"They Don't Want Us Here": Marginalized Student Experiences of Discrimination in Middle and High School

• In Event: Researcher-Practitioner Collaborations Committed to Improving the Experiences of Marginalized Students Along the Academic Pipeline

Abstract

The use of harsh school discipline policies, such as standardized expulsions or multiple-day suspensions, regardless of the behavioral incident, disproportionately targets racial minority youth. Black students are more than three times as likely to be suspended and expelled compared to White students, and comprise 40% of all students expelled from American schools (Gonzalez, 2012; PBS, n.d.; NYCLU, 2008). These suspension rates have consequences for high school attrition. According to the New York Civil Liberties Union (2008), students who have been suspended from school are more than three times as likely to drop out of school by the tenth grade compared to students who have not. In this way, current disciplinary approaches direct young students of color away from learning institutions and into the juvenile and criminal justice systems, a process known as the school-to-prison pipeline (NYCLU, 2008; Gonzalez, 2012). Disproportionate discipline statistics for Black students are likely influenced by negative representations about Black criminality (Okonofua & Eberhardt, 2015; Okonofua, Walton, & Eberhardt, 2016). Though research examines why racial stereotypes occur, potential consequences are not extensively documented. Specifically, there is minimal literature that documents how negative representations of Black youth in their academic institutions affect them emotionally, socially, and behaviorally. We partnered with a local, non-profit agency that promotes prevention efforts for youth to reduce the risk of them becoming involved in the juvenile justice system. This collaboration addresses school-based discrimination from the students’ perspective and further explores how negative representations inform and influence discipline practices.
In this study, we explored the impacts of educational discrimination (e.g. teacher and adminstrator bias) on the development of marginalized students, and the emotional and behavioral implications of these effects. Low-income youth between the ages of 12-18 (n=102) completed surveys with open-and close-ended questions measuring their personal experiences in middle and high schools in the East Bay. Specifically, measures focused on teacher and school discrimination, and included qualitative response items that assessed how and why students believed they were being targeted. Preliminary results indicate that Black students, in particular, experience little belonging within their schools, and feel disrespected and targeted by school administrators and teachers. Thematic coding of qualitative responses adds further depth to our quantitative results. Broadly, themes depict experiences with direct teacher bias (i.e. being stereotyped, interpersonal conflict, rules being inconsistently enforced), and student-teacher racial differences’ prominent role in promoting mistreatment (i.e. race differences affecting how teachers discipline or engage with minority students). Further, we explore how their experiences with school discrimination relate to their general well-being and emotional stress. This collaboration has specific aims for the community partner. Results are informing the development of a data driven program to address students’ academic success, emotional well-being, and cultural safety within their communities and schools. The partnership also provides empirical support to inform the agency’s collaborative efforts with the local school district and county juvenile justice system. Implications of this work are especially significant for youth participants, as they incorporate these findings into their advocacy practices within their schools and communities.

Author

• Tiffany Nicole Lockett, University of California - Santa Cruz