Objective: In order to improve our understanding of where to target interventions, the study examined the extent to which school discipline disproportionality between African American and White students was attributable to teachers’ decisions regarding subjectively versus non-subjectively defined behaviors. Method: The sample consisted of office discipline referral (ODR) records for 1,154,686 students enrolled in 1,824 US schools. Analyses compared the relative contributions of disproportionality in ODRs for subjectively and objectively defined behaviors to overall disproportionality, controlling for relevant school characteristics. Results: Results showed that disproportionality in subjective ODRs explained the vast majority of variance in total disproportionality. Conclusions: These findings suggest that providing educators with strategies to neutralize the effects of implicit and other subtle forms of bias, which are known to influence ambiguous and discretionary decisions, may be a promising avenue for achieving equity in school discipline.

The Relative Contribution of Subjective Office Referrals to Racial Disproportionality in School Discipline

In the wake of violence and unrest in communities around the United States, it is critical for scholars and practitioners to examine and continue to address the factors that might instigate race-ba...

Closing the School Discipline Gap: Equitable Remedies for Excessive Exclusion.

In this open access edited volume, international researchers of the field describe and discuss the systematic review method in its application to research in education. Alongside fundamental methodical considerations, reflections and practice examples are included and provide an introduction and overview on systematic reviews in education research.; Open Access With contributions from international experts First volume with a special focus on systematic reviews in educational research Contains practical examples Takes ethical considerations into account.

Systematic Reviews in Educational Research: Methodology, Perspectives and Application

We explore the discipline gap between Black and White students and between Hispanic and White students using a statewide student-level panel data set on Indiana public school students attending pre...

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Understanding the Racial Discipline Gap in Schools

Mr. Williams, a student during segregation and educator who began his career in the years following the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision, sheds light on why Black students succeeded in all...

Fifteenth Annual AERA Brown Lecture in Education Research: Disrupting Punitive Practices and Policies: Rac(e)ing Back to Teaching, Teacher Preparation, and Brown:

In recent decades, K–12 school discipline policies and practices have garnered increasing attention among researchers, policymakers, and educators. Disproportionalities in school discipline raise s...

The School Discipline Dilemma: A Comprehensive Review of Disparities and Alternative Approaches:

Caste and control in schools: A systematic review of the pathways, rates and correlates of exclusion due to school discipline

A growing number of states are using state-run school districts to take over and improve persistently underperforming schools. This article uses Georgia to examine the politics of state takeover. W...

Right Cause, Wrong Method? Examining the Politics of State Takeover in Georgia

In recent decades, racial disparities in K-12 disciplinary outcomes in the United States have garnered considerable attention. Empirical studies have established that schools’ discipline policies a...

Rac(e)ing to punishment? Applying theory to racial disparities in disciplinary outcomes

A growing number of states are using state-run school districts to take over and improve persistently under-performing schools. There is a need for research on the policy discourse used by educatio...

Shafiqua Little

Papers

The School Discipline Dilemma: A Comprehensive Review of Disparities and Alternative Approaches:

Caste and control in schools: A systematic review of the pathways, rates and correlates of exclusion due to school discipline

Right Cause, Wrong Method? Examining the Politics of State Takeover in Georgia

Rac(e)ing to punishment? Applying theory to racial disparities in disciplinary outcomes

Examining the Narrative: An Analysis of the Racial Discourse Embedded in State Takeover