“They Give Teachers a Hard Time”: Symbolic Violence and Intersections of Race and Class in Interpretations of Teacher-student Relations

Abstract

A number of studies identify racial and class differences in disciplinary actions and teacher-student interactions; however, scholars place less emphasis on how race and class intersect to shape classifications of teacher-student relations. Using findings from an ethnographic study in a high school with significant racial and class stratification, I examine how teachers and black students of varying social-class backgrounds describe teacher-student relations and academic disparities. I show how middle-class and some working-class Honors black students shared their teachers’ discourse about urban poor disengagement and “black” misbehavior with teachers. Meanwhile, working-class (primarily non-Honors) black students called out teacher mistreatment in light of experiencing punitive relations and problems with teachers. Some of their peers and teachers interpreted such calls of racism as “making excuses” for disengagement. Using Bourdieu’s concepts of symbolic violence and misrecognition, I demonstrate the power of language about black student-teacher relations as school actors routinely legitimate race-class stereotypes in a diverse school.

African American Child and Adolescent Academic Help-Seeking: A Scoping Review

“…Of the quantitative designs, six relied on surveys (Amemiya & Wang, 2016; Brittian & Gray, 2014; Gutman & Midgley, 2000; Ryan et al, 1997, 2009; Zusho & Barnett, 2011) and four included observations (Nelson-Le Gall, 2006; Nelson-Le Gall & Jones, 1990; Watkins, 2002; Zusho & Barnett, 2011). Of the qualitative designs, two used semi-structured interviews (Murray & Naranjo, 2008; Pringle et al, 2010) and one included observation (Gast, 2018). One study utilized a mixed-method design, and thus included a survey and semi-structured interview (Sanders, 1998).…”

“…Participant characteristics varied. A majority of studies focused solely on students, but two studies included other participants such as families and teachers (Gast, 2018; Gutman & Midgley, 2000). Participant ethnicity varied as well.…”

“…Although nine of the 13 included studies focus on African American participants, four studies expanded their participant pool and included Hispanic Americans, Latino American, and European American students (Amemiya & Wang, 2016; Ryan et al, 1997, 2009; Zusho & Barnett, 2011). The participant’s grade levels ranged from preschool to Grade 12 with one study targeting preschool (Watkins, 2002), three elementary school Grades 3 through 5 (Nelson-Le Gall, 2006; Nelson-Le Gall & Jones, 1990; Ryan et al, 1997), two middle school Grades 7 through 8 (Ryan et al, 2009; Sanders, 1998), and four high school Grades 9 to 12 (Gast, 2018; Murray & Naranjo, 2008; Pringle et al, 2010; Zusho & Barnett, 2011). One study examined students as they transitioned from elementary to middle school (Brittian & Gray, 2014).…”

“…The most common research purpose of the included studies was to explore help-seeking tendencies of African American students. Other purposes were indirectly related to help-seeking and included the role of protective factors in African American academic achievement (Brittian & Gray, 2014; Gutman & Midgley, 2000; Murray & Naranjo, 2008; Sanders, 1998) and African American student perception of teachers and instruction (Gast, 2018; Pringle et al, 2010).…”

“…The theoretical frameworks identified in the included studies varied. Surprisingly, cultural informed theories, which highlight the influence of race and ethnicity, were only used in four of the 13 studies (Brittian & Gray, 2014; Gast, 2018; Pringle et al, 2010; Watkins, 2002). For instance, Gast (2018) relied on the Symbolic Violence and Misrecognition of Race Model that explores how race–class assumptions are reflected through language.…”