K-12 exclusionary discipline and its influence on Black males, into adulthood

Difficulty addressing student behaviors is a controversial area within K-12 education. Cultural and racial differences stand as factors that influence how student behavior is addressed. While racial inequities are present across the face of U.S. education, research suggests that discipline responses tend to be one of the most inequitable areas. This is to say there is “ample evidence that students of color disproportionately experience adverse disciplinary actions in school, such as in and out-of-school suspensions and expulsions” (Gopalan & Nelson, 2019). Of this disproportion, Black males receive more suspensions and exclusionary discipline consequences than other demographic groups (National Center for Education Statistics, 2019). This study seeks to add to the wealth of knowledge on the influences of exclusionary discipline on Black males. Driven by a personal desire to construct meaning of the researcher’s own disciplinary experiences and framed by Critical Race Theory, the study seeks to answer the question: How have exclusionary discipline policies influenced the perceptions, beliefs, or decisions of Black male students, into adulthood? Through qualitative interviews and thematic analysis of the transcripts, this study finds key trends in the areas of Home life Influences, Post High School Trajectories, and Adult Influences of School Incidents. Collectively, these trends showed that exclusionary discipline policies continue to influence Black males into adulthood, however, home life, trauma, and societal/systemic norms greatly factor into these influences. The conclusions drawn hold implications for the U.S. system of education and society as a whole. The study concludes with bold theoretical suggestions that present 7 Principles of Equitable School Discipline and 4 Key Tenets of Responding to Behavior.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ed.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Educ Policy, Orgzn & Leadrshp

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2024

Author dc:creator

• Watson, Joshua A.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Pak, Yoon
• Hale, Jon
• Barnett, Bernice
• Ward Hood, Denice

• Behavior
• School Discipline
• Exclusionary
• Suspension
• Expulsion
• Home Life
• Trauma
• Society
• Critical Race Theory
• Equity
• Black Males
• Black Boys

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2024 Joshua A. Watson

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/127255

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F127255