Questioning the impacts of legislative change on the use of exclusionary discipline in the context of broader system reforms: a Queensland case-study

ABSTRACT

This study analyses exclusion, enrolment cancellation, and suspension rates in government schools in the Australian state of Queensland to investigate the impact of legislation to extend principals’ disciplinary powers. Results suggest that the provision of alternative disciplinary options, including Saturday detentions and community service, failed to curb increases in the use of enrolment cancellations and exclusions as originally intended. Moreover, suspension rates increased at more than double the rate of enrolment growth during the same period. Year on year analysis of suspension rates reveals two specific calendar years and two particular grade levels in which there were very large increases. These calendar years coincide with two key education reforms in Queensland in addition to the extension of principals’ power, indicating that the move to extend principals’ disciplinary powers interacted with other major education reforms occurring within that same period. Grade level patterns indicate that education policy and school environments may play a role in rising school suspension rates.

KEYWORDS:

• Suspension
• exclusion
• school discipline
• accountability
• education policy

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Linda Graham is a Professor in the School of Early Childhood and Inclusive Education at Queensland University of Technology (QUT). She coordinates LCN629: Inclusive Education Theory, Policy and Practice, a core unit in the Faculty of Education's Master of Inclusive Education and leads QUT's Student Engagement, Learning & Behaviour Research Group (SELB). She is currently Chief Investigator on several externally funded research projects including “Which children develop severely disruptive school behaviour?”, a six-year longitudinal study funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC).