Forces of Perception: Examining the Impact of School Discipline on Black Parents

• In Event: 15.036 - Stakeholder Perspectives on Race and Racism

Abstract

In the United States, schools have dubbed Black kids as the bad kids as Black kids are more likely to be suspended, expelled and pushed out than any other group (U.S. Government Accountability Office, 2018; Gregory et. al, 2010; Monroe, 2005; Noguera, 2003; Skiba et. al, 2002). While research has called attention to these disparities, this work, to date, by and large, has left unexamined the "wound dealt" to the souls of Black families, especially Black parents. Through the narratives of five Black parents, this study examines the ways in which exclusionary forms of discipline shape parents' perceptions of their children and of themselves, as parents.

Author

• Tunette Michele Powell, University of California - Los Angeles