Findings from a new study led by C4IE researchers has been featured in the media, tracking NSW public school students for over a decade. The study revealed repeated suspensions for many students, with disadvantaged students more likely to be suspended or expelled.
In an article on The Conversation, C4IE Health and Wellbeing Program Co-lead Professor Kristin Laurens, C4IE HDR student Lauren Piltz and C4IE Director Professor Linda Graham highlight two different issues: a pattern of students becoming desensitised to “last resort” measures of suspension or expulsion from using these measures too early, and the need for far more intensive academic, emotional, and behavioural support for some students.
“This research makes clear that exclusion is not an effective response,” Professor Laurens said in an interview with QUT Media. “Instead of removing children from school, we need to focus on inclusive, evidence-based strategies that teach social, emotional and behavioural skills from the early years.”
A feature on EducationHQ observed that the findings echo another study which examined the impact of eliminating suspensions for low-level disorderly behaviour, with results showing improvements in test scores benefitting all students – not just those who would have been suspended themselves.
Read the full paper Students’ accumulation of disciplinary school exclusion experiences over time: Prevalence, patterns, and correlates in an Australian population cohort online, featuring C4IE researchers: first author Lauren Piltz, co-authors Professor Linda Graham and Dr Emma Carpendale, and corresponding author Professor Kristin Laurens.
Main photo (left to right): Professor Linda Graham, Lauren Piltz, Dr Emma Carpendale and Professor Kristin Laurens