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Open Access Publications from the University of California

Scholarly Works (4 results)

  • Article
  • Peer Reviewed
UC Irvine Previously Published Works (2020)
Most scholars have focused on the simple presence of schools when examining their influence on neighborhood crime. This paper instead examines two school characteristics that might affect local juvenile crime. More specifically, this study uses negative binomial and logistic regression models to estimate the effects of high school dropouts and high-performing schools on juvenile violent crime in Orange County, CA. An integrated theoretical approach based on social bond and routine activity theories is utilized to guide this research. Findings from this study suggest that dropouts are associated with increases in aggravated assault and robbery incidents, but high-performing schools do not significantly affect these crime types. Finally, the models predicting juvenile crime are compared with models predicting all crime (both juveniles and adults), supporting our argument that juvenile crime is the theoretically appropriate crime measure.
    Cover page: Schools and neighborhood crime: The effects of dropouts and high-performing schools on juvenile crime
    • Thesis
    • Peer Reviewed
    UC Irvine Electronic Theses and Dissertations (2017)

    This dissertation addresses several important gaps in the literature on school discipline to gain a better understanding of how the school contributes to disciplinary outcomes. I focus on school rather than individual differences (suggesting contextual importance) and apply neighborhood and conflict theories to school discipline (shedding light on race and class differences). Using southern California as a research site, this project analyzes the contextual effects of exclusionary discipline in three complementary studies: 1) an examination of school and neighborhood influences on exclusionary discipline, 2) a macro-level analysis of the school-to-prison pipeline, and 3) a study that examines whether exclusionary discipline improves school safety. In each study, I incorporate “nontraditional” schools (i.e., continuation, alternative, opportunity, etc.) – an often-ignored subgroup of students – to better understand how these same processes unfold in schools with at-risk, highly stigmatized students.

    More specifically, the first study assesses how the school and the surrounding neighborhood influence exclusion rates and create a more punitive environment for students. I frame this chapter using racial threat and social reproduction to better understand how school and neighborhood contexts combine to punish poor and minority students and maintain social and economic inequalities. The second study tests the school-to-prison pipeline hypothesis that an unintended consequence of current school safety and discipline practices is increased crime. Guided by social disorganization and routine activity theories, I analyze how suspensions and expulsions impact neighborhood crime. Finally, the third study examines whether or not the use of punitive discipline actually improves school safety by reducing crime. I use longitudinal school discipline and crime data for the largest school district in California to address this question.

      Cover page: Structural Inequality in School Discipline: Regulating Intolerance in Public Schools
      • Article
      • Peer Reviewed
      UC Irvine Previously Published Works (2015)

      Objectives

      We examine whether state educational standards regarding tobacco correspond with teacher reports of classroom instruction.

      Methods

      We test this relation with data on tobacco use prevention standards, reports of middle and high school teachers from the 2008 and 2010 School Health Profiles study, and logistic regression models.

      Results

      State education standards are significantly related to increased likelihood of a lead health education teacher in that state reporting that the specific topic was taught in the school. These relationships are stronger for middle school teachers than for high school teachers.

      Conclusions

      Associations between state standards and teacher reports of actual instruction are consistent with education standards influencing the teaching of these health education topics.
        Cover page: State Education Standards for Tobacco Prevention and Classroom Instruction
        • Article
        • Peer Reviewed
        UC Irvine Previously Published Works (2014)

        Purpose

        Three fourths of public schools in the United States maintain instructional programs to discourage alcohol, tobacco, and other drug (ATOD) use. State-sanctioned instructional standards attempt to direct this ATOD preventive education. No existing research, however, systematically codes these standards across all grades and states. We performed such an analysis.

        Methods

        We retrieved ATOD standards information from all 50 states and the District of Columbia from multiple sources, including the National Association of State Boards of Education's State School Health Policy Web site. Three independent researchers classified and cross-validated ATOD standards (inter-rater agreement = 98%) based on recommended content domains and pedagogic delivery methods.

        Results

        We find substantial grade-level variation in standards. Elementary schools emphasize generic social skills and affective skills, whereas middle and high school standards focus on knowledge about biological and behavioral consequences of ATOD use. States also vary widely in their content and coverage of standards. Two thirds of states do not include standards in all content areas considered "evidence-based."

        Conclusions

        The ATOD curricular agenda for the majority of states falls well below recommended content and delivery benchmarks. We intend for our harmonized data set-the first of its kind-to promote research that examines the relation among state ATOD standards, actual classroom instruction, and adolescent ATOD use.
          Cover page: State-Level Education Standards for Substance Use Prevention Programs in Schools: A Systematic Content Analysis
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