School-Level Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Suspension: The Case of Asians and Pacific Islanders

• In Event: 34.095 - MTCC Roundtable Session 11
  In Roundtable Session: 34.095-2 - Complicating Educational Discourses on Asians and Asian Americans

Abstract

Asians and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) have been underexamined in the discourse and research literature around school discipline. The purpose of this study is to examine school-level rates of suspension for AAPI and thier White counterparts in a national sample of schools. Findings provide some of the first empirical evidence of disproportional rates of suspension for AAPI. Results suggest the need for a re-examination of Asian students’ disciplinary experiences, and new, sustained attention to the disciplinary outcomes of Pacific Islanders. Findings are interpreted in recognition of a social context that differentially racializes AAPI students to fit the interests of a White majority, which is positioned to apply social control measures based on racialized ideologies and perceptions of intergroup threat.

Author

• Nicholas Paul Triplett, University of North Carolina - Charlotte