Critical Race Theory Examines Teacher Commitments to Reduce Suspensions of Black Males

THE THREE COMMITMENTS: CRITICAL RACE THEORY AND
DISPROPORTIONATE SUSPENSION OF BLACK MALES

A dissertation submitted to the faculty of
San Francisco State University
In partial fulfillment of
The Requirements for
The Degree

Doctor of Education
In
Educational Leadership

by

Macheo Kahil Payne

San Francisco, California

December 2012

Copyright by
Macheo Kahil Payne
2012

CERTIFICATION OF APPROVAL

I certify that I have read The Three Commitments: Critical Race Theory and

Disproportionate Suspension of Black Males by Macheo Kahil Payne, and that in my

opinion this work meets the criteria for approving a dissertation submitted in partial

fulfillment of the requirements for the degree: Doctor of Education in Educational

Leadership at San Francisco State University.

____________________________________
Shawn Ginwright, Associate Professor of
Africana Studies, San Francisco State
University

____________________________________
Jeff Duncan-Andrade, Associate Professor of
Ethnic Studies, San Francisco State University

____________________________________
Jamal Cooks, Associate Professor of Secondary
Education, San Francisco State University

THE THREE COMMITTMENTS: CRITICAL RACE THEORY AND
DISPROPORTIONATE SUSPENSION OF BLACK MALES

Macheo Payne
San Francisco State University
2012

Research shows for the past 35 years, disproportionate suspension of black males compared to
white males, occurs primarily from disruption, defiance & disrespect (the 3 D’s). Three primary
factors were found to contribute to this trend; institutional bias, teacher bias & cultural
mismatch. Research also indicates that this is a significant equity issue and recently has become
a civil rights issue (Losen & Skiba, 2010). Current analysis of this problem is inadequate
because although research & literature explicitly recognizes race as a fundamental variable in
disproportionality it doesn’t recognize racism as the fundamental cause of disproportionality on
an institutional and systemic level. Critical Race Theory (CRT) establishes racism as a
fundamental feature of education and disproportionality as a manifestation of that feature. Thus,
addressing disproportionality must be rooted in addressing racism explicitly and ideally at the
institutional or systemic level. This study examines the classroom to get insight and clues about
race based-solutions in an effort to support future studies that may explore race based solutions
at the institutional or systemic level. In this study, the CRT tenet of challenging race neutrality
is operationalized and examines how a teacher “sees” race and addresses teacher bias as well as
institutional bias and cultural mismatch, exploring potential race-based solutions. This case
study used an intensity sample to identify two exemplary teachers who approached teaching
black males differently and found that they employed 3 common elements termed the Three
Commitments. They are a Courageous Commitment, Emotional Commitment and a
Commitment to Social Justice. These Three Commitments are potential race-based solutions
that can be applied and tested on an institutional and systemic level to eliminate the ongoing
race-based inequity of disproportionate suspension of black male students.

I certify that the Abstract is a correct representation of the content of this dissertation.

_____________________________________________ ___________________
Chair, Dissertation Committee Date

RUNNING HEAD: The Three Commitments

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This dissertation is dedicated to my family. Starting with my ancestors, I thank my

grandfather Pops for always encouraging me to pursue higher education. I thank all of my

grandparents for their example as dedicated, hardworking black people committed to

family, community and social justice. I am thankful for my parents for their love and

support that provided me with the foundation for who I am today. I acknowledge and

thank my wife and partner Kafi, for encouraging and supporting me through every aspect

of this process. Your unwavering confidence in me has been a source of strength and an

inspiration to me. I thank my sons Elijah and Cameron for cheering me on. This work is

dedicated to both of you. I want to thank my chair, Shawn Ginwright for the substantial

commitment you made to support me in completing this project. You have been an

invaluable friend and colleague.

RUNNING HEAD: The Three Commitments 6

Table of Contents
CHAPTER
1
..............................................................................................................................................

8
INTRODUCTION
...............................................................................................................................................
8

General
Description
of
Research
Area
...................................................................................................................
8

Purpose
of
Study
...........................................................................................................................................................
10

Background
&
Rationale
...........................................................................................................................................
11

CONCEPTUAL
FRAMEWORK
.....................................................................................................................
14

Critical
Race
Theory
....................................................................................................................................................
14

Theoretical
Underpinnings
......................................................................................................................................
15

CHAPTER
2
...........................................................................................................................................
18

LITERATURE
REVIEW
.................................................................................................................................
18

Teacher
Bias
...................................................................................................................................................................
20

Institutional
Bias
..........................................................................................................................................................
22

Cultural
Mismatch
........................................................................................................................................................
23

Conclusions
and
Implications
.................................................................................................................................
25

Research
Questions
.....................................................................................................................................
26

CHAPTER
3
...........................................................................................................................................
27

RESEARCH
DESIGN
.......................................................................................................................................
27

Selection
of
Sample
......................................................................................................................................................
29

Selection
...........................................................................................................................................................................
30

Overview
of
Data
Collection
....................................................................................................................................
30

Using
the
3
D’s
Protocol
............................................................................................................................................
31

Role
of
the
Researcher
...............................................................................................................................................
35

Observation
Data
Analysis
.......................................................................................................................................
35

Interview
Data
Processing
.......................................................................................................................................
36

Analysis
.............................................................................................................................................................................
37

CHAPTER
4
...........................................................................................................................................
40

FINDINGS
.........................................................................................................................................................
40

