School personnel perceptions of students with disabilities: A study of special education student discipline

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of high school principal, special education teacher, and key school personnel perceptions of the process that leads to disciplining students with disabilities. Case Study methodology was used to ascertain the perceptions of eleven participants employed at a Mid-Western high school, purposefully selected based on their experience with the research topic. Data were gathered through face-to-face interviews, field notes, and documents related to the discipline of students with disabilities. The findings indicated that (1) students with disabilities potentially have the capacity to harm themselves or others; (2) school personnel consider the student's disability before implementing discipline; (3) the participants followed the rules governing students with disabilities discipline delineated by federal, state, and local authorities; (4) the participants noted a willingness to see things from the perspective of the student with disabilities when considering discipline; and (5) the participants noted a willingness to use personal experience as a basis for introspection and examination when considering discipline. I concluded that (1) students with disabilities who harm themselves or others is a major concern for the participants; (2) the participants placed value upon considering the student's disability before implementing discipline; (3) school personnel followed the rules mandated for disciplining students with disabilities; and (4) school personnel appeared to see merit in employing the tenets of Symbolic Interaction Theory and Phenomenology Theory as I interpret them to aid them in understanding the process of disciplining students with disabilities. These conclusions led to the following recommendations (1) training on how school personnel might deal with students who harm themselves or others; (2) consider establishing an on-site compliance facilitator at other schools; (3) identification of a particular theory/plan to follow to systemize the processes of disciplining students with disabilities; and (4) future research within and outside state related to the discipline of students with disabilities.