"Please Don't Let Me Lose My Students": Place-Based Political Pressures and School Discipline

• In Event: AERA Graduate Student Research in Progress Roundtable Session Two
  In Roundtable Session: School Discipline: Culture, Politics, and Prevention Strategies (Table 13)

Abstract

"The influence of racial bias, school and neighborhood composition, and zero tolerance policies in creating racial disparities in school discipline have been well documented, but relatively less attention has been paid to how other mechanisms at the intersection of race and place contribute to disciplinary rates and climates, especially in rural settings.
I expand on existing literature on school discipline by illustrating how place-based political pressures and policies such as school performance scores, school choice, desegregation orders, and stigma influence discipline in schools in the rural South. Findings suggest that political demands shape administrators' decision to use exclusionary discipline with students exhibiting behavior classified as 'disruptive' in the classroom to 'protect' those who can potentially help increase school test scores. Administrators also view discipline and its reputation as a way to manage racialized stigma in the unstable environment of major enrollment swings caused by school choice and school desegregation. However, educators' disciplinary decisions not only may not lead to the desired enrollment and test scores and instead have harmful implications for many Black students."

Author

• Meaghan Mingo, .
  Presenting Author