Case
Summary:
Ron
.....................................................................................................................................................
40

Case
Summary:
Kelly
..................................................................................................................................................
42

The
Three
Commitments
..........................................................................................................................................
43

Courageous
Commitment
.........................................................................................................................................
44

Courageous
Commitment:
Key
Features
............................................................................................................
46

Emotional
Commitment
............................................................................................................................................
56

Emotional
Commitment:
Key
features
................................................................................................................
57

Commitment
to
Social
Justice
.................................................................................................................................
62

Commitment
to
Social
Justice:
Key
features
.....................................................................................................
63

CHAPTER
5
...........................................................................................................................................
69

RESTATING
THE
PROBLEM
.......................................................................................................................
69

SUMMARY
OF
METHODS
............................................................................................................................
71

SUMMARY
OF
FINDINGS
.............................................................................................................................
73

APPLYING
THE
RESEARCH
........................................................................................................................
76

FUTURE
DIRECTIONS
..................................................................................................................................
78

REFERENCES
........................................................................................................................................
79


APPENDICES
.........................................................................................................................................
84

APPENDIX
A:
Observation
Protocol
.......................................................................................................
84

APPENDIX
B:
Interview
Protocol
Questionnaire
...............................................................................
84

APPENDIX
C:
Key
Terms
.............................................................................................................................
85

Key
Terms

........................................................................................................................................................................
85


CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

General Description of Research Area

The purpose of this study is to explain the causes of disproportionately high suspension

rates of black males in schools by examining classroom teachers with effective, low-referring

discipline practices. Nationwide, disproportionality of suspension of black male students

compared to white male students, has been a persistent trend in US public schools for over 35

years (Children’s Defense Fund, 1975; Skiba, Michael, Nardo, Peterson, 2002; US Dep. Of Ed

2012). Black males are suspended at rates 2 to 3 times more than their white counterparts (Skiba

et. al., 2002). Evidence shows that race is a dominating factor in this trend, even when controlled

for poverty (Wu, Pink, Crain, Moles, 1982; Skiba et. al., 2002) black students are suspended

primarily for disruption which is a more subjective reason while white students are suspended

primarily for more objective observable offenses (Skiba, 2008). These discrepancies are not

simply due to black students misbehaving more than white students. In fact, studies show black

students being punished more severely for minor infractions than white students (Skiba et. al.,

2002). The office discipline referral (ODR) is the first step procedurally to the initiation of an out

of school suspension (OSS) the documented point of origin for this disproportionality. Studies

consistently showed that black students were sent out of class the majority of the time for

defiance, disrespect or disruption, infractions that are highly subjective and subject to teacher

and administrator discretion and bias (Skiba et. al., 2002, Fenning and Rose, 2007). White

students however were predominantly sent out for more objective offenses like cutting,


vandalism, smoking, etc., infractions that carry a mandatory referral or suspension. This

evidence suggests that the disproportionality of suspension is at least partially rooted in

administrator and teacher bias and that black students are held to a separate and unequal standard

of conduct.

In an effort to contribute to an effective solution, this study will explore effective

classroom practices that facilitate greater engagement and thus less disciplinary actions toward

black male students. Research suggests that there are three primary reasons for this trend in

disproportionality: institutional bias, teacher bias, and cultural mismatch (Skiba, 2002, Fenning

2007, Noguera 2010, Monroe, 2005). Many of these studies offer race neutral interventions such

as conflict management, mental health programs, tutorial & mentoring programs, and positive

behavior support (PBS). Some interventions like Positive Behavioral Supports show consistent

success in reducing suspensions, but not disproportionality (Sandomierski, 2011). While PBS

accurately focuses on the institution to create systemic change, it does not adequately address the

issue of race and disproportionality. Thus, as found in Sandomierski’s study, schoolwide office

discipline referrals are reduced where Positive Behavioral Supports is implemented but overall,

black students remained overrepresented in office discipline referrals and office discipline

referrals. This indicates that the root of the disparity is not being addressed by current reasons or

proposed interventions. The reasons [Skiba 2002, Noguera 2010 and Monroe 2005] cited are

institutional bias, teacher bias, cultural mismatch. These reasons help to identify the root of the

overrepresentation of black males in suspension by examining the racial trends and elements of

teacher related causes of disproportionality. However this approach lacks an explicit

acknowledgement of existing institutional racism. Identifying bias frames the identification as a

phenomenon local to schools. Identifying elements of racism points to a more systemic problem.


Since research clearly demonstrates disproportionality as a problem consistent along racial lines,

solutions need to make race more central as well, specifically addressing racism.

Critical Race Theory (CRT) provides a tool to better understand how racism contributes

to disproportionality. One such tool is the tenet of challenging the assumption of race neutrality

or the myth of colorblind institutions (Soloranzano, 1997). Many white educators have been

conditioned that noticing race as a white person is inappropriate and racist therefore develop a

habit of avoiding, even denying race as a factor in anything, opting for a colorblind approach to

their students and families. Many people of color however deem it critical to their survival to

recognize race and racial dynamics (Singleton, Linton, 2006). This conflict leads some white

educators to consider any discussion about race by a person of color as racist. CRT boldly

situates American racism and its historical, legal complexity at the foundation of the American

education system. CRT asserts that the heart of inequity and black/white disparities in education

are rooted in racism’s primary concept of white supremacy, the superiority or all things white

over all things nonwhite.

