Is school discipline decapitalizing America's youth?: Examining the effect of school discipline on family, peer, teacher, and school social capital

Abstract

Although the impact of school discipline on future life outcomes is widely studied, examination of the effect of school discipline on social capital is sparse. Investigating the influence of school discipline on social capital could enhance our understanding of the collateral consequences and long-term implications of school discipline. Using nationally representative data and hierarchical linear modeling on 10,605 students nested within 132 schools from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, this study examines whether receiving school discipline influences family, peer, teacher, and school social capital. Findings indicate that school discipline decreases teacher and school social capital, but not family or peer social capital, controlling for demographic, behavioral, and school characteristics. The results suggest that school discipline can displace students from beneficial social connections. As such, future theory and research should account for the broad social implications of school discipline, and school policy should work to maintain the social capital of disciplined students.