Individual- and School-Level Predictors of Student Office Disciplinary Referrals

Abstract

Research has widely documented the over-representation of office disciplinary referrals (ODRs) among specific student groups (e.g., African American, boys). Despite extant research documenting individual-level predictors of ODRs, few studies have accounted for the nested structure of the settings in which these events occur. Guided by critical race theory and social-ecological theory, this study uses multilevel modeling to examine individual- and school-level predictors of student ODRs. Archival data were examined among 1,442 students in a high-poverty urban school district. The majority of students were male (66.4%), African American (56.2%), and in middle school (63.2%). Results revealed that individual-level characteristics significantly predicted student disciplinary referrals even when accounting for school-level variables. Racial/ethnic-minority concentration was positively associated with ODRs for physically aggressive behavior. Finally, results revealed moderation effects, such that schools with lower student–teacher ratios had more ODRs for physically aggressive behavior among students in elementary school grades. Schools with higher student–teacher ratios had more ODRs for insubordination among middle school students. This study illustrates that disproportionality among African American students remains, even when compared with other ethnic-minority groups within a high-poverty urban context, and that school-level factors (e.g., racial/ethnic concentration, student–teacher ratio) are associated with office referral rates. Implications for research and practice are discussed.