Research Paper on Perceptions of Administrators, Counselors, and Teachers

Introduction

The primary purpose of this qualitative descriptive research was to examine and establish the perceptions of administrators, counselors, and teachers toward exclusionary discipline, its application, and alternatives in Dallas, Texas, within the Dallas Independent School District. The literature review identified the existing gap creating the need for additional research information on the perceptions of school administrators, teachers, and counselors regarding exclusionary discipline. According to Curran (2016), the emphasis on 'zero-tolerance' in schools has been associated with the increased application of exclusionary discipline as the preferred form of learner behavior management.

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The primary aim of chapter three is to explain and provide justification on of the research methodology in the process of data finding by providing procedure and tools to enable the reader or interest researcher who need to confirm the research finding. The chapter starts with a description of the research sample size and target population by providing relevant information.

According to Quinlan, Babin, Carr, & Griffin, (2019), collection of quality data that provide substantial finding based on the research problem heavily depends on the selection and use of suitable and reliable research methods. The chapter also describes the research design used in the study alongside ethical consideration factors and principles that guides the research while carrying out the research.

Statement of the Problem

The problem addressed by the researcher is that It is not known the perceptions of administrators, counselors, and teachers toward exclusionary discipline, its application, and alternatives. According to Thomas, (2017), as a result of limited research findings, knowledge concerning exclusionary discipline and alternative discipline among the key stakeholders who influence the discipline climate and systems is a legitimate concern on the implementation of effective discipline in schools. This has challenged school stakeholders when it comes to school discipline and leadership. It requires a combination of different methods and strategies to provide safety of learners exclusively without causing demotivation and discouragement among learners to ensure students continue posting credible results and performance in their studies even after admission of discipline at school (Cooper,2015).

Currently, learners get into trouble more often and receive school discipline referrals as a result of disruptive behaviors(Pfenninger et al.,2017). According to Cooper (2015), school expulsion in most cases leads to low performance of students and in most cases, leads to school dropout. Therefore, establishing stakeholder's perception and longtime effects related to regular school expulsion improves the level of academic standards in the country.

The study also establishes the perception of the education stakeholders, and the impacts regarding expulsion as a form of instilling discipline in school need to be elaborated to find out whether it is the best method against alternative techniques. The findings highlight significant implications concerning improvement school performances and moderation of behavior among ongoing school children and teenagers.

Research Study Questions

To gather relevant and valuable information and data, this qualitative phenomenological research was guided by specific research questions to enable and provide a guideline for the researcher(s) to stick to the main aim of the study. The following are research questions used in the study:

1. What is the perception of administrators, counselors, and teachers towards exclusionary discipline and the impacts of In-school suspensions, out-of-school suspensions, and expulsions forms of exclusionary discipline that are often used in the US?
2. Where do administrators, counselors, and teachers see exclusionary discipline on the spectrum of discipline?
3. What insights do administrators, counselors, and teachers have on the application of exclusionary discipline approaches?
4. What recommendations do administrators, counselors, and teachers have to either replace or modify exclusionary discipline?

The research questions developed based on the research problem and available literature material regarding exclusionary discipline approaches in the school of which are primarily designed to deter undesirable behavior at school. The research focused on real-life experiences and cases in schools.

Research Methods

Qualitative research method. The research used a Qualitative research method exclusively. The methodology was used to explore the perception of administrators, counselors, and teachers towards the exclusionary towards discipline application, and the alternatives. Being Interpretive, qualitative research allowed the user to study the situation in its natural setting. The use of qualitative methodology made it possible to focus on the reality wholly and also able to focus on the life experiences brought about by the participant. Every participant had a different perception of discipline and its application. Using qualitative methodology made it possible to gain an in-depth understanding of the perception the administrators, counselors, and teachers had toward discipline. According to Glesne (2016), the use of qualitative methodology enabled the researcher to capture even the personal information given by the respondents, which were recorded and made it possible to gain a better understanding of the perception of discipline.

