School Discipline Policies and the Undermining of College Aspirations for Latino Male Students

• In Event: 52.079 - Tracked in or Tracked Out: How Students and Teachers Make Sense of Curricular Tracking

Abstract

Aggressive school disciplinary policies serve as a key factor in the educational derailment of young Latino males. The purpose behind punitive school discipline policies has historically been to provide order and stability in school settings. However, policy mechanism intended to aggressively remove disruptive students from the classroom, has ultimately led to marked disproportionality in who is disciplined as well as marked diminishment in educational opportunity for Black and Latino males. Using Bourdieu’s social reproduction theory and concept of cultural field, this qualitative study sought to better understand how disproportional discipline has resulting the subtle delimiting of the college-going aspirations of Latino males.

Authors

• Adrian H. Huerta, University of Southern California

• Shannon M. Calderone, Washington State University - Tri Cities

• Patricia M. McDonough, University of California - Los Angeles