The Disproportionality Dilemma: Patterns of Teacher Referrals to School Counselors for Disruptive Behavior

Abstract

Disproportionality plagues schools nationwide in special education placement, dropout, discipline referral, suspension, and expulsion rates. This study examined predictors of teacher referrals to school counselors for disruptive behavior in a sample of students selected from the Educational Longitudinal Study 2002 (National Center for Education Statistics, n.d.). Findings demonstrated that students’ race predicted English teacher referrals; students’ gender, previous disciplinary infractions, and teachers’ postsecondary expectations for students predicted English and math teacher referrals. Implications for practice, policy, and research are discussed.

School Counselors’ Activities in Predominantly African American Urban Schools: An Exploratory Study

“…For instance, in a review of secondary data from the National Education Longitudinal Study (NELS:88), researchers Adams, Benshoff, and Harrington (2007) found that teachers were more likely to contact the school counselor concerning behavioral issues when the student was male and African American. Moreover, a study that used the Educational Longitudinal Study (ELS:2002) that was conducted by Bryan, Vines, Griffin, and Moore-Thomas (2012), found that race was a predictor of disciplinarian referrals written by English teacher referrals. African American students in general and in particular African American and multiracial females were more likely to receive disciplinary referrals to the school counselor by their English teachers.…”

Associations Between Teacher-Reported School Climate and Depressive Symptoms in Australian Adolescents: A 5-Year Longitudinal Study

“…For example, there are school disciplinary (Gregory, Skiba, & Noguera, 2010;Shirley & Cornell, 2011), mental health (Miller & Taylor, 2012;Saluja et al, 2004;Sen, 2004) and socioeconomic (DeNavas-Walt & Proctor, 2014) disparities across different races/ethnicities in America. In the United States, African American, Latino, and Native American students are more often targets of a wide range of sanctions in schools including expulsion (KewelRamani, Gilbertson, Fox, & Provasnik, 2007), counselor referrals (Bryan, Day-Vines, Griffin, & Moore-Thomas, 2012), office discipline referrals (Skiba, Michael, Nardo, & Peterson, 2002), and suspension (Raffaele Mendez, Knoff, & Ferron, 2002;Raffaele Mendez & Knoff, 2003).…”

Perceptions of educational counselling for teachers on personal and professional matters: The case of Arab teachers in Israel

“…Specifically, students’ gender was a predictor of both English and Math teacher referrals, whereas race was a predictor of only English teacher referrals. For example, it was found that black and multiracial females were more likely to receive disciplinary referrals to the school counsellor by their English teachers (Bryan, Day‐Vines, Griffin & Moore‐Thomas, ). Thus, we suggest that future research will examine the teachers’ specific consultations with educational counsellors regarding the students’ gender, their characteristics (IQ), or their personality (self esteem), in the specific context and other context, such as the Jewish society.…”