Purpose of Study

The purpose of this study is to explore aspects of classroom discipline practices that

mitigate student office discipline referrals, by examining classroom teachers with effective, low-

referring discipline practices. This study departs from prior research on the topic, which focuses

almost entirely on documenting how and why disproportionality occurs (Skiba, Noguera,

Fenning, Monroe, Townsend). Rather, this study uncovers potential clues that point toward

solutions to eliminate this problem. By identifying teachers with successful discipline practices

and examining elements in those classrooms, this study will look at discipline strategies that

keep students in class and reveals elements of effective engagement and teaching that can inform


teachers who wish for more effective classroom management of black male students. This

project will investigate what constitutes effective classroom practices with black male students.

Eliminating discipline referrals increases the likelihood of eliminating disproportionality of

suspension of black male students in those classrooms and schools.

The aim of this study is to study characteristics of the teacher who is the initiator of the

suspension sequence, not the student who is the subject of any suspension. Because students are

suspended, we naturally spend a great deal of focus on students and their behaviors that lead to

suspension. What gets less attention is the fact that teachers and administrators have dozens of

alternative interventions before resorting to a suspension. It is usually the teacher who initiates a

process where the end result is a suspension. This study examines what teachers can do to

mitigate initiation of suspensions through decreased referrals. Research indicates that one

element of successful classrooms is strong teacher-student relationships. Establishing positive,

supportive relationships with all students is a critical element of effective teaching and

contributes to student success (Darling-Hammond, 1992). It is anticipated that the findings will

show this to be a central component to a teacher’s success in keeping black males in the

classroom.

Background & Rationale

This issue of disproportionate suspension of black males has gained national attention

(Civil Rights and School Discipline Conference, 2010). Leading scholars have presented

evidence that demonstrated how black male students receive more harsh school discipline and

suspensions on the basis of race, not behavior (Losen & Skiba, 2010). This discriminatory

exclusion pattern is a predictor of higher levels of academic failure and increased risk for going

to prison later in life (Foster 1986; Morrison, & D’Incau, 1997; Noguera, 2003). Black males are


suspended more than any other group, and are the most likely group to be incarcerated. The

greatest predictor of involvement in the juvenile justice system is a history of disciplinary

referrals at school, more so than poverty indicators, or poor academic performance. (Public

Policy Research Institute, 2005). Research has also found a high correlation between suspensions

and low academic achievement (Gregory, Skiba, Noguera, 2010). These indicators of race-based

mistreatment indicate a higher likelihood of incarceration for black males and connections

between suspension and academic failure point to a significant equity problem.

An abundance of research demonstrates that black male students are disproportionately

suspended from schools nationwide compared to white male students (Mosca & Hollister, 2004;

Skiba & Peterson, 1999; Skiba, 2000). For 35 years disproportionality in suspension has

persisted and has likely contributed significantly to the black male high school dropout rate,

which is twice that of white males (Skiba, Michael, Nardo & Peterson, 2002), and the low

national high school graduation rate among black males, which is one fourth that of white males

(UCLA Civil Rights Project, 2010) making this a significant issue in education. Research

demonstrates that disproportionate suspension of black males reflects a discriminatory pattern on

the basis of race and gender (black male) and does not reflect a higher rate of negative behavior

patterns in black males (Monroe, 2005 p.46). This discriminatory pattern is a civil rights issue

and a critical equity issue in education (UCLA Civil Rights Project, 2010).

Most schools in America have exclusion policies with suspension usually designated as a

last resort, while relying on in school interventions first (Black, 1999; Henault, 2001). In school

interventions include conferences between the administrator the teacher, the student and parents

or guardians and are standard procedural steps before suspension. With student behavior as the

primary focus, suspension policies aim to discourage behavior that violates school rules. Because


State, district and school guidelines for suspension are detailed but vague and allow significant

site discretion, teachers and administrators are tasked with determining which behaviors are

serious enough to warrant referral and suspension to address those behaviors (Bowditch, 1993).

This allows for two students to get vastly different consequences for the same violation.

School safety is most frequently cited as the most urgent priority in schools, and a

primary justification for the use of suspension (Noguera, 2003). However, suspension rates for

serious offenses that pose safety issues such as fighting, bringing a weapon, and destruction of

school property are relatively small for black and white males indicating suspension is not

primarily used for school safety (McAndrews, 2001). This means that although safety is often

cited as a reason for suspension, safety is actually not an issue in most suspensions. Recent

research by Gregory, Skiba, and Noguera (2010), found that black students tend to be suspended

for subjective offenses (disruption, defiance, disrespect, threat, excessive noise) while white

students are primarily suspended for more objective, observable offenses (smoking, vandalism,

cutting class). Schools seem to be less tolerant of black male behavior and more tolerant of the

same behavior when exhibited by white males.

While some may argue that this finding simply reveals that black males exhibit a

different set of behaviors than white males, research on referrals show that white students are

referred less frequently for the same behaviors exhibited by black students (Monroe, 2005). The

disparity is not just in the rate, but the frequency of referral and suspension of black males over

white males for the same behavior (Skiba, et. al. 2002). This data adds to a body of evidence

revealing more of a bias against black males, rather than a trend rooted solely in behavior

patterns of black male students. Research suggests as a result of disproportionate suspensions

and exclusion from classroom learning links black male students to low academic achievement,


low graduation rates, high dropout/push out rates (3 times that of white students) and the school-

to-prison pipeline (Noguera, 2003; CDF, 2008, Nicholson-Crotty, 2009) where black males who

have been suspended at least once, are 10 times more likely than white students to be in the

juvenile justice system. Furthermore, compared to white males, black males earn college degrees

at half the rate. Black males have twice the unemployment rate, 10 times the incarceration rate,

and 16 times the murder rate of White males (Kaiser, 2006).

