Expanding Relational Agency Through Boundary-Crossing Collaboration to Address Racial Disproportionality in School Discipline

• In Event: Thursday Roundtable Session 2:30 pm
  In Roundtable Session: Understanding Race Through Cultural Historical Theory in School Settings and Beyond (Table 2)

Abstract

The paper aims to investigate how the Indigenous Learning Lab (ILL) cultivated a dialogic space to facilitate boundary-crossing collaboration between students, parents/community members, teachers, and administrators in addressing racial disproportionality in exclusionary school discipline. The study took place in a high school in Northern Wisconsin. We answer two questions: How did ILL facilitation mediate the relational agency of the local stakeholders? How did the facilitation expand the object of collaborative systemic design activity? Grounded in the frameworks of boundary-crossing and relational agency, we found that the facilitation strategies provided scaffolding for members to practice boundary-crossing and relational agency. The boundary crossing resulted in the expansion of the boundary object, which is the school’s culturally responsive behavioral support system.

Authors

• Dian Mawene, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Aydin Bal, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Dosun Ko, Santa Clara University

• Linda Orie, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Jahyun Yoo, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Morgan Mayer-Jochimsen, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Elizabeth Schrader, University of Wisconsin - Madison