Exploring Educators’ Attitudes About Discipline Disparities at the Intersection of Student Race and Disability Status

• In Event: Thursday Roundtable Session 10:50 am
  In Roundtable Session: Collective Approaches to Confronting Disproportionality and Leading for Equity (Table 13)

Abstract

Disparities in school discipline are well known and widely studied. While various systemic factors perpetuate disparities, educator attitudes and decisions also play a role. Studies are finding, for instance, that teachers often elect harsher forms of punishment for students of color and for students of color with disabilities compared to White students. As evidence emerges on the relationship between student race and disability status and teachers’ use of punitive discipline, less is known about how teachers’ attitudes and perceptions influence their discipline decisions. This paper presents findings from a qualitative study examining educator attitudes and perceptions across interviews with 36 secondary educators to identify what factors exacerbate the use of punitive discipline at the intersection of race and disability status.

Author

• Lindsay Romano, New York University