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Critical Race Theory

Critical Race Theory (CRT) is the primary lens from which this study views the problem

of disproportionality. CRT in education as well as supporting theories, provide evidence

supporting the claim that disproportionality in suspension does not originate with black males

and their behavior, but stems from a larger system failure to enact effective alternative discipline

strategies. This results in harm to black male students in the form of exclusion from school

through suspension.

Critical Race Theory (CRT) in education is based in legal studies and examines the

institution of education in this country from a wide lens, looking at the racist foundations of

America. Solórzano (1997) identified five tenets of CRT that can and should inform research.

The centrality and intersection of race and racism and racism (challenge to white supremacy and

the centrality of whiteness); the challenge to dominant ideology (challenge to race neutrality or

color-blindness); the commitment to social justice (critical theory, critical pedagogy, etc.); the

centrality of experiential knowledge (narrative and storytelling); and the utilization of

interdisciplinary approaches (CRT in compliment with other liberatory frameworks).


Theoretical Underpinnings

The dominant theories that have explained the problem of disproportionality in the

research are institutional bias, teacher bias, and cultural mismatch. These three explanations are

flawed and inadequate for the following reasons. Institutional bias is when a set of policies

produce a negative impact on a whole group. Institutionally biased policies are very difficult to

challenge because policies are disproportionately applied to groups on a legitimate but mostly

discretionary basis, making challenges to due process difficult (Gregory, Skiba, Noguera, 2010).

Institutional bias accurately shares the blame on an institutional level and even recognizes

racial bias at this level but fails to recognize inherent bias against black students as an

institutional norm rather than an exceptional condition that results from unfair policies like zero

tolerance policies (ZTP’s) (Monroe, 2005). Teacher bias focuses primarily on hidden bias of the

teacher in the classroom. Teacher bias is particularly challenging when a teacher is unable or

unwilling to examine their bias by examining their own beliefs, stereotypes and practices from a

race-based lens. (IAT, Harvard, Gladwell, 2010). Lastly, cultural mismatch accurately identifies

cultural differences and dynamics in the classroom that contribute to black males being over

disciplined but implies that black culture and behavior is defective and incompatible with an

academic environment which is biased against black culture.

Suspension of black male students in schools can be viewed as an indicator of a larger

social dynamic that is mirrored by gross negative outcomes for black males in society. The high

rate of black male gun violence and incarceration of black males contributes to a pervasive

perception in schools that black males are dangerous and bad (Foster, 1986, Monroe, 2005).

Black boys internalize this perception of black boys in schools as well, and being feared as

dangerous becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy (Rhem, 1999).


This black male trajectory is also characterized as the ‘school to prison pipeline’

(Nicholson-Crotty, 2009). This is a process where black males, facing discriminatory treatment,

are overly criminalized in schools, being referred for arrest and criminal charges for behavior

that outside of school, would not warrant an arrest (Noguera, 2003). The result is the social

reproduction process in schools, preparing and routing black males for prison, more so than for

college or the workforce. Social reproduction theory and the reframing of the achievement gap as

an opportunity gap give context to disproportionate suspension rates of black males in schools

and suggest how black males are pushed and pulled into the trap of failure in schools and society.

CRT in education adds an additional frame to view the problem, highlighting the education

system and the legal system as the primary culprit for continued discrimination of black males in

schools.

The CRT challenge to dominant ideology counters claims that the legal system of justice

is colorblind, race-neutral and provides equal opportunity (Solórzano, 1997). In education, this

CRT tenet is at the heart of disproportionality of black males because while disproportionality of

suspension of black males is explicitly examined with race as the variable, the problem of

disproportionality in the research literature is examined from an assumption that the source of

disproportionate suspensions must originate from black male behavior and not the institution that

is suspending them, which is assumed to be race-neutral.

This study will examine teacher discipline practices in the classroom from a CRT lens to

explore to what extent is race an acknowledged factor in reducing out of class referrals of black

male students. In other words, do teachers see race as opposed to being colorblind to race and the

accompanying bias against black male students. This study seeks to explore to what extent the

CRT tenet of challenging race-neutrality can address teacher bias against black male students


and address cultural mismatch, which negatively impacts black male students as well. This study

also explores the CRT tenet of the centrality of whiteness and how institutional bias against

black male students is mitigated through effective classroom discipline practices.


CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

This research review focuses on two tenets of Critical Race Theory that are most relevant

for explaining disproportionate suspension of black males: ‘the centrality and intersection of race

and racism’ and the ‘challenge to dominant ideology’. The centrality and intersection of race and

racism, alternately termed the ‘centrality of whiteness’ (Ladson-Billings, 1995) claims that race

and racism is a central rather than marginal factor in individual’s experiences (Solórzano, 1997).

The challenge to dominant ideology counters the colorblind myth or the assumption of race

neutrality, claiming that no laws or policies can legitimately be considered race neutral and

attempts to claim race neutrality or colorblindness actually reinforce inequity and racism by

default. This chapter will examine CRT studies that describe cultural mismatch as one of the

causes of disproportionality in suspension, as well as studies that describe the centrality of

whiteness. Studies that show institutional and teacher bias are viewed through the ‘challenge to

dominant ideology’ tenet.

