School Discipline

School Discipline

 

Child

School Behavior

Information about child behavior at school is collected from the mother, starting with the 1988 survey. The mother reports, for all school age children, whether the child has ever had any behavior problems at school resulting in a note or being asked to come in and talk to the teacher or principal. She also reports, in each survey round, whether the child has ever been suspended or expelled from school and the grade in which the event first happened. These items are assigned to the year-specific MOTHER SUPPLEMENT area of interest and can be found in the Child documentation as follows: 

Question Name

Variable Title

 

MS880852

SCHOOL & FAMILY BACKGROUND: CHILD'S BEHAVIOR REQUIRED PARENT AT SCHOOL

1988

MS901447

SCHOOL & FAMILY BACKGROUND: CH'S BEHAVIOR REQUIRED PARENT AT SCHOOL

1990

MS921447

SCHOOL & FAMILY BACKGROUND: CHILD'S BEHAVIOR REQUIRED PARENT AT SCHOOL

1992

MS941611

SCHOOL & FAMILY BACKGROUND: CHILD'S BEHAVIOR REQUIRED PARENT AT SCHOOL

1994

MS961611

SCHOOL & FAMILY BACKGROUND: CHILD BEHAVIOR REQUIRED PARENT AT SCHOOL

1996

MS985007

SCHOOL & FAMILY BACKGROUND: CHILD BEHAVIOR REQUIRED PARENT AT SCHOOL

1998

BKGN-38

CHILD BACKGROUND: CHILD BEHAVIOR REQUIRED PARENT AT SCHOOL

2000-2004

MS-BKGN-38

CHILD BACKGROUND: CHILD BEHAVIOR REQUIRED PARENT AT SCHOOL

2006-2014

MS880855

SCHOOL & FAMILY BACKGROUND: CHILD EVER SUSPENDED FROM SCHOOL

1988

MS901451

SCHOOL & FAMILY BACKGROUND: CHILD EVER SUSPENDED FROM SCHOOL

1990

MS961631

SCHOOL & FAMILY BACKGROUND: WAS CHILD EVER SUSPENDED FROM SCHOOL

1996

MS985012

SCHOOL & FAMILY BACKGROUND: WAS CHILD EVER SUSPENDED FROM SCHOOL

1998

MS921451

SCHOOL & FAMILY BACKGROUND: WAS CHILD EVER SUSPENDED FROM SCHOOL?

1992

MS941615

SCHOOL & FAMILY BACKGROUND: WAS CHILD EVER SUSPENDED FROM SCHOOL?

1994

BKGN-40

CHILD BACKGROUND: WAS CHILD EVER SUSPENDED FROM SCHOOL

2000-2004

MS-BKGN-40

CHILD BACKGROUND: WAS CHILD EVER SUSPENDED FROM SCHOOL

2006-2014

MS961633

SCHOOL & FAMILY BACKGROUND: CHILD GRADE WHEN FIRST SUSPENDED

1996

MS985012A

SCHOOL & FAMILY BACKGROUND: CHILD GRADE WHEN FIRST SUSPENDED

1998

MS921453

SCHOOL & FAMILY BACKGROUND: CHILD'S GRADE WHEN FIRST SUSPENDED

1992

MS941617

SCHOOL & FAMILY BACKGROUND: CHILD'S GRADE WHEN FIRST SUSPENDED

1994

MS880856

SCHOOL & FAMILY BACKGROUND: CHILD'S GRADE WHEN SUSPENDED

1988

MS901453

SCHOOL & FAMILY BACKGROUND: CHILD'S GRADE WHEN SUSPENDED

1990

BKGN-40A

CHILD BACKGROUND: CHILD GRADE WHEN FIRST SUSPENDED

2000-2004

MS-BKGN-40A

CHILD BACKGROUND: CHILD GRADE WHEN FIRST SUSPENDED

2006-2014

In 2000 only, the above items were asked in the Child Supplement and therefore assigned to the year-specific CHILD SUPPLEMENT area of interest. In all other survey rounds, they are found in the MOTHER SUPPLEMENT area of interest.

School Survey

As part of the 1995-1996 Child School Survey, there is information on the number of times the child was suspended in 1993-1995 and the number of students suspended from the same school at the same grade level. The School Survey also reports the number of times the child was expelled and the number of children at the same grade level expelled in the child's school. These items, documented as follows, are assigned to the CHILD SCHOOL SURVEY area of interest:

Table 2. Variable titles and question names for school discipline questions from Child School Survey

Variable Title School #1 School #2
SCHOOLING #(1 OR 2): NUMBER TIMES CHILD SUSPENDED IN 1994-1995 YEAR C1Q15 C2Q15
SCHOOLING #(1 OR 2): NUMBER TIMES WAS CHILD SUSPENDED IN 1993-1994 YEAR C1Q31 C2Q31
SCHOOLING #(1 OR 2): NUMBER TIMES THIS CHILD HAS BEEN EXPELLED FROM SCHOOL C1Q39 C2Q39
SCHOOLING #(1 OR 2): NUMBER OF CHILDREN SUSPENDED AT THIS GRADE LEVEL C1Q49 C2Q49
SCHOOLING #(1 OR 2): NUMBER CHILDREN EXPELLED AT THIS GRADE LEVEL C1Q50 C2Q50

For some children, information was obtained from more than one school, since the child attended more than one school during the interview window. The question names for variables from the Child Schooling Questionnaire are prefixed with a "C" following by the school number (1 or 2). Titles for questions from the first school begin wtih "SCHOOLING #1", and titles for questions from the second school begin with "SCHOOLING #2".

BPI Scale

As part of the antisocial subscale of the Behavior Problems Index, completed by mothers in all survey years for children ages 4 and older, there are two items related to school discipline:

BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS INDEX: CHILD IS DISOBEDIENT AT SCHOOL
BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS INDEX: CHILD HAS TROUBLE GETTING ALONG WITH TEACHER

The BPI items are assigned to the MOTHER SUPPLEMENT area of interest for each survey year. Since 2008, the BPI items are also assigned to the ASSESSMENT ITEMS area of interest.

Survey Instruments Questions related to school discipline are found in the Mother Supplement. Questions about school suspensions and expulsions were asked as part of the Child School Survey.
Areas of Interest MOTHER SUPPLEMENT
CHILD SCHOOL SURVEY
CHILD SUPPLEMENT
ASSESSMENT ITEMS

 

Young Adult

While Young Adult respondents are not asked explicitly about any school discipline, they do provide information about the main reason they left school, as well as the main reason for any gaps in secondary school attendance, with one of the answer categories for those questions being suspension/expulsion.

Comparison to Other NLS Cohorts: The 1980 NLSY79 survey included several questions on school discipline problems: whether respondents had ever been suspended or expelled from school, and if so, the number of times, date of most recent disciplinary action, and when/if the youth had returned to school. Similar to the Young Adult, the questions in the NLSY79 schooling section about reasons for nonenrollment include expulsion/suspension. Information was collected on behavior problems evidenced by children of NLSY79 respondents that resulted in either the parent's notification or disciplinary action. NLSY97 respondents are asked whether they have been suspended and, if so, for what periods. The Young Women and the Young Men surveys ask respondents whether they have ever been suspended or expelled from school. For more precise details about the content of each survey, consult the appropriate cohort User's Guide using the tabs above for more information.

Survey Instruments Questions related to school discipline are found in the Young Adult Instrument, Section 4, Regular Schooling.
Area of Interest YA Schooling