Seclusion Amongst Elementary and High School Students: An Analysis of the Role of Demographic Variables in the Use of Seclusion in Kansas Schools

Abstract

Background Background Demographic variables are suspected to influence seclusion rates in educational settings. However, little is known about the connections between these variables and reported incidents of seclusion, particularly how seclusion is influenced by gender, special education status, race, and eligibility for free and reduced lunch.Purpose Purpose The purpose of this study was to understand the relationships between demographic variables and seclusion rates for elementary and high school students. It was hypothesized that all predictor variables were directly related to the outcome variable in both cases.Design/Method Design/Method This study utilized data from the Kansas Discipline Incident System (Kan-Dis), which is an online web application accessible by all educational facilities in order to provide information regarding discipline incidents to the Kansas State Department of Education. Data were analyzed using a multiple linear regression model to understand the relationships between demographic variables and seclusion rates. More specifically, data were analyzed using R. Pearson's product moments correlation coefficient was utilized with a significance level set at a minimum of 0.001 with confidence intervals set at 95%.Results Results Gender, race, special education status, and eligibility for free and reduced lunch were all determined to be positive and significant predictors of seclusion at the elementary level. At the high school level, special education acted as the only significant and positive predictor of seclusion while race and eligibility for free and reduced lunch were positive predictors but not significant. Gender was a negative predictor and was not significant.Conclusions Conclusions Results show that connections exist amongst demographic variables and seclusion rates at the elementary and high school levels. Demographic variables are suspected to influence seclusion rates in educational settings. However, little is known about the connections between these variables and reported incidents of seclusion, particularly how seclusion is influenced by gender, special education status, race, and eligibility for free and reduced lunch. The purpose of this study was to understand the relationships between demographic variables and seclusion rates for elementary and high school students. It was hypothesized that all predictor variables were directly related to the outcome variable in both cases. This study utilized data from the Kansas Discipline IncidentSystem (Kan-Dis), which is an online web application accessible by all educational facilities in order to provide information regarding discipline incidents to the Kansas State Department of Education. Data were analyzed using a multiple linear regression model to understand the relationships between demographic variables and seclusion rates. More specifically, data were analyzed using R. Pearson's product moments correlation coefficient was utilized with a significance level set at a minimum of 0.001 with confidence intervals set at 95%....