By using the CRT framework to teach a writing class, Knaus (2009) demonstrates how

teacher agency (Duncan-Andrade & Morrell, 2009) is used in addressing institutional racism at

the classroom level. Knaus discusses how he taught a class and used it as a case study,

imbedding CRT in the curriculum and instruction. The study analyzed students’ narratives of

their own oppression, thus aligning with the tenet of the centrality and intersection of race and

racism. Knaus does this by challenging the students to put race, gender and socioeconomic status

at the center of their writing.


Knaus found that by writing and speaking in class about racism, sexism and other forms

of oppression in the class, the students felt more connected to the class and took more of an

interest in learning the academic material for the course.

This study proved very effective in engaging students academically and highlighted

strong caring relationships between the teacher and students and explicitly acknowledged the

responsibility and agency of the teacher to counteract a larger racially biased institution by

putting the dialogue about the impact of race, socioeconomic status and gender at the forefront.

However, as a CRT case study of effective teaching, there was no mention of discipline practices

that led to reduced referrals out of class. This notion of looking at discipline in an effective

classroom environment is a gap that my study seeks to fill.

Gay (2006) examines culturally responsive teaching and classroom management through

a CRT lens. Through a meta analysis of prior research, the article discusses several categories

relating to effective discipline, including teacher student dynamics, racial bias, and how relevant

curriculum impacts the learning environment.

A few of the authors that Gay reviewed (Charles 2000, Epanchin, Townsend, & Stoddard

1994, Haberman 1991, Jones & Jones 2004) found that when classroom discipline is a major

concern for a teacher, it is more of a reflection of a larger classroom management issue. The

article highlights the effectiveness of culturally responsive teaching fostered by proactive,

positive teacher student relationships, minimizing discipline problems making it a less relevant

issue (Gay, 2006). This is a significant finding although the use of CRT to view the problem was

through the interdisciplinary layer of multicultural education, specifically highlighting effective

culturally responsive interventions.


Gay’s (2006) article exemplifies the CRT tenet of challenging the dominant ideology by

highlighting the negative impact of the biased, unfair curriculum and policies in schools that do

not reflect non-dominant childrens’ culture. Conversely, the positive impact on students of color

when the curriculum and policies do reflect their culture is also highlighted. Gay’s (2006) article

did not, however, directly address disproportionality in discipline for black students. While it is

conceivable that a teacher does not pursue culturally responsive pedagogy or social justice

pedagogy and still effectively addresses discipline for black male students in a way that supports

their learning, this is not the norm. It is much more likely that a teacher who tries to ignore race

or be “colorblind” in the classroom and treat all students equally is more likely to reproduce

inequity and perpetuate institutional bias, teacher bias and unwittingly push black male students

out. This phenomenon is represented in the CRT model as inability or unwillingness to examine

the context of inequity and bias against some groups while refusing to be self-critical and

examine their views and practices with a race critical lens.

All three categories of explanation; teacher bias, institutional bias, and cultural mismatch,

cover a broad range of phenomenon that centers around institutional and teacher behavior as well

as black male student behavior. The following review examines these categories in the research,

the common themes as well as the shortcomings in accurately explaining disproportionate

suspensions.

Teacher Bias

The problem of teacher bias is not only that teachers have a negative perception of black

male students, creating hyper visibility (Skiba, 2002) and causing them to get suspended more,

but many teachers deny treating students differently according to race. This finding, in a study by

Gregory and Mosley (2004) illustrates this by surveying fifty teachers from a large urban high


school in California, about their attitudes regarding discipline and the factors involved in the

discipline decisions. The study found that very few teachers consider factors that are within their

own control as the cause of discipline problems, lending credence to the perception that

discipline problems in their classroom are the students’ fault and completely out of their control.

The study found that there were a few teachers who were able to recognize their role in

preventing misbehavior. A few of these teachers were also able to reflect on how race is

intertwined with discipline. The majority of teachers however were not able to recognize or

reflect on these possibilities (Gregory & Mosley, 2004).

Gregory & Mosley’s (2004) study examines culturally responsive discipline as a potential

intervention, focusing on teacher-student relationships in eliminating the disproportionality in

discipline. The study lacks an analytical treatment of race as a fundamental feature of

suspensions in school policy. Also, the race-neutral or colorblind reasons that teachers gave for

student misbehavior, such as lack of structure and normal adolescent behavior, could not account

for the disproportionality according to race, thus assigning race neutral reasons for a race based

trend (Gregory & Mosley, 2004). This study is an example of the challenge to the dominant

ideology tenet of CRT.

Race is an implicit factor in discipline when exploring disproportionality among black

male students because of teacher bias. Fenning (2007) did a meta analysis examining qualitative

research finding some ethnographic and interview data identifying teacher perception as a reason

for labeling and removing students of color from class (Balfanz et. al., 2003; Bowditch, 1993;

Vavrus & Cole, 2002).

Balfanz et. al. (2003), Bowditch (1993), Vavrus & Cole (2002), reveal that perceptions of

loss of control and fear influence teacher decisions to exclude black males from class,


highlighting race as a factor in teacher practices in the classroom. Fenning (2007), recommends

positive behavioral supports (PBS), a race-neutral intervention to address this problem. Unlike

the first article (Gregory & Mosley, 2004) which largely reported race-neutral, color-blind

reasons given by teachers for ODR’s, Fenning (2007) acknowledges race in teacher reasons for

office discipline referrals but offers Positive Behavioral Supports as a race-neutral, color-blind

intervention. Both conclusions fail to challenge the dominant ideology that is clearly impacting

black males based on their race.

