Segregation and school disorder

Abstract

This investigation extends research on racial and ethnic segregation, poverty, and crime rates to schools. We study 371 high schools in Florida to determine whether poverty mediates the relationship between segregation and rates of school disorder. The data for this work come from the Florida Department of Education and the National Center for Educational Statistics. Consistent with previous studies of racial segregation and crime, we find that school segregation is strongly associated with levels of school disorder. Unlike previous research, however, poverty completely mediates the segregation–disorder relationship. Nevertheless, our findings are highly consistent with contemporary theories of racial segregation and violence.