Disobedience: Teachers’ Racialized Perceptions and Students’ Perceived Racial Discrimination

• In Event: 1-188 - Investigating and Ameliorating Teachers’ Racialized Perceptions and the Race Disparities in Students’ Schooling

Integrative Statement

Racial inequity in school suspensions has long been present in the American educational system. Compared to their White American peers, Black American children are at least 1.8 times more likely to receive an out-of-school suspension (Gilliam, Maupin, Reyes, Accavitti, & Shic, 2016; Morris & Perry, 2016). Additionally, White American students are most often suspended for objective infractions (e.g., obscene language, vandalism, and smoking) (Skiba et al., 2011), whereas Black American student are suspended for more subjective infractions (e.g., defiance, disruption, and non-compliance) (Heilbrun, Cornell, & Lovegrove, 2015; Skiba et al., 2011). One factor contributing to suspension disparities may be teachers’ racialized perceptions of students’ disobedience and disruption in the classroom. Stereotypes about racial minorities, especially Black Americans, as “causing trouble” or “disruptive” might shape teachers to view Black American children behaviors as more disobedient than their White peers. If teachers have racialized perceptions of students’ disobedience, students might also recognize these disparities, which then influence their experiences of racial discrimination.

Our goal was to assess whether teachers have racialized perceptions of their students’ disobedience, and if so, how teachers’ perceptions and student race predict children’s racial discrimination experiences. We sought to answer three research questions: 1) Are teachers’ disobedience perceptions racialized and, if so, do these perceptions differ by gender? 2) Do students’ vary in (a) awareness about racism in their school and (b) their own experiences of racial discrimination at school?, and 3) Are teachers’ racialized perceptions of disobedience associated with students’ awareness and/or their experiences with racial discrimination?

Participants were 43 teachers and 412 Black (N=159) and White (N=253) 4th and 5th grade students from 7 schools in the Southeast. Teachers filled out computerized modules about their relationships with each consented student, including student disobedience/defiance (α=.87). Students reported on racism in school in general (adapted from Byrd, 2016, α=.75) and their own experiences of racism in school(Wong, Eccles, & Sameroff, 2003) (α=.85) Two-level multilevel models were conducted, with student at level 1 and teacher at level 2.

Teachers perceived Black American students (boys and girls) as more disobedient than White American students (p <.05). Black students were also more likely to be aware of racial discrimination at their schools (p <.01), and personally experience racial discrimination (p <.01) than White students. Lastly, teachers’ racialized perceptions of disobedience predicted both students’ awareness of school racial discrimination (p <.01) and personal experiences with racial discrimination (p <.01). These findings illustrate that students’ race might be an important factor in teachers’ perceptions of disobedience and disrespect, thereby increasing Black children’s overrepresentation in school suspensions. Additionally, teachers’ racialized perceptions of disobedience may be part of the very discrimination that Black children experience. It is also important to note that these 4th and 5th grade children are already aware of racial discrimination experiences in school, which are known at older ages to generate negative association with Black students’ academic engagement, racial identity, and mental health (Chavous, Rivas-Drake, Smalls, Griffin, & Cogburn, 2008; Coker et al., 2009; Smalls, White, Chavous, & Sellers, 2007).


 

Authors

• Kamilah Legette, UNC
  Presenting Author

• Amy Halberstadt, North Carolina State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Elan Hope, North Carolina State University
  Non-Presenting Author