it of little use. The efficacy of school suspension practices is questioned; implications for school psychologists are discussed.