Realities of the Black school girl: The implication of adultification bias in K-12 schools

Adultification bias, a racial prejudice, views Black girls as older and more mature than their biological age. Compared to their peers, Black girls are criminalized, sexualized, and dehumanized in an environment expected to provide emotional, physical, and social support- the K-12 school system. Adultified Black girls become Black women still plagued with the lasting effects of their inequitable K-12 educational experiences. Yet, existing literature has not fully explored how the effects of adultification bias alters a Black girl’s life course. The purpose of this phenomenological study is to determine how and in what ways Black girl adultification influences Black women’s personal and professional experiences and the identifying factors that alter their life course. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 5 professional Black women. The interview data was analyzed using the hermeneutic circle and the constant comparative method. During analysis, three major themes emerged: Black girls experience adultification bias which leads to unfair punishments and sexual assumptions; Lack of diversity and equity in K-12 education contributes to differing support for Black girls; Black women, who were adultified as children, suffer long-term consequences of adultification bias. These results can inform child-serving systems, like K-12 schools, of the consequences of this bias. Understanding and addressing adultification bias helps to tackle racial disparities to create a more equitable educational system for Black girls and a positive influence on life course trajectories for Black women.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ed.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Educ Policy, Orgzn & Leadrshp

Grantor

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2025

Author dc:creator

• Reedy, Paquita Elese

Contributors dc:contributor

• Adeyemo, Adeoye
• Pak, Yoon
• Barnett, Bernice
• Hood, Denice

• adultification
• Black girls
• bias
• harsher punishments
• sexual assumptions
• lack of SEL
• Black women
• life course
• intersectionality

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2025 Paquita Reedy

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/132504

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/132504