This article details results of a qualitative research study completed with black and mixed-race students from a large urban middle school in the Southeast United States. It is unique in that it is one of few studies that allows first person student voice and perspective in the discussion of disproportionate disciplinary procedures. Educators may wish to use this article to reflect on students’ perceptions of exclusionary discipline to compare and contrast them with their own.
Kennedy-Lewis, Brianna L, and Murphy, Amy S. 2016. “Listening to “Frequent Flyers”: What Persistently Disciplined Students Have to Say About Being Labeled as “Bad.” Teachers College Record 1(18).
With revisions to the Collaborative and Proactive Solutions model, Dr. Greene looks to the etiology of classroom behavior challenges and provides teachers with tools to assist as they help children succeed at school.
Greene, Ross. 2014. Lost at School: Why Our Kids with Behavioral Challenges are Falling Through the Cracks and How We can Help Them. New York: Scribner.
The authors posit that interpretation of behavior of marginalized students is susceptible to prejudice, bias, and racist ideology.The articles points out that although PBIS frameworks are increasingly used in schools to support students, students of color continue to be overrepresented as needing supports within these frameworks.
Taylor, J. C., Hanley, W., Deger, G., & C. Hunter, W. (2022). Promoting Anti-Racism Practices and the Cycle of Critical Consciousness within Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports Frameworks. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/00400599221120242
Considered a seminal study in race and ethnicity in school discipline, this article describes the outcomes of a national investigation on disproportionate differences in discipline practices. The authors provide for practitioners both the systemic and individual changes required to improve educational opportunities for African American and Latino students in American schools.
Skiba, J., Horner, Robert H., Chung, Choong-Geun, Rausch, M. Karenga, May, Seth, and Tobin, Tary. 2011. “Race Is Not Neutral: A National Investigation of African American and Latino Disproportionality in School Discipline.” School Psychology Review 40, (1): 85–107.
In this article, esteemed scholars in equitable education Anne Gregory and Edward Fergus collaborate to investigate why focus on social-emotional learning does not ensure equity in school discipline.
Gregory, Anne, and Fergus, Edward. 2017. “Social and Emotional Learning and Equity in School Discipline.” The Future of Children 27, no. 1: 117-136.
The authors examined the relationship among K-12 students and their attendance rates with a focus on EL students, students living in poverty, suspension rates and students with disabilities.
Forman, K., & Markson, C. (2022). Students with Disabilities and Suspension Rates: A Cautionary Tale for School Districts. Journal for Leadership and Instruction, 21(1), 20–24
This article provides practitioners with current data on suspension and expulsion rates in California’s public schools. The authors reflect on systemic barriers to removing inequities in school discipline. Educators may wish to use this article to study evidence-based practices to reduce disproportionate representation of suspensions and expulsions by race and ethnicity.
EdSource: Highlighting Strategies for Student Success. 2017. Suspension, Expulsion Rates Fall Sharply in California, but Racial and Ethnic Disparities Remain. https://edsource.org/2017/suspension-expulsion-rates-fall-sharply-in-california-public-schools-but-racial-disparities-remain/589722 (accessed April 4, 2018).
High rates of discipline citations predict adverse life outcomes, a harm disproportionately borne by Black and Latino boys. The authors hypothesized that these citations arise in part from negative cycles of interaction between students and teachers, which unfold in contexts of social stereotypes.
Goyer, J. P., Cohen, G. L., Cook, J. E., Master, A., Apfel, N., Lee, W., Henderson, A. G., Reeves, S. L., Okonofua, J. A., & Walton, G. M. (2019). Targeted Identity-Safety Interventions Cause Lasting Reductions in Discipline Citations Among Negatively Stereotyped Boys. American Psychological Association, 117(2) 229-259.
Together with scholars from throughout the nation, Stanford researchers provide educators with relatively simple exercises for middle school school students and their teachers to increase a sense of belonging in boys of color.
Parker Goyer, J, Cohen, Geoffrey L., Cook, Jonathan E., Master, Allison, Apfel, Nancy, Leem Wonhee, Henderson, Amelia G., Reeves, Stephanie L., Okonafua, Jason A., and Walton, Gregory M. 2019. “Targeted Identity-Safety Interventions Cause Lasting Reductions in Discipline Citations Among Negatively Stereotyped Boys.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Advance Online Publication. doi 10.1037/pspa0000152.
The authors present a comprehnsive analytic framework for examining school discipline patterns in New York City Schools. The authors used school level metrics and ascertained that Black students received the most suspensions and received suspensions at a different rate for the same infractions as their peers.
Rodriguez, L. A., & Welsh, R. O. (2022). The Dimensions of School Discipline: Toward a Comprehensive Framework for Measuring Discipline Patterns and Outcomes in Schools. AERA Open, 8(1).
