ERIC Number: EJ1161987
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017
Pages: 33
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-2380-0860
EISSN: N/A
The Cost of Color in Public Education--An Examination of Disproportionate Suspensions
Cagle, Jack F.
Journal of Organizational and Educational Leadership, v3 n1 Article 3 Nov 2017
A decade of research on school discipline has made society keenly aware of the "elephant in the room." Overwhelmingly, Black students are "wounded" permanently when they are suspended over and over for offenses that are overlooked when their white counterparts commit the same infraction. Since Black students are suspended frequently, where do they go during the day? They revert back to their neighborhoods where supervision is scarce; ultimately, many of these suspended Black students commit crimes that eventually introduce them to the juvenile justice system (Skiba et al., 2011). The focus of this study is to investigate why Black students are suspended more than white students in a rural high school in the center of North Carolina. Skiba and Sprague (2008) indicate that out-of-school suspensions may have adverse effects on student outcomes and the learning climate. Because suspensions are disproportionately issued to minority students, some researchers believe that minority students are segregated based on discipline, and are thus denied equal protection under the 14th Amendment (Skiba et al., 2011). Research suggests that suspensions have a limited effect on the behavior modification and stifles student achievement (Fenning et al., 2012; Michail, 2011; Teasley & Miller, 2011). This study may benefit not only my school system but also other school systems, which may create or revise policies based upon the results. Administrators may even decide to implement similar alternatives to suspension programs in their school district. Teachers may use this study to reflect on their own practices in districts across the state.
Descriptors: Public Education, Disproportionate Representation, Suspension, Minority Group Students, Classroom Techniques, Discipline, High School Students, Rural Schools, African American Students, Comparative Analysis, Statistical Analysis, Likert Scales, Secondary School Teachers, Teacher Surveys, Student Surveys, Citizenship, Constitutional Law, Mixed Methods Research, White Students
School of Education at Gardner-Webb University. P.O. Box 7304, Bolling Springs, NC 28017. Tel: 704-406-4295; e-mail: library@gardner-webb.edu; Web site: http://digitalcommons.gardner-webb.edu/joel/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: High Schools
Audience: Administrators; Teachers; Students
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: North Carolina
Identifiers - Laws, Policies, & Programs: Fourteenth Amendment
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A