Forced Out the Classroom: Identifying Teacher Enactments of Bias Against Minority Students

• In Event: 52.062 - Inclusion and Exclusion Across the Educational Pipeline

Abstract

Previous examinations of suspension rates indicate that young men of color are more frequently and harshly sanctioned than their non-minority peers (Clark, et al., 2003). This paper illuminated how teacher enactments of bias can occur in classrooms across grades, and how students responded to these interactions. Using secondary data, classroom interactions were observed then qualitatively coded to account for the frequency of negative interactions students’ face based on their gender and minority status. Patterns emerged that show minority males are often at the receiving ends of negative classroom management and relationship detracting interactions. Understanding more about teacher enactments biases will inform how teacher biases influence discipline disparities.

Authors

• Bernardette Josee Pinetta, University of Los Angeles California

• Carola Suarez-Orozco, University of California – Los Angeles