Classroom and Teacher Contributions to Discipline and Disproportionality

• In Event: 31.057 - Discipline Disparities on the Ground Level: Examining School and Classroom Contributions to Disproportionality

Abstract

Purpose
A large proportion of studies of racial disproportionality in discipline have been drawn from national and state level analyses that provide only the broad brushstrokes in describing racial disparities in discipline (Skiba, Shure, & Williams, 2012). In this mixed-method study (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2007), we more closely examined processes school and classroom level processes that may contribute to discipline disparities.

Perspectives/Theoretical Framework
Research has documented that classroom processes constitute an important source of influence on disproportionate discipline (Gregory, Skiba, & Noguera, 2010). Two ways that teachers may make a contribution to disciplinary disparities are through behavior and attitudes. In this mixed methods study, we explored the contributions of classroom management to office referrals in diverse classrooms, and used teacher interview to probe issues of implicit bias among classroom teachers.

Methods
We will report on a mixed-methods case study examining classroom contributions African American disciplinary disparities. Four schools in a major metropolitan area were identified: two with high rates of African American disproportionality in out-of-school suspension, and two with lower than average rates of disproportionality. Within each school, four classrooms were studied: two with higher rates of office referral, and two with lower rates.

Data Sources
Three sources of data were used. First, extant school discipline records were used to identify rates of referral to the office for each of the classrooms, and the distribution of those referrals by race. Second, observations of each classroom were conducted using the Classroom Assessment System (CLASS, Pianta, LaParo, & Hambre, 2008), and a running narrative observation. A semi-structured interview format was used to query teachers about classroom management, parent involvement, and race. Interview data were analyzed via the qualitative analytic software Dedoose.

Results
Triangulating across referral data, classroom observations, and teacher interviews, we identified four distinct patterns of classroom management: self-reliant, no-nonsense, office reliant, and chaotic.

Two themes emerged from the teacher interview data. The first was that it was seen as necessary for African American students, especially from poverty situations, to learn how to modify their behavior to fit within the larger culture. Thus, teachers viewed their role in large part as “protecting” Black students by modifying their behavior to better adapt to the majority culture. While such findings are reminiscent of "code-switching," commonly viewed as a positive practice, they may also raise concerns about the extent to which teaching in poor urban schools is viewed as a matter of teaching students to "accommodate" to the majority culture.

Significance
With few exceptions, the majority of research on racial/ethnic disproportionality has been based on quantitative analysis of large classroom databases. This research brings the analysis of influences on discipline disparities to observation and interview at the classroom level.
This presentation advances science and practice by raising questions regarding the underlying assumptions about race that teachers have when dealing with diverse students and, through a mixed methods approach, identifies classroom management styles that may influence disciplinary referrals leading to disproportionality in discipline.

Authors

• Megan Trachok, Indiana University

• Russell J. Skiba, Indiana University