A Vicious Cycle: Examining Racial School Discipline Disparities | PDF

635592 research-article2016 PPSXXX10.1177/1745691616635592Okonofua et al.Racial Disparities in School Discipline...

635592 research-article2016 PPSXXX10.1177/1745691616635592Okonofua et al.Racial Disparities in School Discipline Perspectives on Psychological Science A Vicious Cycle: A Social–Psychological 2016, Vol. 11(3) 381­–398 © The Author(s) 2016 Reprints and permissions: Account of Extreme Racial Disparities in sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/1745691616635592 School Discipline pps.sagepub.com Jason A. Okonofua, Gregory M. Walton, and Jennifer L. Eberhardt Stanford University Abstract Can social–psychological theory provide insight into the extreme racial disparities in school disciplinary action in the United States? Disciplinary problems carry enormous consequences for the quality of students’ experience in school, opportunities to learn, and ultimate life outcomes. This burden falls disproportionately on students of color. Integrating research on stereotyping and on stigma, we theorized that bias and apprehension about bias can build on one another in school settings in a vicious cycle that undermines teacher–student relationships over time and exacerbates inequality. This approach is more comprehensive than accounts in which the predicaments of either teachers or students are considered alone rather than in tandem, it complements nonpsychological approaches, and it gives rise to novel implications for policy and intervention. It also extends prior research on bias and stigmatization to provide a model for understanding the social–psychological bases of inequality more generally. Keywords teacher–student relationships, school discipline, race disparity “[F]or the most part I truly enjoy being with the How do classrooms begin with well-meaning teachers students. But the amount of time I spend trying to and motivated students and end up with extraordinarily get them to stop having side conversations, stop high levels of discipline problems and expulsions, espe- hitting each other, stop cursing, stop walking cially among Black and Latino students? In one study of around the classroom for no reason, etc., is frankly more than 70,000 U.S. school districts, Black students absurd.... The day-to-day efforts of managing were more than three times more likely than White stu- their classroom behavior—getting everyone quiet, dents to be suspended or expelled (U.S. Department of focused, back on task every time someone starts Education, Office for Civil Rights, 2012). Another national talking—takes up an inordinate amount of time data set showed that in 2007 only 18% of White high that should go to instruction.”—Ilana Garon, a school students had ever been suspended, but nearly half high school teacher (from A View From the Bronx (49%) of Black students had been (Aud, KewalRamani, & blog: “Crime and No Punishment: Discipline in Frohlich, 2011). Furthermore, the percentage of suspen- High School Classrooms,” Education Week Teacher, sion for Black and Latino children had increased from February 27, 2013) 1999 to 2007, even as it had dropped for White and Asian students.1 “We’re constantly getting kicked out of class; we’re In this article, we propose that pervasive negative ste- getting suspended; we’re getting referrals for things reotypes about racially stigmatized children influence that may not be our fault.... It’s failing us. We’re here to learn.” —A Black student (from Roundtable: Corresponding Author: The Perspectives of Youth Affected by Exclusionary Jason Okonofua, Department of Psychology, Stanford University, School Discipline, American Institute for Research, Jordan Hall, Building 01-420, Stanford, California 94305 September 9, 2013) E-mail: [email protected] Downloaded from pps.sagepub.com at UNIV CALIFORNIA IRVINE on July 10, 2016 382 Okonofua et al. both teachers and students, undermining teacher–student school students receive disproportionate punishment for relationships over time. We theorize that an important the same offense as White students (e.g., Okonofua & aspect of this process involves how misinterpretations Eberhardt, 2015; Skiba, Michael, Nardo, & Peterson, 2002; and mistrust build on one another from one encounter to see also Carter, Skiba, Arredondo, & Pollock, 2014). This the next. In describing this process, we integrate past finding suggests a role for bias on the part of teachers research from the stereotyping and stigma literatures. and other school officials in the administration of disci- Our goal is to provide an initial account of how social– pline. Other research points to children’s behavior psychological processes may contribute to racial dispari- and critical social and emotional skills (e.g., Durlak, ties in school discipline, especially in adolescence, when Weissberg, Dymnicki, Taylor, & Schellinger, 2011). The discipline problems spike (Skiba