Is the School-To-Prison Pipeline Just for Boys? The Effect of School Punishment Across Gender

• Author: Racheal Pesta
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/15570851221115853
• Published date: 01 January 2023
• Date: 01 January 2023
• Subject Matter: Articles

Article

Feminist Criminology

2023, Vol. 18(1) 65–88

© The Author(s) 2022

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DOI: 10.1177/15570851221115853

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Is the School-To-Prison

Pipeline Just for Boys? The

Effect of School Punishment

Across Gender

Racheal Pesta

1



Abstract

Boys are overrepresented in school punishment, dropout, and delinquency setting

them on a path towards criminal offending. There is limited research on the effect of

school punishment among females and if that effect varies across gender. Informed by a

labeling perspective, this study examines the effect of exclusionary discipline on

dropout, delinquency, and criminal offending among males and females. Special at-

tention is paid to the role of school bonding as a potential gendered mechanism that

protects female students from negative outcomes associated with school punishment.

Results suggest both similarities and differences in the effect of exclusionary discipline

across gender.

Keywords

school-to-prison pipeline, punishment, gender, labeling, school bond

One of the most consistent f‌indings in the study of crime and delinquency is that males

engage in such behaviors at a much higher rate than females; a phenomenon known as

the “gender gap in offending”(Lauritsen et al., 2009;Steffensmeier et al., 2005).

Research shows that this gap develops well before adulthood with the most apparent

1

Department of Sociology, Anthropology, Criminology & Social Work, Eastern Connecticut State University,

Willimantic, CT, USA

Corresponding Author:

Racheal Pesta, Department of Sociology, Anthropology, Criminology & Social Work, Eastern Connecticut

State University, 83 Windham Street, Willimantic, CT 06226, USA.

Email: pestar@easternct.edu

differences emerging during adolescent school years (Daigle et al., 2007;Payne, 2009;

Rosenbaum & Lasley, 1990). Gender differences in school misconduct and the

sanctioning decisions applied to such behaviors, including suspensions and expulsions,

begin as early as preschool (U.S. Department of Education, 2014). According to a

recent study by the U.S. Government Accountability Off‌ice (2018), male students make

up 54% of all public pre-school students yet account for 78% of those suspended from

pre-school; a trend that persists throughout their school careers. Males make up 51% of

the overall K-12 population, but account for 66% of school disciplinary actions and

roughly 70% of those referred to law enforcement while females are underrepresented

in both school disciplinary action and law enforcement referrals (U.S. Government

Accountability Off‌ice, 2018).

The detrimental effects of school discipline and law enforcement referrals is well

documented. Far from an effective deterrent, research consistently demonstrates that

out-of-school suspensions and expulsions are associated with a host of future problems

such as low educational attainment, truancy, subsequent suspensions, and involvement

in the juvenile and criminal justice system (Fabelo et al., 2011;Shollenberger, 2015;

Skiba et al., 2014). The relationship between school discipline and involvement in the

juvenile and/or criminal justice systems is known as the school-to-prison pipeline in

which students are pushed out of school making them vulnerable to the justice system.

Alas, like the gender gap in offending, males are overrepresented in school punishment,

dropout, and delinquency setting them on a path towards criminal offending (Owens,

2016;Skiba et al., 2002). There is however a paucity of research on the effect of school

exclusionary policies on female students. Most work either controls for gender or

focuses exclusively on male students (for exceptions see Annamma et al., 2019;Morris,

2016).

While schools employ a multitude of informal punishment techniques such as peer-

to-peer counseling, mediation, timeouts, and community service, males tend to be

formally punished at much higher rates than females (Education Commission of the

States, 2021). Although, it should be noted that recent literature has found this effect

varies signif‌icantly across race with black females out pacing white males in suspension

rates (Annamma et al., 2019;Morris, 2016). Still, even with recent attention on the

criminalization of black female students, it remains unclear if school punishment

similarly affects males and females in general. That is, are female students who are

suspended and/or expelled just as susceptible to future sanctions and negative outcomes

as their male peers? Moreover, how much of the gender gap in the school-to-prison

pipeline is a product of reactions to and consequences of sanctions as opposed to

differences in punishable behavior? While recent literature has focused on the latter and

disparities in the decision to punish, this study seeks to determine what happens after

the sanction has been applied (regardless of its eff‌icacy). Therefore, I examine if the

effect of school discipline varies across gender

1

by asking: does out-of-school sus-

pension and/or expulsion increase the likelihood of delinquency, dropping out of

school, and offending into adulthood for females?

66 Feminist Criminology 18(1)