Administrative discretion and youth violence in schools: An analysi

The premise undergirding this dissertation is that discretion is central to administrative decision-making. Discretion confers flexibility and permits individualized treatment. It can yield consistency or disparity in decisions depending on administrative values, social constraints and decision context. Given this premise, this study investigates the role of discretion by educational administrators in response to youth violence in schools.;The study is situated in an interdisciplinary literature review that draws from work in social and cognitive psychology, law, criminology and social work. The perspectives yielded by this review provide both theoretical and empirical grounding for this study.;The study combined qualitative and quantitative methods of data-collection and analysis. Participants were secondary school administrators in one suburban and one urban district. Responses from semi-structured interviews with 10 administrators from each district form the basis of the qualitative analysis. Questionnaires distributed to administrators in the two districts were analyzed using simple frequency distributions and cross-tabulations. A total of 71 out of 107 questionnaires were returned.;The analyses revealed that administrative discretion is influenced by a range of factors. School administrators attempt to balance the needs of the individual student with those of the larger student population. Diverse ideologies of administrators, lack of common purpose of disciplinary procedures, contradictory beliefs on the effectiveness of student suspensions and subjective assessments of students influence administrative discretion. Preparing a defensible position counters administrative subjectivity. Further, the study revealed that parental status can influence documentation procedures.;In addition, there is some evidence to suggest that youth violence (while incidents are rare) in schools is becoming more serious. Severity of incidents is determined by the extent of the victim's injury. Administrators in the suburban district, struggling with overcrowding and the integration of diverse school populations, are more likely to rate youth violence as a problem. Most administrators in both districts report that their schools are safe.;This dissertation concludes with recommendations concerning the need for: increased dialogue among school administrators regarding the inherently problematic nature of discretion, student discipline and documentation practices, and the complex problem of youth violence in schools; early intervention strategies involving collaboration; heightened awareness of student diversity; modifications to the physical design of schools; and greater appreciation for the achievements of youths.