Institutional Bias

On a policy level, zero tolerance policies that mandate rigid disciplinary responses, such

as suspension or expulsion for broad categories of behavior, is one of the more obvious examples

of institutional bias (Martinez, 2009). Although Martinez demonstrates how zero tolerance

policies disproportionally affect black males on the basis of race, implying institutional bias, the

article assumes that the institution is racially neutral (and not racist) by focusing on how the

institution is ill equipped (p.155) to deal with black male misbehavior.

Similarly, Dunbar and Villarruel (2004) found that zero tolerance policies (ZTP’s) and

practices are shown to impact black males disproportionately according to region (urban vs.

rural). Again, by illustrating the impact of institutional bias by race, yet examining these

differences according to region, a race neutral variable, this study contributes to the nuanced

examination of this complex problem but falls short of challenging the dominant ideology of

whiteness. Again, race is implied in the regional category because of much higher concentrations

of black students in urban areas (Dunbar & Villarruel, 2004). Using a policy analysis framework,

Dunbar and Villarruel interviewed 36 principals in a qualitative study that found fundamental

differences in interpretation and application of zero tolerance policies. Differences between


urban and rural principals resulted in much higher suspension and expulsion rates in urban

schools because of the stricter application of ZTP’s. However, the study did not find significant

differences in student behavior or level of violence in the schools. Both studies, Martinez (2009)

and Dunbar and Villarruel (2004), point out the racial bias in disproportionality of discipline

among black males, but fail to directly address it, instead focusing on other categories to explore

the problem.

This pattern in the research of avoiding race and racism as a potential cause of

disproportionality, while acknowledging the problem on the basis of race, highlights the

challenge in proving racial bias in disproportionality. Simply naming institutional bias as the

cause of disproportionality in discipline is not precise enough to effectively address the problem.

Only through using the CRT tenets to examine the problem of disproportionality in suspension

can researchers address the complexities of institutional racism and how it is imbedded in the

dominant ideology.

Cultural Mismatch

The third and most commonly explored cause of disproportionality focuses on black

males’ behavior and its origins in African American culture. According to Fenning (2007) and

Theodos, Benner, and Bohanon-Edmonson (2004), disproportionate minority discipline and

exclusion is a combination of student misbehavior and the institutional reaction to student

behavior. This primarily places the blame on the student, casting the institution as merely

responding to black male misbehavior.

Thus, according to these authors (Fenning, 2007; Theodos, Benner, & Bohanon-

Edmonson, 2004), the disproportionate discipline is caused by the misbehavior of the minority

students. The resulting recommendation, a PBS intervention, is aimed solely at school-wide


culture as a proactive strategy to reduce individual student misbehavior. While this intervention

proves to be effective in reducing overall misbehavior, the reduction in overall suspensions for

all students preserves the disproportionality of minority suspensions, leaving in place the core

factors that cause the disproportionality, albeit minimizing it. This proposed intervention (PBS)

is inadequate and doesn’t begin to acknowledge the teacher bias and institutional racism, thus

reinforcing the centrality of whiteness with a colorblind analysis of the problem.

One of the seminal works that explores cultural mismatch in disproportionality of black

males in suspension is Monroe (2005), who takes on cultural bias against black males in a

synopsis of research findings. Monroe’s analysis of research shows how black males are unfairly

targeted for discipline according to racial stereotypes. By noting negative teacher attitudes and

reactions to black male cultural behavior, Monroe addresses a dynamic that is missed by most

researchers regarding disproportionality: adult misbehavior.

By recommending race-based interventions that include race conscious teacher

preparation and examination of attitudes and misconceptions toward black students, Monroe

(2005) is consistent in highlighting the racial basis of this problem and making a

recommendation that is race-based. However, Monroe (2005) does not effectively address the

source of the racial bias. By focusing on teacher and institutional response to black male culture,

race is still presented as a marginal factor, as something that is only relevant when black students

are present because of their so called provocative culture (Monroe, 2005).

Soloranzano (1997) reinforces the CRT tenet of the centrality of whiteness, casting black

male culture as the “other” and as defective. By failing to view this problem of cultural mismatch

through CRT, this article fails to recognize the centrality and intersection of race and racism.

Instead, this perspective blames the victim through an analysis that uses multiple examples, all


focusing on black male culture and behavior as the source of the problem. By using the CRT

frame, this study views this cultural dynamic differently by focusing on black males as the

population that is impacted the most by this problem of disproportionality.

Conclusions and Implications

This section examined how the research literature blames the problem of

disproportionality in discipline of black males on teacher bias, institutional bias and cultural

mismatch. This paper analyses how these explanations at best, point out race as an issue while

stopping short of calling it racism, and at worse, effectively blames black males for this

mistreatment.

By showing how these studies lack CRT as a critical conceptual framework to analyze

the problem, this review identifies a gap in the research. In examining articles that view the

problem through teacher bias and institutional bias, I show how they overlap the CRT tenet of

the centrality and intersection of race and racism. I discussed how the subtle focus on teacher or

institutional bias against black male misbehavior misrepresents the problem and misses a critical

perspective. This perspective looks at how the problem lies with the teachers’ bias and the

institutional bias based on race, not the black males’ behavior. While evidence shows that black

teachers suspend black male students’ less than white or Asian teachers, the findings do not

indicate any reversal or elimination of the disparity (. White or black, teachers still send black

males out of class more than white males.

