Racial Threat on Student Discipline in Segregated Neighborhoods

• In Event: Hilton Roundtable Session 19
  In Roundtable Session: The Nexus of Geography and Race in Education Policy

Abstract

Many scholars have expected that diversity in schools and communities could narrow gaps in racial discrepancies in discipline. This study questions the variance in the magnitude of race effects across places. Looking at racial disparity in school discipline through the numbers of suspended students in 102 metropolitan areas, this study explores the robust process of how racial segregation in communities influences racial disproportion in school discipline. The initial findings raise the concern that racial distance in diverse communities can cause more frequent use of punitive controls. These results lend additional support for the racial threat theory that demographically diverse environments do not necessarily lead to greater racial tolerance and better understanding through intensive intergroup relations.

Author

• Jin Lee, University of Louisiana at Lafayette