et al., 2011). In doing development of these skills can be curtailed, for instance, so, we hope to stimulate further research in this area, to by economic deprivation and its consequences for the highlight critical processes, and to suggest appropriate child’s environment (e.g., family support, peer groups, or remedies. school characteristics; Eamon, 2001). This approach Exclusionary discipline—suspension or expulsion— could lead people to believe that the cause of discipline directly undermines children’s opportunities to learn. In problems—and the means to reduce them—lies in the a national survey of students who dropped out of school, skills or character traits of “problem” students. It implies Black students were more likely than students of other that Black students misbehave in school because they racial backgrounds to cite having been expelled or sus- lack the skills (e.g., self-control or compassion) to behave pended too often as a reason they dropped out ( Jordan, in more positive ways. Lara, & McPartland, 1996). Failure to complete secondary Certainly, teachers can be biased, and children can school—due to exclusionary discipline or otherwise— misbehave in school. However, we argue that an exclu- can have dire consequences for children’s life outcomes sive focus on either bias in teachers or misbehavior including poor future educational attainment (Gottfried, among students is inadequate to understand or remedy 2010), long-term unemployment (Couch & Fairlie, 2010; this problem. Such approaches tend to focus on the traits Pager, Western, & Sugie, 2009), low lifetime earnings of one party or the other (e.g., teachers’ bias or students’ (Ritter & Taylor, 2011), and mental and physical illness noncognitive skills) without adequate consideration of (Boynton, O’Hara, Covault, Scott, & Tennen, 2014; the situation both teachers and students are in. Yet a Gibbons et al., 2010; for a review, see Pascoe & Richman, basic lesson of social psychology is that people often 2009). underappreciate the power of situations to dictate behav- Perhaps most troubling is the association of school dis- ior (Ross & Nisbett, 1991). Additionally, a focus on the cipline problems and dropout with juvenile detention deficiencies of either party can fail to recognize the posi- (Hirschfield, 2009), adult incarceration (Pettit & Western, tive motivations and potential of both parties. Most 2004), and recidivism ( Jung, Spjeldnes, & Yamatani, 2010). teachers strive to be effective educators ( Johnson, In fact, researchers and activists alike have come to call Yarrow, Rochkind, & Ott, 2012). Most children, including this process the “school-to-prison pipeline,” a phenome- most racially stigmatized children, value education and non by which large numbers of Black children experience want to succeed (Crocker, Voelkl, Testa, & Major, 1991; discipline problems in school, ultimately drop out, and Mickelson, 1990; Steele, 1997). To understand school enter juvenile detention where they face increased risk of discipline, it is essential to address individuals’ positive incarceration (Nicholson-Crotty, Birchmeier, & Valentine, desires as well as the sources of negative behavior, what 2009; Rocque & Paternoster, 2011). One longitudinal stymies better behavior, and how both teachers and chil- study of 1,354 children showed that when a child was dren can become their better selves in interacting with expelled or suspended, that child was more than two one another in school settings. Finally locating the prob- times more likely to be arrested within the same month lem entirely in either teachers or students neglects the compared with a child who had not been expelled or relationship they share. Yet we proposed that central to suspended (Monahan, VanDerhei, Bechtold, & Cauffman, discipline problems is a toxic social–psychological 2014). dynamic that can arise between teachers and students What causes extreme levels of discipline problems in over time. A focus on this dynamic can inform targeted school, especially among racially stigmatized youth? Cer- interventions to mitigate racially disproportionate disci- tainly, macrosocial factors, such as poverty and chaotic plinary action. schooling environments, contribute to discipline issues The social–psychological literature suggests several (Eamon, 2001). In addition, much research has focused ways teacher–student relationships may worsen over independently on the behavior of either teachers or stu- time and contribute to racial disparities in discipline. For dents in contributing to racial disparities. Some research instance, basic research on stereotyping shows that the has shown that Black elementary, middle, and high effects of race on social perception are largest when Downloaded from pps.sagepub.com at UNIV CALIFORNIA IRVINE on July 10, 2016 Racial Disparities in School Discipline 383 information is ambiguous (e.g., Duncan, 1976; Sager & however, this research