"I Can't Even Deal With You": The Hidden Curriculum of Discipline in English Classrooms

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 16
  In Roundtable Session: Negotiating Students' Experiences in Classrooms

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine how high school English teachers use disciplinary strategies in their class. Over the course of the 2018-2019 academic year, observations were conducted in an Advanced Placement (AP) Language English 3 class and a Mainstream English 3 class at a diverse public high school in Orange County. Each teacher engaged in a semi-structured interview. Findings show that the mainstream teacher’s pedagogical methods, expectations, and classroom structure socializes students into norms and values that reflect working-class and carceral realities. In contrast, students in the AP-level class choose how they spend their time and express ownership over their learning, which furthers normalizes their unearned privilege.

Authors

• Talia Cain, Stanford University

• Quaylan Allen, Chapman University