Student and Teacher Perceptions of Equitable Discipline Depend on Community Context

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Sunday 11:40 am Four Seasons Ballroom 2-3
  In Roundtable Session: Consciousness and Future Possibilities: Rethinking Discipline and Carcerality: (Table 11)

Abstract

Contextual factors in and around schools have shaped expectations of what discipline should look like in urban schools, but these expectations do not necessarily represent the daily experiences of students and teachers. Survey data from students and certified staff across a large urban school district in the U.S. South is matched to school discipline data to examine how perceptions of equitable discipline relate to disciplinary outcomes and the broader socio-cultural context of their schools. Findings indicate that students perceive discipline to be more equitable in schools with fewer disciplinary referrals while teachers have more complex relationships to equitable discipline based on contextual factors of their schools. Implications for future research that connects community contexts to discipline are discussed.

Authors

• Eli Rolfes, Vanderbilt University

• Ellen Parks, Vanderbilt University

• Maury Nation, Vanderbilt University