In examining articles that explored disproportionality through cultural mismatch, I

presented the CRT tenet of the centrality and intersection of race and racism. This tenet explains

how the cultural mismatch perspective was better able to highlight teacher and institutional bias


according to race. Nevertheless, the cultural mismatch view is also flawed in its inherent

implication that black culture is defective.

Research Questions

The purpose of this study is to explain the contributing factors to disproportionately high

suspension rates of black males in schools by examining classroom teachers with effective, low-

referring discipline practices. Based on the above literature, I developed the following questions:

1) What are the features of discipline strategies and practices that mitigate disruption and office

discipline referrals among black male students?

2) Are there beliefs and assumptions (personal values) that effective teachers have about their

students and their behavior that challenges race neutrality or the colorblind myth?

a) How do those beliefs support effective discipline strategies & practices?


CHAPTER 3

RESEARCH DESIGN

The following Research employs a case study of two teachers who were studied

independently and the data from those studies were examined across the two cases. This study

examined two classroom teachers with effective, low-referring discipline practices in Oakland.

The two teachers were observed and interviewed. These two case studies were examined and

analyzed based on trends and themes that answered the research questions. By using a case study

design as a basis for the research, this study was able to explore how effective teachers employed

discipline practices for black male students. Each teacher demonstrated key features of

classroom discipline practices in the study. Using CRT, the study examined race as a factor in

classroom discipline practices by observing specific interactions the teachers had with black

male students in their class. Specifically the study examined how teachers challenged the CRT

race neutrality or colorblindness when working with black males. By examining the classroom

interactions between teachers and students, observations revealed how these two teachers

responded to common classroom behavior. Additionally, the use of interviews allowed the

teachers to discuss how they viewed their students’ race in relation to how they managed

behavior of black male students and did discipline in the class.

The use of a cross-case study design provided the researcher an understanding of teacher

practices through the collection of information using a customized data collection protocol in the

two classrooms as well as accompanying interviews with the teachers. The protocol categorized

behaviors according to more objective classification of what the prior literature identifies as the


three D’s, disruption, defiance & disrespect, the primary reasons given for black male

suspensions.

By utilizing this observation protocol along with follow up interviews, the researcher

was able to understand how teacher discipline practices and their values and beliefs about their

students’ behavior impacts their black male students. This research contributes to understanding

how office discipline referrals and disproportionate suspensions of black male students can be

significantly reduced or eliminated through effective discipline practices.

Table 3.1

RESEARCH
DESIGN

Phase
#1
Intensity
sample:
Principal
nomination
of
select
pool
of
effective
teachers
&
pre-‐
interview
and
consent
of
nominees

Phase
#2
Qualitative:
observation
of
classroom
during
instruction

Phase
#3
In
depth
interviews:
Recorded
and
transcribed
follow
up
interview
of
observations

with
the
teachers

Phase
#4
Confirm
observations:
Transcriptions
verified
with
teachers
interviewed

This research was conducted in four phases. The first phase of this project focused on

generating an intensity sample of teachers whom embody the theoretical principles under study.

The study was particularly interested in those teachers who had a lower than average number of

overall referrals, including black males at their school site. Because one way to eliminate

disproportionality is to increase referrals of other groups, this study hopes to identify specific

discipline strategies that will eliminate black male disproportionality by significantly reducing

out of class referrals. By using a nomination procedure, administrators at two schools were asked

to forward the names of two teachers they know of that fit the criteria. Teachers were identified

based on having a low or zero office discipline referral rate of black students, and effective at


teaching their subject. ‘Effective’ meant that the teacher was excellent at teaching the academic

material for the course and demonstrated a good classroom discipline practices. Verification that

teachers met these criteria was at the determination of the principal. Phase two involved sixteen

total classroom observations which were 50 minutes on average, of the two teachers selected.

Phase three focused on conducting in-depth interviews about how each teacher enacted those

features. Phase four involved follow up observations or interviews of teachers to confirm any

gaps in information or unclear findings as well as confirmation from teachers of the accuracy of

data captured from observations and interviews with teachers.

Selection of Sample

This study analyzed the discipline strategies of two middle school teachers in Oakland,

CA. The study focused on Oakland because it has the third largest population and proportion of

black male students and the largest proportion of suspended black male students in the state of

California. The study focused on middle school teachers because studies show that middle school

suspensions have the highest indicator of increasing the odds of contact with juvenile justice

(Nicholson-Crotty, 2009). Finding out what works well in these classrooms may translate into

effective practices that can be examined by similar teachers in Oakland middle schools. The

principals were identified according to who responded to an inquiry of all Oakland Middle

school principals by email to identify their most effective teachers in 1. Teaching the subject

material, 2. Having low or no office discipline referrals, 3. Having the respect of students and

families. Teachers that met these criteria had no more than 2 office referrals for a period of one

year as well as verification of exemplary standing according to principal evaluations within the

past 2-3 years. This selection process was tiered with the first tier and involved contacting the

principal of each school and asking for nominations of their top 2 performing teachers in the 3


above categories, teaching, low referrals & student respect. From this list of teachers, 2 were

selected by contacting each teacher and asking them to participate in the study.

