School-Based Activities, Misbehavior, Discipline, and Racial and Ethnic Disparities

School-based discipline can negatively shape the educational outcomes of students, particularly for racial and ethnic minorities. Because racial and ethnic minority youth are at risk for educational failure and marginalized within schools, academic and sport extracurricular activities are often presented as a means to ameliorate educational risk factors. Little is known, however, about the relationship between involvement in these activities and school-based discipline, particularly for racial and ethnic minority youth. This study uses data from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 and incorporates multilevel modeling techniques to examine whether the relationship between academic and sport extracurricular activities, misbehavior, and school-based discipline varies by race and ethnicity. This study suggests that while academic and sport extracurricular activities reduce the likelihood of school-based discipline for White students, the relationships for racial and ethnic minority are complex. The implications of the racial and ethnic disparity in school-based discipline in the United States are discussed.