Minnesota Youth Poll: Youth's Views on School and School Discipline

Abstract

In this issue of the Minnesota Youth Poll, teenagers around the state discuss their opinions and experiences with school. Our goal is to provide an in-depth look, from the adolescent's point of view, at an institution which has a pervasive and profound effect on their day-to-day lives and their futures. A wide range of school issues are explored, and these include the goals of and purposes of education, overall quality of their schools, studentteacher relationships, compulsory education, discipline and order, and school rules. This study was prompted by several factors. First, the purposes of the Minnesota Youth Poll are: (1) to give Minnesota teenagers a voice to express their concerns to adults who provide services and make decisions affecting their lives, and (2) to expand factual and theoretical understanding of youth by learning how they perceive and understand issues significant to them. The school-its climate, program, and purpose-is clearly such an issue. Second, the public debate on the quality and purpose of secondary schools is primarily a debate between and among adults. Public schools are one of the few human service organizations in which consumer participation is not encouraged. The involvement of the "consumers" of education-the students-in assessment of and policy making in schools has been sporadic, and in the past decade, has declined significantly. Yet it is hard to imagine how thoughtful and worthwhile reform can take place without the input of students. It is our hope that this Youth Poll can have a role in bringing young people into the policy discussions about the future of the secondary school. Third, in previous Youth Polls such as Friendship, and Delinquency, teenage respondents have demonstrated that they have complex and sophisticated knowledge about issues which are part of their everyday lives. Indeed, on topics of high saliency to them, teenagers are thoughtful theorists and philosophers, whose ideas can provide valuable insight to those who seek to better understand and work with adolescents. By the nature of their involvement and the length of their tenure, teenagers are "experts" on schools. We would anticipate that this expertise may lead to new insights into how to better understand and organize schooling for adolescents. This poll is divided into two parts-the first covers purpose and climate of schools, and the second focuses on discipline and school rules. Appendix A contains the specific questions on each of these topics.