Researchers have identified numerous risk and protective factors that might provide insight into the academic difficulties and success that Hispanic adolescents experience. Maladjusted outcomes cannot be attributed to a single risk factor; risk factors do not act in isolation and often have complex relationships with other risk factors. This study uses an ecological risk factor model that suggests that there are multiple risk factors related to adolescent being placed in an alternative education setting and that these risk factors exist at six levels: community-based factors, school-based factors, peer-based factors, family-based factors, child's perception factors, and acculturation-based factors. The purpose of this study is to examine differences in the protective and risk factors in the area of family, community, school, peers, child?s perception, and acculturation levels between Hispanic males who have been placed in DAEP (Disciplinary Alternative Education Placement) and their same aged Hispanic male peers who have not been previously placed in the DAEP. The sample for this study (N=119) was collected from a large urban school district in Texas. The participants were seventh and eighth graders between the ages of 12 and 16 years of age. The non-DAEP group was comprised of a majority of 7th grade students (71.7%), while the DAEP group had a larger number of 8th grade students (62.7%). This study addressed four research questions. The first question investigated if there was a difference between the two groups when the ecological levels where combined to create a cumulative risk score. The non-DAEP group had significantly lower cumulative risk scores than the DAEP. The second research question investigated if there was a difference in each cumulative risk index (i.e., family, school, peers, community, child?s perception, and acculturation) between the two groups. There was no significant difference found between the non-DAEP and DAEP group for family-based risk scores or the child's perception risk scores; however, a significant difference was found between the two groups on the peer-based, community-based, acculturation-based, and school-based factors. The third question examined the unique contribution school, peers, community, family, and acculturation makes in the prediction of the child?s perception factor for Hispanic males. A hierarchical multiple regression suggested only the community-based, family-based, and acculturation-based variables made a significant contribution to the child's perception factor. The fourth question examined if the child's perception factor mediated the relationship between placement in the DAEP and the family-based, community-based, peer-based, school-based, and acculturation-based factors. The effects of the five variables on group placement and child's perception factors were assessed through the use of structural equation modeling using the program AMOS. (Analysis of Movement Structures; See Figure 2).

Interaction with their students during classroom instruction is often a source of stress among many teachers. The academic setting of Disciplinary Alternative Educational Programs (DAEP) poses a risk factor for teachers to experience stress, given that student disruptive behavior has been associated with higher stress levels among teachers. The problem underlying this study was that most studies on DAEP have focused on the experiences of students, with limited information available about the experiences of teachers in this type of academic setting. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the role of job-related stress and coping on the job performance of DAEP teachers, from a transactional theory of stress and coping approach. This exploration was grounded in the theoretical lens of the transactional theory of stress and coping, which served as the link between the importance of the psychological health of teachers and the successful administration of public programs. The geographical setting of the study was a single DAEP campus. Data were collected using 20 individual, face-to-face semi structured interviews. Data were analyzed using the modified van Kaam method of phenomenological analysis, which involves the systematic analysis of data through the process of dividing large quantities of qualitative data into smaller units of meaning. The results produced significant thematic themes. The findings from this study could help scholars and practitioners gain important insight about job-related stressors in DAEP, which could facilitate the improvement of administration and development policies in order to promote a positive work environment in DAEP settings.

Students are referred to alternative schools such as the Disciplinary Alternative Education Program (DAEP) for violations against the student code of conduct. Students who are referred and attend DAEPs are more likely to make failing grades and drop out of school permanently. However, a lack of understanding existed about why some students repeatedly receive referrals to the DAEP.The purpose of this case study was to gain an understanding about why some students are repeatedly being sent to the DAEP in a school district in north central Texas. The conceptual framework was based on Catalano and Hawkins' social development theory which posited that through consistent socialization, children learn prosocial or antisocial behavior patterns from the social units to which they are bonded. In this study, 14 purposefully selected classroom teachers participated in one-on-one conversational interviews to explore teachers' perceptions about why some students are repeatedly sent to the DAEP. Inductive analysis was used for coding and identifying emerging concepts, themes, and events. Six major themes emerged from analysis of the data: school structure, classroom/behavior management, class size, student labeling, extracurricular activities, and teacher-student relationships. The results illustrate the need for changes to disciplinary policies, new transition procedures, and improved staff training. This study may contribute to positive social change by suggesting strategies that schools could use to decrease the number of referrals to the DAEP. In turn, by decreasing the number of referrals school failure and dropout rates would decrease and as a result enable youth to eventually become productive members of society.

The overrepresentation of African American students in special education coupled with their disproportionate disciplinary sanctions is a contentious educational issue. An examination of extant literature suggests that African American students are more likely to be referred to special education; placed in a stigmatizing disability category; educated in a restricted educational settings; and least likely to return to a general classroom setting. Equally disturbing, these students are more likely to be cited for subjective disciplinary sanctions and least likely to be educated with their peers. This is disturbing because the labeling of special education coupled with disciplinary sanctions can negatively impact this sector of students’ educational opportunities, psychological image, long-term goals and aspirations, and their overall quality of life. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between discretionary removal, special education, and African American students. More specific, this study sought to determine the trends of discretionary removal for special education students as defined by Texas Education Code 37, and whether these types of disciplinary measures had a disparate impact on African American special education students’ school completion rate. The findings for this study, revealed a diverse district with a large percentage of economically disadvantaged students and a special education population that was aligned to the state average. Chi-square results revealed a relationship between discretionary removal and Latina/o and White students and students who were identified as economically disadvantaged. In addition, logistic regression results showed ethnicity for Latina/o student who were served by special education was a significant predictor for discretionary removal. Conversely, disability category, economic status, and ethnicity were all significant predictors for school dropouts for special education students who were cited for discretionary removal. Moreover, African Americans who were not evident in the chi-square analysis were significantly associated with discretionary removal. Furthermore, interviews of administrators revealed special education students who did not have an Individual Education Plan (IEP) that purposefully addressed disciplinary issues were purportedly treated no differently than students without a disability. / text

Zero-tolerance discipline policies have been in use in U.S. schools for almost 25 years. Since their enactment in the 1990s, researchers have found that zero tolerance disciplinary policies and practices can cause students to enter the school-to-prison pipeline. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand the perceptions of middle-school male students of color regarding the discipline process on a campus that supplemented zero-tolerance discipline with restorative practices (RPs). Additional intents of this study were to discover the challenges students encountered when they returned from a disciplinary alternative education program (DAEP) and determine whether RPs helped or hindered their transition to the home campus. Six middle-school male students of color who were placed at the district's DAEP and returned to their home campus participated in the study. The conceptual framework was based on Braithwaite's concept of stigmatized shame following an exclusion and Nathanson's human reactions to shame. The study yielded seven major themes: (a) student perceptions of exclusion, (b) behaviors related to exclusion from school, (c) human reactions to shame—attacking others, (d) human reactions to shame—avoidance, (e) the need for reintegration and acceptance, (f) traumatic events, and (g) dissonance in the discipline process.