has proceeded along two largely Schofield, 1980); in such circumstances, people use ste- separate tracks: What makes people perceive and treat reotypes to fill in the gaps and guide inferences. This others differently as a function of group identity? How may be one reason why disparities in discipline arise does the possibility that one could be seen or treated in primarily for offenses that rely on subjective interpreta- a biased way affect people’s experience and outcomes? tions. In a study of the office referral records of 4,461 To understand disparities in school discipline, we inte- middle school students, Skiba and colleagues (2002) grate these literatures in a single model and, moreover, found that while White children were more likely to be go beyond in-the-lab research to consider how these pro- referred to the office for objective offenses like smoking cesses unfold over time to cause stable patterns of or vandalism, Black children were more likely to be behavior. referred for subjective offenses like the expression of dis- respect or threat. Notably, this perception is consistent with the application of racial stereotypes about Black Overview people: namely, that Blacks (and Black boys in particu- We begin by describing how stereotyping and threat lar) are aggressive and dangerous.2 Moreover, this per- processes can create distinctive psychological predica- ception implies that a negative relationship is forming or ments for teachers and for students even in single has formed between teachers and racially stigmatized encounters. Second, we consider how such processes students. unfold over time across multiple interactions, as teacher– Simultaneously, research on social identity threat student relationships typically do in school settings. shows how the risk that one could be viewed or treated Third, we consider how teachers and students may, negatively as a consequence of a negative stereotype can counterintuitively, each face a similar predicament as the cast even routine challenges in school in a global, threat- other. Finally, we discuss promising interventions tar- ening light (Steele, Spencer, & Aronson, 2002). No stu- geted at critical processes to reduce racially dispropor- dent enjoys being criticized or disrespected by a teacher. tionate disciplinary practices. In examining real-world However, students who could be seen or treated through disciplinary outcomes over time, these interventions pro- the lens of a negative or demeaning stereotype also con- vide a strong test of our theoretical approach and, simul- tend with the possibility that events like these could sig- taneously, highlight implications for application and for nal that they are seen in biased ways or that people like policy reform. them do not belong and cannot succeed in school (Cohen, Steele, & Ross, 1999; Crocker et al., 1991; Mendoza-Denton, Downey, Purdie, Davis, & Pietrzak, Stereotyping and Threat Processes 2002; Steele, 1997; Walton & Cohen, 2007; Yeager et al., Create Distinctive Psychological 2014). In this context, a teacher’s harsh disciplinary Predicaments for Teachers and for response to a subjective incident like a perceived expres- Students sion of disrespect may seem to confirm in racially stigma- tized students a fear of experiencing racial bias and Both teachers and students are exposed to common soci- mistreatment in school. This interpretation can under- etal stereotypes, including the stereotype that Black peo- mine trust, motivation, and achievement and, moreover, ple are dangerous. We argue that such stereotypes create give rise to avoidant or disruptive behaviors. distinctive predicaments for teachers and students, which In this way, a negative social–psychological dynamic fuel harsh responses to misbehavior and, in turn, escalate may arise between teachers’ perceptions and treatment misbehavior. Table 1 summarizes this model. of racially stigmatized students and students’ interpreta- tions of and response to this treatment. As this dynamic Teachers’ Predicament: Will Students unfolds over time, it may give rise to real racial differ- Behave or Get in the Way of Teaching? ences in students’ behavior, but this analysis implies that these differences result from the effects of bias and nega- In general, people become teachers to educate and tive stereotypes among both teachers and students and inspire the next generation. Teachers want to help stu- may be preventable through upstream intervention. dents reach their potential and become successful adults. Stereotyping and threat represent long traditions of Students who are at risk of academic underperformance research in social psychology on processes that produce provide an exceptional opportunity to fulfill this goal. For and reproduce inequality (e.g., Allport, 1954; E. Aronson instance, in a national survey of 890 teachers, four-fold & Bridgeman, 1979; Clark & Clark, 1940, 1947; Sherif, more new teachers (those with