Stop suspending students!

Education is essential to becoming a 'world class' country by 2030. However, school insecurity and student misconduct undermine our goal to 'produce well-rounded and qualified individuals' that are 'empowered to achieve their (full?) potential' (Vision 2030). The interventions used to respond to and engender safe learning environments are, therefore, critical as they can have a serious impact on student performance.

In Jamaica, at least 4,854 students have been suspended and 119 students expelled since 2009. This adds to 26,000 students who were suspended between 2006 and 2009 and includes students who are in primary schools. What on earth could a 12-year-old be so guilty of that he or she must be suspended or expelled from school?

A Sunday Gleaner news report of September 29 said we are "SLACKING ON SUSPENSION!" given the latest figures. Fewer students are being sent home to be idle and that's a cause of concern? A representative of the Ministry of Education said, "the figures understate the true picture of indiscipline that exists in schools" because "[t]here is a high possibility that there is under-reporting." Couldn't it be that school administrators are finding more appropriate ways to deal with indiscipline since suspensions are ineffective in instilling discipline? The concern should not be that students are not being suspended but that, if indiscipline is so high, are educators actually addressing this vexing issue to engender safer learning environments?

Ineffective sanctions

I won't refute that educators have one of the toughest jobs to address indiscipline, but I strongly believe that suspension or expulsion is not the panacea. A publication titled School Violence: Disciplinary Exclusion, Prevention and Alternatives (1999) states that 'suspension and expulsion are severe punitive sanctions meant to send a clear deterrent message to both student and parent of the student's misconduct.' There is, however, a dearth of information to suggest that this is an effective strategy to address student misconduct.

Daniel Losen and Dr Russell Skibo, in Suspended Education, argue 'there is no evidence that frequent reliance on removing misbehaving students improves school safety or student behaviour.' Neil Bloomberg's research Effective Discipline for Misbehaviour and Islen's Research on School Suspension support their argument. There are also pertinent questions about how suspensions and expulsions are applied.

Here are some problems with suspension and expulsion that I have compiled from my reading:

1. They push children away, especially when they desperately need support;

2. They place all blame on the student while the school and/or teacher fail to question whether they provided for all students' academic and emotional needs;

3. They often fail to address the issues that lead to students misbehaving;

4. Students are forced to miss classes;

5. Students from particularly vulnerable backgrounds are usually targeted more than others; and

6. Many cases, if not the majority, are unjustified.

According to Islen, suspension and expulsion are most effective in (1) removing "problematic students" from schools, (2) providing temporary relief for fatigued and frustrated teachers and (3) alerting parents to their child's misconduct. This sounds pretty familiar, right? Bear in mind that a recent report published by the Office of the Children's Advocate revealed that more than half of the children who have been categorised (under law) as 'uncontrollable' have either been expelled or suspended.

Islen went on to say that in middle schools in the USA, males are more likely to be suspended; students are less likely to have parental supervision at home; and students with emotional, behavioural or learning disabilities are more likely to be suspended. I don't doubt this is the case in Jamaica with so few guidance counsellors and social workers in our schools and communities.

The situation raises some critical questions, especially given what we know about this and other draconian and ineffective practices that are used to "instil discipline" in our schools. We must begin to ask:

1. Who are the students that are being suspended and expelled?

2. What did they do? How are they doing academically?

3. How many of them are repeat 'offenders'?

4. What communities are they from? What are their socio-economic and family situations like?

5. Has there been any psychosocial assessment by qualified personnel of these students, especially for repeat offenders?

6. What do we do with students who have been expelled?

7. Which schools are students who have been suspended or expelled most likely to come from?

8. Do we just discard them and label them 'unattached' or do they get to attend other publicly funded schools?

9. Are there programmes to assist students who have been expelled with being reintegrated into other schools?

10. Are there academic programmes for students who were suspended to learn what they missed?

I recommend that we evaluate our approach and use evidence-based practices to guide our response to indiscipline and insecurity in our schools. There is no point sending students a strong message that will be forgotten a few days later. Let us stop suspending and expelling our students! Let us focus on developing interpersonal and cognitive-behavioural skills and programmes that are administered by trained personnel. Our approach should let students know that we care about them that we want them in school; that their attendance is important to nation building, and that, when there are problems, they must be appropriately addressed.

Jaevion Nelson is a youth development, HIV and human rights advocate. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and jaevion@gmail.com.