Deconstructing Exclusion: An Appraisal Analysis of Arguments Justifying Preschool Suspension and Expulsion

• In Event: Discourse, Semiosis, and Justice from Early Childhood to Adolescence

Abstract

Preschool suspension and expulsion is one of the most pressing racial equity issues in U.S. education. Exclusionary practices disproportionately harm Black children, boys, and children with disabilities, marking the beginning of the preschool-to-prison pipeline. Using Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) appraisal analysis, we conducted a discourse analysis of public testimony opposing a ban on preschool suspension and expulsion. The analysis systematically maps the linguistic resources that speakers use to construct children as problematic, frame inclusion as a risk, and legitimize the practice of exclusion in early childhood education. The study addresses a critical and persistent racial equity problem by moving beyond documenting its existence to deconstructing the ideological arguments that sustain it.

Authors

• Erin E. Flynn, University of Michigan

• Yiğit Savuran, University of Michigan

• Dalia Avello Vega, University of Edinburgh

• Qingqing Yan, University of Michigan

• Rayna Emilova, University of Michigan