Using Double Consciousness as an Analytic Tool to Discuss the Decision Making of Black School Leaders in Disrupting the School-to-Prison Pipeline

Abstract

Given that Black students are more likely to be suspended from school than their White counterparts, researchers, educators, policymakers, activists, and parents have forced national attention onto the need to disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline (STPP). A perspective that needs to be further explored is that of district and school leaders who have the challenge of making leadership decisions that influence the STPP. In this article, we take the position that district and school leaders must be provided tangible solutions to dismantle the STPP for Black students. Thus, we use Du Bois' (1903) notion of double consciousness as a conceptual lens to examine the STPP and the dilemma Black school leaders face in dealing with disciplinary infractions. We then present a case from the second author's experience as a

Prison abolition literacies as Pro-Black pedagogy in early childhood education

“…The preschool-to-prison pipeline is exacerbated by zero tolerance policies which criminalize young children for minor behavioral infractions in and beyond early childhood education (Wesley and Ellis, 2017). Consequently, zero tolerance policies have prompted school administrators to place school discipline in the hands of law enforcement, most of whom are not prepared to work with young children (Goings et al, 2018). For example, in 2020, a 6-year-old Black girl-Kaia Rolle-was hand-cuffed, placed in an officer's car, and arrested for having a tantrum in class at her elementary school in Florida (Bell et al, 2022).…”

Toward ABlack PlayCritin Educational Leadership: What School Leaders Need to Know About Black Boyhood Play

“…Zero tolerance policies are one of the many mechanisms through which the preschool-to-prison pipeline operates (Goings et al, 2018). According to the American Psychological Association’s Zero Tolerance Task Force (2008), zero tolerance policies are “philosophy or policy that mandates the application of predetermined consequences, most often severe and punitive in nature, that are intended to be applied regardless of the gravity of behavior, mitigating circumstances, or situational context” (p. 852).…”

“…In spite of the fact that school administrators make disciplinary decisions that lead to Black boys’ entry into the preschool-to-prison pipeline, the roles they play in contributing and maintaining that pipeline are often missing from discussions about early childhood education. According to Goings et al (2018), school leaders are responsible for establishing school culture, policies, and practices that play roles in removing students from classrooms. In most cases, such responsibilities may place them in challenging decision-making positions.…”

“…In most cases, such responsibilities may place them in challenging decision-making positions. Because they do not often spend time in classrooms, they may not know or have spent time building caring relationships with young children (Goings et al, 2018). This is especially true for White and authoritative Black (male) school leaders who may struggle to build strong, positive, and caring relationships with Black boys (L. Howard, 2012).…”

“…While it is clear in the extant literature that teachers, 85% of whom are White, middle-class, and female, negatively perceive Black boyhood play (Wright & Ford, 2016), it is also essential to shed light on school administrators’ complicity in anti-Black misandric violence against Black boys. When school discipline is not placed in the hands of school resource officers, who often reinforce school policies and practices that criminalize Black children (Goings et al, 2018), school administrators are left to determine consequences for school-related behavioral infractions (e.g., suspension and expulsion), and their imposed punishments can be just as egregious as those enacted by school resource officers.…”