Uneven Benefits of Demographic Matching: Race, Gender, and the Role of Social Context in School Discipline

• In Event: 3559 - Race and Racialized Inequality in Schooling

Abstract

A growing body of evidence suggests students assigned to a same race teacher have better educational outcomes than those who experience a racial mismatch. Less attention has been paid, however, to the social contexts in which these relationships do or do not exist. Using data from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002, I examine the associations between teacher-student race matching, school discipline, and teacher racial composition. Results suggest the relationship between race matching and discipline varies at the intersection of race and gender; white female students receive the largest benefits from demographic matching while Black female students experience worse disciplinary outcomes with same-race teachers. I also find evidence that the race matching and discipline link varies by the sociocultural context of the school. Future research and policies must pay attention to the social, cultural, and racial environments in which teachers and students coexist to maximize the benefits of demographic matching.

Author

• Steven Jefferson, Duke University