School administrator discipline decision-making for students with emotional behavioral disorders
Abstract
Suspensions and expulsions for students with EBD are growing because many school
administrators use this strategy as a quick option to manage student behavior. School district
policies and procedures for the discipline of students become part of the school's organizational
guidelines or operating process and can limit school administrators' options for alternative
discipline decisions. This study took place in a US Midwestern state of Kansas and included 11
school administrators from elementary, middle, and high school levels in 8 districts. The
research was conducted through an interview format with questions centered on the structure of
the school, inclusion practices, classroom settings and size, the discipline policies and protocols
for the district, and school administrators' decision-making when it came to discipline for
students who are EBD. Findings centered around five themes that emerged from the data: (a) the
experience and training the administrators received to prepare them for handling students with
EBD, (b) training the administrators provide for their staff to help them manage these students,
(c) the importance of building positive relationships, (d) the variations to the discipline
approaches administrators chose for students with EBD, and (e) the behaviors that would warrant
a suspension and alternatives to suspension for these students. The theoretical framework
focusing on single loop and double loop learning was used to draw conclusion. Building level
administrators are expected to manage a wide range of situations from providing support to
teachers, to providing behavior management to students. Some students have special needs that
make behavior management more challenging. Implications of this research could impact
policies and practices for behavior management at the building level as well administrator
preparation programs at the college and university level.
Description
Thesis (Ed.D.)-- Wichita State University, College of Education, Dept. of Counseling, Educational Leadership, Education and School Psychology