Investigating How Families Experience School Criminalization Monique Tate Walden University
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Walden University ScholarWorks Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Collection 2016 Investigating How Families Experience School Criminalization Monique Tate Walden University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations Part of the Education Policy Commons, and the Sociology Commons This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Collection at ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Walden University College of Social and Behavioral Sciences This is to certify that the doctoral dissertation by Monique Tate has been found to be complete and satisfactory in all respects, and that any and all revisions required by the review committee have been made. Review Committee Dr. Marlene Coach, Committee Chairperson, Human Services Faculty Dr. Eric Youn, Committee Member, Human Services Faculty Dr. Barbara Benoliel, University Reviewer, Human Services Faculty Chief Academic Officer Eric Riedel, Ph.D. Walden University 2016 Abstract Investigating How Families Experience School Criminalization by Monique Y. Tate MA, College of New Rochelle, 1995 BS, Manhattanville College, 1990 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Human Services Walden University August 2016 Abstract Public school students across the United States have been criminalized for minor youth behavior issues such as truancy, defiance, and minor fighting incidents. The presence of law enforcement is expanding in school spaces, increasing the likelihood of young students facing court systems for minor offenses. Criminalization of students is counterproductive considering schools are designed to promote student growth and development. Little is known about how students and parents experience school criminalization. The purpose of this multi-case study, based on Freire’s conceptual framework of critical consciousness, was to investigate how a small group of families experienced school criminalization. Three families of youths who had been criminalized for minor school offences were recruited using community partners as referral sources. Interviews were conducted with parents using a semi-structured protocol, and data were also obtained from school and court records provided by parents. Data were triangulated, summarized as case descriptions, member checked, and then cross-theme analyzed based on Gibbs and Taylor’s approach for emergent themes. Study results demonstrated that these families felt trapped between two institutions and experienced fear and frustration trying to deal with both systems. Participants also recommended ways parents and schools might improve discipline for minor offences. This study will influence social change by informing school and juvenile justice discipline policy reform about working with two systems in managing student behavior concerns. In addition, the interview protocol can be used by human services professionals to help improve understanding of clients faced with school criminalization issues. Investigating How Families Experience School Criminalization by Monique Y. Tate MA, College of New Rochelle, 1995 BS, Manhattanville College, 1990 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Human Services Walden University August 2016 Dedication This study is dedicated to the families who volunteered to participate in this research. Their stories are invaluable and will hopefully lead the way in promoting humanity in the way American public school students are disciplined in the 21st century. Acknowledgments I want to thank Dr. Marlene Coach for the longevity of her mentorship, helping me develop into the writer I am today, and most importantly caring about me as a person. Thank you Dr. Eric Youn for your patience and answering my many questions. Thank you Dr. Barbara Benoliel for your expertise and joining the team. Thank you Dr. William Barkley for your dedication to the Human Services department at Walden University. Many thanks to Dr. Avon Hart-Johnson for being my guardian angel. I would also like to thank my beautiful mother Anita for listening to me brainstorm ideas, even late at night. I thank my daughters MyelYah and Mikaelah for being honest critics and constantly reminding me to stay on schedule. Many thanks to my son Michael for debating the issues with me and my son Micaiah for his empathy toward families I want to help. A special acknowledgment is for my husband Kael who encouraged me to stay the course. I would like to also recognize my Aunt Lynn, brothers James and Michael, sister Marche, and a host of family and friends who believed in me and cheered me on. I appreciate and love you all. This dissertation was made possible by the families who told their stories. I am forever in their debt. Table of Contents Table of Contents ................................................................................................................. i List of Tables .................................................................................................................... vii List of Figures .................................................................................................................. viii Chapter 1 ..............................................................................................................................1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................1 Background of Study .............................................................................................. 2 Problem Statement .................................................................................................. 5 Purpose of Study ..................................................................................................... 6 Research Questions ................................................................................................. 7 Conceptual Framework for the Study ..................................................................... 7 Nature of Study ....................................................................................................... 9 Definitions............................................................................................................. 10 Assumptions .......................................................................................................... 11 Scope and Delimitations ....................................................................................... 12 Limitations ............................................................................................................ 12 Significance........................................................................................................... 14 Summary ......................................................................................................................14 Chapter 2 ............................................................................................................................16 Introduction ..................................................................................................................16 Literature Search Strategy........................................................................................... 17 Conceptual Framework ............................................................................................... 25 i Critical Consciousness Operationalized ............................................................... 26 Critical Consciousness Promotes Humanism ....................................................... 27 Critical Consciousness in Qualitative Research ................................................... 28 Critical Consciousness in Quantitative Research ................................................. 29 Developing Critical Consciousness in Therapeutic and in Educational Practices .................................................................................................... 30 Critical Consciousness and School Criminalization ............................................. 31 Background of Literature Review ......................................................................... 32 Antecedents to School Criminalization ................................................................ 33 Ethical Considerations .......................................................................................... 35 The Impact of Zero Tolerance Policies on School Discipline .............................. 35 Shifts in School Climate in the Age of Zero Tolerance ........................................ 37 Disparaging Discipline Outcomes ........................................................................ 38 Students Are Ambiguous About Zero Tolerance.................................................. 40 The Role of Law Enforcement in Schools ............................................................ 42 Perceptions of School Law Enforcement are Inconsistent ................................... 44 The Effects of Using Law Enforcement to Regulate Student Behavior ............... 45 Expanding Law Enforcement in Schools .............................................................. 47 What Happens to Families When Students Are Criminalized