Effects of Federal and State Bullying Laws on Religiously Affiliated Schools
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University of South Carolina Scholar Commons Theses and Dissertations Fall 2019 Effects of Federal and State Bullying Laws on Religiously Affiliated Schools Dawn W. Hiller Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd Part of the Educational Administration and Supervision Commons Recommended Citation Hiller, D. W.(2019). Effects of Federal and State Bullying Laws on Religiously Affiliated Schools. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/5653 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you by Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. EFFECTS OF FEDERAL AND STATE BULLYING LAWS ON RELIGIOUSLY AFFILIATED SCHOOLS by Dawn W. Hiller Bachelor of Arts University of South Carolina, 1990 Master of Education University of South Carolina, 2000 Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Education Administration College of Education University of South Carolina 2019 Accepted by: Susan Bon, Major Professor Ed Cox, Committee Member Joseph Flora, Committee Member Karen Pettus, Committee Member Cheryl L. Addy, Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School © Copyright by Dawn W. Hiller, 2019 All Rights Reserved. ii DEDICATION I would like to dedicate this research to my wonderful parents. My mother always encouraged my desire for more knowledge. She passed away before seeing this dream of mine come true but I have felt her spirit with me throughout all of my classes and while I wrote this dissertation. I thank my father for all of his constant encouragement and love. When I would feel sad and defeated, he would lift me up by reminding me of my childhood statement of “Me can do it!” He always said that I said that and darn if I could do it. Thank you both for your love and support, you have always been my wonderful parents. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to acknowledge my grand dissertation chair, Dr. Susan Bon. From the beginning, she said that if I stuck to it she would stick with me. Well, we did it! Also, I want to acknowledge my wonderful friends and colleagues at church and at work. They have all shown great interest and enthusiasm about my endeavors along with their prayers and concern for me during this entire adventure. I thank you for this. iv ABSTRACT This is a qualitative multiple case study of two religious-affiliated, independent schools in Trippler, South Carolina. The topic of this study is Effects of Federal and State Bullying Laws on Religiously Affiliated Schools. The research was comprised of open-ended questions posed to individuals involved in the disciplinary actions of the students at the two schools. This study shows that the religious-affiliated, independent schools consult many different entities to develop and formulate their policies. As both schools stated, their handbook of policies is a living document that can and will change as society changes, necessitating the evolution of their policies. They are not bound to the secular rules but do attempt to stay abreast of those rules and stay within the boundaries for liability standards. Analysis of all data revealed four common themes that were compiled from document review, interview analysis, and environment observations. The themes were faith, respect, restorative, and safety. Limitations and suggestions for further research on this topic are provided in the Conclusion. v TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION ................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... iv ABSTRACT .........................................................................................................................v LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. ix CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................1 Research Purpose .....................................................................................................4 Research Questions ..................................................................................................5 Significance of the Study .........................................................................................6 Definitions of Key Terms ........................................................................................6 Organization of the Study ........................................................................................9 CHAPTER 2: PURPOSE OF THE STUDY ....................................................................10 Bullying Data .........................................................................................................14 Bullying Research ..................................................................................................19 Summary of Court Cases .......................................................................................75 Independent Schools and the Law .........................................................................79 Summary ................................................................................................................81 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY .....................................................................................83 Qualitative Research ..............................................................................................84 Case Study .............................................................................................................85 Research Design.....................................................................................................86 vi Data Collection ......................................................................................................89 Data Analysis .........................................................................................................92 Ethical Considerations ...........................................................................................97 Positionality ...........................................................................................................98 Summary ................................................................................................................98 CHAPTER 4: CASE STUDY OF MOUNTAIN OF TRUST CHRISTIAN SCHOOL..........................................................................................................................100 History of Mountain Trust Christian School .......................................................100 School Personnel ..................................................................................................101 School Property ....................................................................................................102 Data Analysis .......................................................................................................105 Thematic Development ........................................................................................106 Summary ..............................................................................................................113 CHAPTER 5: CASE STUDY OF ST. ANDREWS CATHOLIC SCHOOL ..................114 School Personnel ..................................................................................................116 School Property ....................................................................................................117 St. Andrews Catholic School Handbook .............................................................117 Data Analysis .......................................................................................................120 Thematic Development ........................................................................................120 Summary ..............................................................................................................125 CHAPTER 6: CROSS-CASE COMPARISON OF TWO RELIGIOUS- AFFILIATED SCHOOLS ..............................................................................................126 Summary of the Study .........................................................................................126 Comparison of Definitions ...................................................................................127 vii Comparison of the Schools ..................................................................................132 Summary ..............................................................................................................140 Recommendations ................................................................................................144 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................146 APPENDIX A: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS WITH RESEARCH QUESTIONS ..........171 APPENDIX B: PENNSYLVANIA ANTI-BULLYING .................................................173 APPENDIX C: ARIZONA ANTI-BULLYING STATUTE ...........................................177 APPENDIX D: ANTI-BULLYING STATE LAWS .......................................................179 viii LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1 Interview protocol .........................................................................................89 Table 4.1 Participant demographic