03/31/2023
By Cassandra McCallum

The School of Education invites you to attend a doctoral dissertation defense by Thomas Waldron on “Do I Matter? Exploring Student Perceptions of Mattering to Inform Equitable Discipline Practices in a Traditional High School Setting.”

Date: April 6, 2023
Time: 10 a.m.
Location: This will be a virtual dissertation defense via Zoom. Those interested in attending should contact phitsamay_uy@uml.edu to request access to the Zoom link.

Dissertation Chair: Phitsamay Uy, Ed.D., Associate Professor, School of Education, University of Massachusetts Lowell

Dissertation Committee:

  • Hilary Lustick, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, School of Education, University of Massachusetts Lowell
  • Kaitlyn Angulo, Ed.D., Scholar in Practice, School of Education, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Assistant Principal, Nashoba Regional School District

Abstract:

Schools in the United States frequently rely on exclusionary punishment as a primary form of student discipline, despite a growing body of literature demonstrating its ineffectiveness and contribution to disparate impact on marginalized students. Since the 1970s, suspension rates have increased for all racial demographics, yet they are increasing at the slowest rate for white students and faster for students of color, widening the discipline gap between racial demographics (Losen & Skiba, 2010). Male students and students with a disability are more than twice as likely to experience suspension than female students and non-disabled students, respectively (U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, 2018). Despite these trends, there is emerging evidence in the field of research that some discipline models have proven to reduce overall student suspensions across all demographics. Some models have even closed the discipline gap based on student demographics of race, gender, and ability. Traditional schools have been slow to pilot or adopt these culturally sustaining discipline models, prompting the question of why. If our students genuinely matter, why do we engage in practices that are harmful to them? This descriptive study utilizes a mixed methods design and incorporates Mattering Theory as a central framework to explore student and teacher perceptions of mattering as it relates to discipline in a traditional high school setting. Findings lead to recommendations for how school leaders can adopt discipline practices that boost marginalized students' perceptions of mattering to the school community.