Teachers and Their Served Communities: Effects on Racial Disparities in In-School Suspension

• In Event: Thursday Roundtable Session 12:40 pm
  In Roundtable Session: Investigating the Lived Policy Experiences of Teachers and Administrators (Table 23)

Abstract

In the U.S. public school system, where White middle-class female teacher workforces have dominantly served an increasing number of students of color, their understanding of different children's backgrounds has shaped their behaviors toward these students. However, little research has been done to link the racial match of the teaching force to their served communities. This study examines how the racial match between teachers and populations in their school district moderates racial gaps in in-school suspension rates between White and non-White students in Tennessee. The findings of this research demonstrate that when teachers serve communities of the same race, their schools are less likely to show a substantial gap in in-school suspensions between White and non-White students.

Authors

• Jin Lee, University of Louisiana at Lafayette

• Shannon Barrett Crumlish, University of Louisiana at Lafayette

• Roslin E. Growe, University of Louisiana at Lafayette