Students’ and Parents’ Perceptions of Disciplinary Policy: Does Symbolic Representation Matter?

• Autores: Christine H. Roch, Mahmoud A. A. Elsayed, Jason Edwards
• Localización: The American review of public administration, ISSN 0275-0740, Vol. 48, Nº. 4, 2018, págs. 329-345
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • This article examines the effects of symbolic representation and strict disciplinary policy on how students and their parents perceive school discipline. We use data from the 2011-2012 New York City School Survey, combined with data on disciplinary actions from the Office of Civil Rights. Our results suggest that strict disciplinary actions send negative messages to students and their parents about school discipline. We find that as more strict disciplinary actions are administered within a school, students are less likely to perceive discipline as fair or legitimate. The negative effects of disciplinary actions, however, tend to be smaller in schools for which there is a closer racial match between students and teachers and, consequently, a greater likelihood of symbolic representation. We also find that passive representation influences parents’ attitudes toward school discipline in their children’s schools.