The racial landscape of metropolitan areas in the United States has shifted significantly over the past decade. PSTC sociologist Jennifer Candipan recently received funding from the Russell Sage Foundation to pursue innovative research that will explore the relationship between changing neighborhood racial populations and shifts in school discipline.

For this study, Candipan and co-investigator Chantal A. Hailey of the University of Texas at Austin are combining and analyzing national data from the U.S. Census, the U.S. Department of Education Civil Rights Database, and the School Attendance Boundary Information System covering an eight-year span (2010-2018) to identify changes in a variety of neighborhoods’ racial makeups and the discipline rates of their local schools.

The researchers are giving particular attention to exclusionary school discipline methods such as suspension, expulsion, and arrests. "Understanding these adverse disciplinary actions is critical because previous research has shown that they are associated with students’ academic achievement, long-term educational attainment, labor market earnings, and criminal legal system involvement," Candipan explains.

While Professors Candipan and Hailey are primarily interested in institutional-level dynamics—i.e., the relationship between shifts in neighborhood racial composition and changing racial disparities in school discipline at the neighborhood school—they will also conduct intersectional analyses. These examinations will include questions on gendered racial experiences, neighborhood contexts (rural, suburban, and urban), and school levels (elementary, middle, and high schools).

The team aims to contribute key knowledge about how discipline is racialized in areas undergoing racial change. With their findings, they hope to impact policy and practice that will improve the lives of individuals and communities facing structural disadvantage. By making this project’s longitudinal data publicly available, Candipan and Hailey will also provide a foundational framework for future inquiries in this field and expand opportunities to other researchers seeking to better understand associations between changing neighborhood compositions and students’ schooling experiences.