From Challenging Behaviour to Behaviour that Challenges Us to Do Better: A Reconsideration of Exclusionary Discipline
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Authors
Vaessen, Rachel
Issue Date
2026-01
Type
Capstone
Language
en
Keywords
attachment , exclusionary discipline , power , school climate , school culture
Alternative Title
Abstract
School counsellors are uniquely positioned within schools to support students and staff because while they typically do not take part in disciplinary processes, one of their primary roles is to support vulnerable students. Despite evidence over the past two decades demonstrating the ineffectiveness and harmful impacts of exclusionary discipline, schools continue to use lunch-time detentions, in- and out-of-school suspensions, and expulsions to punish students for behavioural transgressions. The purpose of this capstone is to review the literature to explore discipline through a biopsychosocial lens in order to understand the factors that contribute to continued reliance upon exclusionary discipline and what is at stake for students. Key findings of the capstone are that student early experiences have the potential for influencing their nervous systems and attachment relationships in such a way that they are primed for conflict within the education system and that new understandings of student behaviour provide rationale for renewed emphasis on relationship-focused student-centred practices in order to create school cultures and climates where discipline supports student growth and development as people. At the same time, it is apparent that internal beliefs and external pressures play a role in maintaining the status quo. School counsellors have a unique opportunity to support administration in shifting discipline practices to make them congruent with new conceptual frameworks.
Description
Citation
Publisher
License
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States
openAccess
openAccess