Investigating Advanced School Surveillance Practices and Disproportionality: A Systematic Review

Abstract

This review synthesizes research on advanced school surveillance practices, where schools routinely monitor and sort students and their data in pursuit of safety and security goals. Our review of 31 studies confirms the concentrated presence of surveillance technologies in schools serving predominantly poor and minoritized students, and their mixed effects on students’ perceived safety. However, we find research lags behind contemporary school security practices. Little attention is paid to the advanced capabilities of available school security technologies, the ways they are incorporated into schools’ academic and disciplinary structures, and their effects on disparate student groups’ school outcomes.