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34 Deviant Behav. 1 (2013)

handle is hein.journals/devbh34 and id is 1 raw text is: Deviant Behavior, 34: 1-10, 2013 *W Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC E Rouledge ISSN: 0163-9625 print/ 1521-0456 online mtTaylor & Francis Group DOI: 10.1080/01639625.2012.679891 Bad Behavior, Ethnicity, and Level of School Diversity Lai Kwan Pei, Craig J. Forsyth, Susan K. Teddlie, Gary Asmus, and Billy R. Stokes The University of Louisiana, Lafayette, Lafayette, Louisiana, USA This article examines the relationship between discipline problems, ethnicity, and the diversity level of schools. Four levels of diversity in schools were created. Results are inconclusive as to whether school desegregation helps to reduce behavioral problems; although the somewhat segregated school and the segregated school have lower percentages of students with behavioral problems when compared to the diverse school and the somewhat segregated school, which have slightly higher expulsion rates and higher percentages of violent behaviors. Somewhat diverse schools have the highest percentage of high frequency offenders. Black youth overshadow all other groups in terms of bad behavior. They have the highest suspension/expulsion rates compared to other groups and the highest in-group suspension/expulsion rates at each of the four levels of schools. INTRODUCTION Research has demonstrated that student demographic characteristics, such as ethnicity and gender, influence student achievement not only at an individual level but also at an aggregate or school level (Rumberger 1987). The purpose of this research was to investigate whether the same can be said of student disciplinary outcomes (i.e., whether the ethnic diversity of the school affect the behavior of the students). PERSPECTIVES A number of studies show the importance of the socioeconomic composition of schools in predicting student cognitive outcomes (Hall and Leeson 2010; Hanushek et al., 2002; Rumberger 1987). Other studies suggest a relationship between school composition and behavioral outcomes as well. For example, Marsh and Cornell (2001) found that when compared to ethnicity, a stu- dent's school experience contributes more to high-risk behaviors. McNeal (1997) also concludes that dropping out of school is not an individual-based process. Instead, his research has led him to believe that researchers should address elements such as family, peer group, church, community, school district, and state characteristics that affect student behavior. Guryan (2004) estimated that half of the decline in black dropout rates during the 1970s occurred because of desegregation. Therefore, the ethnicity of each student is not independent from each other. Each ethnic group Received 23 August 2011; accepted 18 January 2012. Address correspondence to Craig J. Forsyth, P.O. Box 41652, Department of Criminal Justice, University of Louisiana, Lafayette, Lafayette, LA 70504, USA. E-mail: Cjf5714@louisiana.edu

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