Quantitative research method. According to Riff, Lacy, Fico, Watson, (2019), the quantitative methodology is aimed at seeking the truth by gathering statistical data and using it to do randomized experiments. The quantitative method aims at testing variables, unlike in Qualitative methodology that includes actual as well as the textual context of the experience, which are essential for determining perception. Quantitative being experimental and non-experimental in structure would not have allowed for the level of inquiry needed. The purpose of Quantitative is to predict a phenomenon, explain and control what is being researched on using numerical data. (Riff, Lacy, Fico, Watson,2019). The quantitative methodology would not have been used because the purpose was to determine the perception of administration and teachers towards discipline it's application but not comparing variables. The quantitative method would also not allow for explanations and detailed responses.

Mixed research method. The mixed-method combines both qualitative and quantitative in one research (Johnson, & Christensen, L2019). It is aimed at giving additional information on aspects that cannot be understood using either the qualitative or quantitative methods. This method is time-consuming and complicated. In this case, the researcher wanted to determine the perception. The best response was acquired through qualitative analysis.

Research Design

The purpose of this study was to explore the perception of administrators, councilors, and teachers towards the exclusionary discipline, its application, and alternatives. The reason why phenomenology design was used was to help to understand the perception of the people and their life experiences. This was in line with the purpose of the study. This design allowed to put into consideration the skills of the respondent and how they perceived discipline and its application. According to Tight (2016), phenomenological research has five steps. The steps are:(1) Identifying the phenomenon, (2) Determining the appropriateness of the phenomenological approach., (3) defining philosophical assumptions. ,(4) data collection, and (5) Analyzing data.

Phenomenology is the acquisition of information bases on the perception of an individual, their lived experiences, and also the sense (Flynn, & Korcuska,2018). It focusses on the reality that gives meaning to life. Facts are thus treated as pure phenomena and absolute data to know where to begin. To understand the existence, interpolation of experience must occur.

Phenomenological design is used to explore the importance of experience and prejudgment. Phenomenological puts into consideration the psychological and also the social phenomenon of the respondent. Where phenomenological research has been used, the respondents feel understood as they can express their feeling and also describe their experiences. In this research, for example, the respondents used face to face method to collect data and even the open-ended question. The use of this data collection method enabled the respondent to express their experiences fully. Hosing phenomenon approach made it possible to gain a more in-depth understanding of the people's perception. Using this design was appropriate as it did not lead to methods that could comprise the purpose of the research.

Population Sample Selection

Population and sample selection. The target population for this study was 34 high school teachers, 27 administrators, and 15 counselors in Dallas independent school district. Authorization to research this region was done through negotiation at the district level through the department of research (Sotola et al., .2019). The conversation was made from the district office through emails, and later a follow up was done through calls. The directors were also contacted through a letter. Application letters were also written to allow them to carry out the task. When the authorization was granted, the researcher wrote invitation letters and was mailed through the United Service Postal Address addressed to all schools. Later, phone calls followed to confirm the participation of the teachers, administrators, and counselors.

Research Material

Purposeful sampling was used to determine to identify the sample for this study. Purposive sampling is a technique that involved the identification and selection of individuals that were who had good knowledge about the phenomenon (Khan, & Ismail, 2019). To qualify as a respondent, they had to have worked in a school where an indiscipline case had occurred: the respondent's teachers, counselors, or an administrator. Five to ten years of experience was. This was to ensure that the respondent had a good understanding of the phenomenon to give an enhanced understanding of the problem. Data collection was done in 15 public schools in which the researcher worked was not considered to minimize the bias. The small sample size was considered because qualitative research methodology was used when having a considerable amount of data per person.

Sources of Data

To respond to the research questions in the study, the researcher used a semi-structured interview to gather information from respondents comprising of teachers, counselors, and the administrator. The qualitative interviews served to provide information for the study. The researcher also served as an interviewer in the survey. He would thus serve as the main instrument. The researcher used semi-structured interviews., this included the main question and an additional probing. The questions were designed in this manner to allow for a continuous conversation on the topic of research. The interview questions were serving as a guide. When asking these questions, the researcher would be able to get a deeper understanding of the participant's experience. Based on the participant's responses, the questions opened a door for an additional question. The researcher also had predetermined questions that were designed to seek clarification. The interview was conversational and flexible, which made the respondent be at ease and ready to share their experiences as well as giving all the required information. Having predetermined guided the researcher, and it would also help them to know when to ask the pr...