Poster #28 - Elementary School Children’s Attributions for Disproportionate Discipline: A Qualitative Study

• In Event: Poster Session 06

Abstract

In the United States (U.S.) Black children receive more frequent and harsher punishments in school than White children, and this disparity cannot be explained by differences in behavior or school characteristics alone (e.g., Ksinan et al., 2019; Skiba et al., 2014). Discriminatory disproportionate discipline begins as early as pre-school (U.S. DOE, 2016) and is one of the many ways that Black children are denied equal educational experiences (Gregory et al., 2010). Despite the well documented occurrences of disproportionate discipline, little is known about children’s perceptions of it. Extant research has primarily focused on adolescents’ perceptions, but younger children are witnessing, and being the victim of, disproportionate discipline. Understanding how children interpret discipline at school and if they perceive disproportionate discipline as discrimination is vital for understanding the ways Black children are impacted by disproportionate discipline and is the first step to undoing the harm that it may cause.

The current study utilized an experimental and qualitative design to investigate children’s (6 -11 years old; Mage = 7.89; 65% White, 26% children of color; 9% did not disclose race/ethnicity; 56% boys) perceptions of disproportionate discipline. Participants (n = 83) were recruited from after school programs in the Southeastern U.S. and read four vignettes describing two children “misbehaving” in school. They were shown illustrations of a White teacher suspending only one of the children, who was either a White or Black boy. After each vignette participants were asked open-ended questions regarding (1) why the child in the vignette did the behavior, (2) why the teacher suspended him, and (3) why the punishment was fair or unfair. We then conducted a qualitative content analysis, which utilized inductive (Braun & Clark, 2020) and a-priori approaches, guided by past research and theory (Creswell, 2007).

Analysis indicated that, when the child in the vignette was Black, he was more likely to be perceived as culpable for his misbehavior and described as a bad student. For example, participants said, “he didn't feel like doing work;” “he's a bad kid and just wasn't nice;” “he wanted to be naughty.” Conversely, when the child was White, the child was more likely to be described as innocent. For example, participants explained away disruption saying, “he had too much sugar;” “he had the snuffies [was sick];” and “he doesn’t know the rules yet.” Attributions of racial discrimination were infrequent, and were only mentioned when the child in the vignette was Black and the infraction was subjective (e.g., disruption, compared to property destruction). Further, Black and Multiracial participants were more likely to attribute the discipline to discrimination than White participants.

The current study offers insight into how children perceive disproportionate discipline and has important educational policy implications. For example, efforts should be increased to train teachers on racial biases in discipline rates and how those biases may be most pervasive during subjective misbehaviors. Future research should examine how children’s perceptions and experiences with disproportionate discipline many be exacerbated in schools with harsher punishment.

Authors

• Sharla Dawn Biefeld, University of Kentucky
  Presenting Author

• Christia Spears Brown, University of Kentucky