Adding Color to My Tears: Toward a Theoretical Framework for Antiblackness in School Discipline

Abstract

Persistent racial disparities in students’ disciplinary outcomes have been one of the most concerning educational policy and equity topics for decades. Despite the hypervisibility of Black students in school discipline conversations, research and practice evade a focus on anti-Black racism. In this essay, we draw from Black Critical Theory (BlackCrit) to present a theoretical framework that researchers and educational stakeholders can use to specify, study, and understand antiblackness in school discipline. We outline and discuss six interrelated theoretical constructs of the Antiblackness in School Discipline framework: (a) “Trading Away the Black,” (b) “Whites as Propertied,” (c) Intersecting Blackness, (d) Racial Neoliberalism, (e) La Petite Misère, and (f) Internalized Racism. Examples of studies providing empirical support for these theoretical tenets are also discussed, and suggestions for utilizing this framework in scholarship, policy, and practice are also offered.

The Ties That Bind: An Examination of School-Family Relationships and Middle School Discipline in New York City

“…Thus, in addition to trust, schools communicating with parents (e.g., about positive behavioral strategies to reinforce at home or about instances of misbehavior that can be addressed at home and not through school discipline) and parents being involved more (e.g., surveilling student progress) matter, but for specific student groups. It is important to note that Black students and special education students have some of the highest prevalence of suspensions and starkest discipline disproportionalities (Rodriguez & Welsh, 2022; Sobti & Welsh, 2023; Welsh, 2022a; Welsh & Rodriguez, 2023); thus, malleable school-level factors that may reduce the likelihood of ODRs and suspensions for these students are particularly salient for the strategic direction of school discipline reform (Welsh, 2023b).…”

A Letter From the Editors: The Past, Present, and Future of Educational Researcher

“…Reviews/Essays generally do not involve presenting new data, and they may take a variety of forms and serve various purposes. Recent articles in this category have proposed a reconceptualization of an important issue or construct (e.g., Trinidad, 2023), offered a novel theoretical framework (e.g., Sobti & Welsh, 2023), or called for changes to advance research on a particular topic (e.g., Leo, 2023). In general, Reviews/ Essays provide innovative perspectives and advance knowledge on important educational topics of interest.…”