Disproportionate School Disciplinary Responses: An Exploration of Prisonization and Minority Threat Hypothesis Among Black, Hispanic, and Native American Students

Authors

Meghan M. Mitchell, University of Central Florida
Gaylene Armstrong, University of Nebraska at OmahaFollow
Todd A. Armstrong, University of Nebraska at OmahaFollow

Author ORCID Identifier

Armstrong - https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6003-0031

Mitchell - https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9275-893X

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

11-27-2018

Publication Title

Criminal Justice Policy Review

Volume

31

Issue

1

First Page

80

Last Page

102

Abstract

This research tests two potential explanations of school disciplinary responses: minority threat hypothesis and prisonization of schools. Data from the Arizona Safe and Drug-Free Schools (SDFS) survey and Arizona Youth Survey (AYS) are analyzed using ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions. Findings demonstrate that the percentage of Black, Hispanic, and Native American students was not associated with exclusionary responses to school misconduct, but was linked to decreases in mild and restorative disciplinary practices. Findings support the hypothesis that minority threat reduces access to mild and restorative disciplinary responses. Although, further research is needed on the roles of mental health professionals and counselors in school disciplinary procedures to better guide policy and school administrator expectations.

Comments

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Sage in Criminal Justice Policy Review on November 27, 2018, available online: https://doi.org/10.1177/0887403418813672

Reuse restricted to noncommercial and no derivative uses.

Recommended Citation

Mitchell, M.M., Armstrong, G., & Armstrong, T. (2018). Disproportionate school disciplinary responses: An exploration of prisonization and minority threat hypothesis among Black, Hispanic, and Native American Students. Criminal Justice Policy Review, 31(1), 80-102. https://doi.org/10.1177/0887403418813672