This annual report - Taranaki District Health Board

SCHOOL STAND-DOWNS, SUSPENSIONS,EXCLUSIONS AND EXPULSIONSIntroductionParticipation in secondary school is vital for academic achievement, with factors thatinterrupt participation potentially impacting on students’ educational outcomes. In NewZealand schools, stand-downs, suspensions, exclusions and expulsions are ways in whichthe system deals with student behaviour that disrupts the learning and wellbeing of otherstudents or staff. These approaches are not used lightly, with the intention being to helpstudents return to productive learning and relationships within the school community [59].The level of stand-downs, suspensions exclusions and expulsions are indicative of anabsence of engagement with learning. In New Zealand in 2011, the stand-down rates fellfor a fifth consecutive year, with stand-down, suspension and exclusion rates being at theirlowest level in 12 years [59]. Expulsion rates were equal with the previous lowest rate(from 2004). The most common reasons for suspensions and exclusions were for issuesrelated to student conduct, including continual disobedience, physical or verbal assaults onstaff or other students, and for other harmful or dangerous behaviours. In addition, asignificant number were suspended or excluded as a result of alcohol, drug use, orcigarette smoking.While for the majority of students a stand-down or suspension was a one off event, withthe time spent away from school being fairly limited (e.g. a few days–weeks), both NewZealand and overseas research suggest that adolescent conduct problems are associatedwith poorer long term outcomes, including educational underachievement (e.g. leavingschool early and without qualifications), unemployment and occupational instability duringyoung adulthood [60]. In exploring the determinants of conduct problems and how theyimpact on educational achievement, the Christchurch Longitudinal study noted that [60]:1. Conduct problems in middle childhood were associated with a range of factors includingyoung maternal age, lack of maternal qualifications, low parental occupational status,below average living standards, living in a sole parent household or a household withsignificant conflict, lower IQ and attention problems.2. In turn, conduct problems during childhood were associated with poorer schoolachievement (e.g. leaving school prior to 18 years with no qualifications). Some, but notall of this association could be explained by the fact that children with conduct problemscame from more disadvantaged backgrounds, which in turn was associated with poorereducational performance. Adjusting for these factors reduced the associations betweenconduct problems and poorer school achievement from a 4.8 fold excess risk to a 1.8fold excess risk (i.e. a significant, albeit reduced risk remained which could not beattributed to these factors).3. Those with conduct problems in childhood also tended to develop patterns of behaviourduring adolescence (e.g. cannabis use; suspension from school; affiliation with peerswho used cannabis, tobacco or alcohol, truanted or broke the law) which predisposed topoorer educational outcomes, and once these behavioural patterns were taken intoaccount, any residual associations between conduct problems and educationalachievement disappeared.The authors thus concluded that while socioeconomic, family and individual factorscontributed significantly to the onset of conduct problems during childhood and as aconsequence, accounted for a large part of the association between conduct problems andpoorer educational achievement in adolescence, a significant amount of the associationwas also due to the tendency for children with conduct disorders to develop affiliations withdelinquent peers, and patterns of substance use during adolescence, which reduced theircommitment to continuing with their education [60].Stand-downs Suspensions Exclusions and Expulsions - 137