When Demographics Matter: How Parental Attributes Shape Responses to Zero-Tolerance Discipline in Urban Informal Schools in Nairobi,Kenya

Abstract

Zero-tolerance policies in school discipline have been widely criticized for their disproportionate effects on marginalized students, yet little attention has been paid to how such policies shape the lives of parents. This article draws on a phenomenological study of 20 parents living in Kibera, Nairobi’s largest informal settlement, to explore how demographic attributes moderate parental experiences of zero-tolerance discipline. Findings show that gender, marital status, income, education, household size, and access to support systems significantly shaped parents’ responses and coping strategies. Single mothers and widows reported intensified caregiving and economic burdens; casual laborers and self-employed parents faced immediate income losses when summoned to schools; and less-educated parents often complied silently, while better-educated parents demanded fairness and accountability. Large households experienced compounded stress, while smaller households concentrated it on a single parent-child dyad. Coping strategies included prayer, community mediation, and reliance on school networks, but stigma often silenced families. The study demonstrates that zero-tolerance discipline functions as an amplifier of inequality in contexts of urban poverty, transforming school misconduct into family-level crises. It concludes by calling for equity-oriented, restorative approaches that engage parents as partners and acknowledge the socio-economic realities of families in informal settlements.