Race, Exclusionary Discipline, and Connectedness to Adults in Secondary Schools

Abstract

This study examines racial differences in students' connectedness to school adults and considers the possibility that disparities in exclusionary discipline practices may reduce all students' sense of connection to educators, not just those who have been disciplined or are from racial groups overrepresented in out-of-school suspensions. Data sources include a self-report survey of secondary school students (n = 29,148) linked to administrative data (n = 107 schools) from a large urban district. Multilevel modeling techniques were used to estimate the relationships between students' racial background, youths' connection to school adults, and school-level racial discipline gaps. Controlling for school racial composition, gender, grade level and other covariates, students of color were significantly less likely to feel connected to school adults than their White peers. Additionally, the racial discipline gap was significantly and negatively associated with connectedness for all students. Results indicate that strategies to improve educational outcomes for youth of color need to attend to relational dynamics between students and school adults. Research findings also suggest that efforts to reduce discipline disparities may improve all students' connectedness.

Educational Manifest Destiny: Exclusion, Role Allocation, and Functionalization in Reservation Bordertown District Admission Policies

“…Zero-tolerance policies favor strong enforcement to perceived discipline issues, including potential suspension, expulsion, or denied reenrollment (Skiba 2014;Winn and Winn 2015). Although they claim to focus first on establishing safe learning environments, these policies inappropriately target students of color (Anyon et al 2016;Winn and Winn 2015), with Indigenous youth nearly twice as likely to receive disciplinary referrals as their white peers (Whitford and Levine-Donnerstein 2014). Through zero-tolerance initiatives and related practices, educational policy can become a tool of continued removal or forced assimilation, which can lead to hostile learning environments, erosion of cultural identity, internalized racial inferiority within Indigenous communities, and an increase in the number of dropouts (Henderson et al 2015;Khalifa et al 2016;Quijada Cerecer 2013).…”

It’s All about the Relationships”: Educators’ Rationales and Strategies for Building Connections with Students to Prevent Exclusionary School Discipline Outcomes

“…Children and adolescents who experience exclusionary school discipline are more likely to do poorly in school, disengage from educational environments, and have juvenile justice contact or be arrested (Bryan et al, 2012;Cartledge & Kourea, 2008;Fabelo et al, 2011;Mowen & Brent, 2016). Students who attend schools with higher suspension rates tend to have weaker connections to school adults (Anyon, Zhang, & Hazel, 2016;Gregory, Cornell, & Fan, 2011). The racially disparate impact of these policies has been documented for decades (Losen & Martinez, 2013;Skiba et al, 2011).…”

“…Conversely, the absence of strong positive relationships is a predictor of negative psychological outcomes like depression, suicide attempts, and low self-esteem, along with adverse academic outcomes such as grade retention (Hall-Lande, Eisenberg, Christenson, & Neumark-Sztainer, 2007;Myrick & Martorell, 2011). Building positive and meaningful relationships is important for all students; however, it is imperative that school staff intentionally cultivate relationships with students of color as these students often report feeling less safe among, and less connected to, adults in schools (Anyon et al, 2016;Voight, Hanson, O'Malley, & Adekanye, 2015;Woolley et al, 2009).…”

Eliciting Student Voice to Explore the Need for Culturally Responsive Teaching in Secondary Schools

“…Adults who presented themselves as universalist and race-blind ultimately alienated students, promoted stereotyping and prejudice, and held on to prior expectations about students (Bottiani et al, 2017). For example, adults who actively-whether implicitly or explicitly-subscribe to stereotypes and hold expectations that students of color will have increased behavior issues contribute to a well-documented history of unequal disciplinary action between students of color and White students (Anyon, Zhang, & Hazel, 2016). This significantly impacts adult-student relationships, creating a mistrust between students of color and adults in education.…”

“…This mistrust creates an unsafe learning space, and academic achievement suffers. The often-exclusionary nature of school discipline compounds this; suspensions take away from class time and our most vulnerable students are then put even farther behind by missing school hours (Anyon et al, 2016;Bottiani et al, 2017;Hammond, 2015).…”