Remedying Inequitable Discipline Practices Through Examination of Administrator Sensemaking

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Wednesday 4:20 pm Four Seasons Ballroom 1
  In Roundtable Session: Restorative Discipline Policy and Practice: Dismantling Carceral Schooling (Table 7)

Abstract

As schools focus on achievement, interrogating discipline inequities and administrator sense-making remains highly relevant to student learning. With research on the harmful effects of exclusionary discipline practices (EDP), discourse has shifted towards dismantling harmful discipline policies and promoting equitable practices, particularly for marginalized students. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore administrator perspectives about their beliefs around school discipline and how they factor student performance and demographics in making discipline decisions. The findings from this study show that the identity of school administrators influence their discipline sense-making, which significantly impacts outcomes for marginalized students. As a result, this paper illuminates the challenges that principals encounter when remedying inequitable discipline practices in pursuit of just education renewal.

Authors

• Racquel L. Armstrong, Arizona State University

• Karen Stansberry Beard, The Ohio State University