Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Date

2020

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

Counselor Education and Supervision

Committee Chair

Steve Zanskas

Committee Member

Leigh Falls Holman

Committee Member

Karen Kitchens

Committee Member

Michelle Brasfield

Abstract

School discipline has garnered national, state and local attention in regard to the excessive use of exclusionary practices and its lifelong impact on youth. The increase in exclusionary practices has been attempted to be addressed through discipline policy reform, the push for multi-tiered systems of support, and the adoption of restorative practices. The longevity of these initiatives, however, can be thwarted by the origins of most suspensions- the classroom. This study evaluated the Progressive Accountability Classroom Intervention for Middle School (PACI-MS) to explore its impact on discipline outcomes. The PACI-MS was created through the collaboration of network school counselors, the network school psychologist, administrators, special education teachers, and general education teachers to provide support for teacher-managed behaviors. The archival discipline data for students attending an urban middle school located in the southeastern United States were reviewed for one-year pre-intervention and two years post-intervention. The discipline outcomes for 83 students was analyzed from the pre-intervention year, post-intervention year, and for the post-intervention follow-up year. This program evaluation aimed to answer the general research question: How does the Progressive Accountability Classroom Intervention for Middle School effect discipline outcomes in urban middle school students? Discipline categories that were assessed include: after-school reflection, administrative referral, suspension, and expulsion occurrences. Findings indicated that the use of the PACI-MS led to statistically significant differences in discipline data across time points and discipline categories. There were also no mean differences in discipline occurrences based on gender prior to and after PACI-MS implementation. Additionally, after-school reflection occurrences decreased in the first year of implementation but increased in the second year of implementation. Administrative referral and suspension occurrence did not have a statistically significant decrease after PACI-MS implementation. Correlation analyses, however, indicated a strong relationship between administrative referral outcomes and suspension outcomes. Select years also conveyed a strong relationship between after-school reflection occurrences and suspension outcomes. This suggests that integrated programs such as the PACI-MS created through collaboration across disciplines, is necessary to impact classroom managed behavior and referrals. Other implications for future practice, school counselor leadership & collaboration, and other areas of study are reviewed and discussed.

Comments

Data is provided by the student.

Library Comment

Dissertation or thesis originally submitted to ProQuest

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