Selection

Initially twelve teachers were identified by principals. Those teachers were contacted by

an email stating the intent and purpose of the study and asking the teacher if they were willing to

arrange a face to face meeting to allow the researcher to explain the study and its procedures and

obtain consent. Five teachers agreed to participate and signed a consent form. Those teachers’

principal was also contacted and asked to sign a similar consent to allow the research to take

place at their school site.

A researcher participant rapport was established through this initial meeting by the

researcher discussing his own background, and interest in conducting this research, particularly

letting each teacher know that the researcher is not an outsider but a native to the area and deeply

rooted and committed to the communities they are teaching in, not just the research.

Of the five teachers, one teacher only had one black male student in all five of her

classes, which was too low to quality for this study. Two other teachers that initially agreed to

participate later were unavailable to participate in the research. The study ended up being

conducted on the remaining two teachers.

Overview of Data Collection

Table 3.2

Cases

Ron
Kelly

Number
of
black
male
45
in
3
separate
classes
22
in
3
separate
classes

students

Hours
of
observations
7
8


Interviewed
1-‐
50
minute
interview
1-‐
50
minute
interview

Class
characteristics

History
and
social
studies
classes
Middle
school
math
classes

Teacher
Male
10th
year
teaching,
from
bay
Female
3rd

year
teaching,
from

characteristics
area.
Identifies
as
Puerto
Rican
bay
area.
Identifies
as
mixed
race,

and
Black.
36
years
old.

half
Puerto
Rican
&
half
White.

Data collection occurred in three sequences. The first sequence was the classroom

observations. Each participating teacher agreed to a minimum of five classroom observations.

The observations were all scheduled within a three month span during the spring of 2012. Each

observation was one hour long or one class period. Observations were documented silently using

a customized written observation protocol (see Appendix A). The second sequence involved

individual teacher interviews. Each interview was scheduled for one hour. The interviews were

conducted using an interview protocol of eight questions (see Appendix B). Interviews were

audio recorded and both were conducted within one month of the last classroom observation.

The third and final sequence of data collection was follow-up interviews with teachers by email

to confirm the data collected in the first interview. Short follow up questions were asked and a

transcript of the first interview was attached for the participants review and verification for

accuracy. Both teachers verified the accuracy of the interview transcript.

The classroom observations were documented using an observation matrix which was

designed to capture critical interactions between the teacher and students around the 3 D’s

(disruption, defiance, & disrespect). The 3 D’s are behaviors most cited in black male

suspensions and highly subjective. By coding these behaviors according to prior research reasons

for suspension, this protocol would directly observe and address the behavior that is at the core

of this disproportionate suspension of black male students.

Using the 3 D’s Protocol

31


For the purpose of this study, the researcher conducted classroom observations using an

observation protocol observing teacher discipline procedures. For example, when a teacher told a

student to move to another seat and that student refused, or deliberately moved slowly, the

teacher may have deferred dealing with the situation directly and kept teaching, only to return to

that student a few minutes later to check in with them, thus mitigating a referral out of class for

behavior that could likely be labeled disrespectful or defiant. The 3 D’s, are the three biggest

reasons for African American male office discipline referrals and suspensions (Skiba, et. al.,

2002) and was the focus of the interactions between teacher and students.

The interviews were conducted, using open ended questions to document teacher

attitudes about students who exhibited disruptive, disrespectful or defiant behavior as well as

teacher attitudes about their discipline strategies and student engagement in the class. The

content focus and questions of the interview protocol matched the content focus and observation

categories of the observations so that the data was matched. Observed behaviors and strategies

were reinforced, explained and sometimes incongruent by the teachers’ perspectives in the

interviews. The purpose of this approach was to limit variability allowing deeper data analysis on

a clearer more organized observation and interview.

Follow up questions were asked over email of the two teachers interviewed to follow up

with any areas that may have been missed in the interviews and to also give the teachers an

opportunity to reflect on their interview and offer further insight they may have on their

practices. The observation protocol was designed to observe relevant phenomenon relating to

teachers’ discipline practices.

The interview protocols involved 8 standard questions (see appendix C) that mirrored the

specific observation protocol points. These questions reinforced, clarified or contradicted what

32


was observed in the classroom. The interviewees were asked at the end if they have anything else

to add about any of the primary categories. All observation notes were kept safely in the

researcher’s home and audio recordings of the interviews were stored securely on the

researcher’s computer. The data will be kept by the researcher in perpetuity.

The collection of the data occurred in several stages. The initial observations were

documented by hand using data collection forms designed to capture teacher behavior and

responses to student behavior. The weakness of this method was observer bias, interpretation,

and accuracy in documenting interactions. The strength of the method was that the observer

documented according to specific types of interactions that were classified as disruptive,

disrespectful or defiant. The observation protocol involved noticing and documenting how the

teacher addressed 3 types of behavior: 1. Off task behavior or students not doing their work but

not distracting other students, 2. Disruptive behavior or students engaging other students, and 3.

Challenging or oppositional behavior or students challenging or the teacher directly.

Following the observations, the interviews were recorded on an audio device, transcribed

by the researcher and coded based on the themes that surfaced from the classroom observations

and categories identifies in prior research. Institutional bias, teacher bias and cultural mismatch

were lenses used to identify key patterns in the data.

The analysis design was “complimentarity” which sought elaboration, enhancement,

illustration, clarification of the results from one method (observations) with the results from the

other method (interviews). In other words, the interviews served to strengthen the final analysis

and interpretation of the observations. This method was chosen to increase the interpretability,

meaningfulness, and validity of constructs and inquiry results by both capitalizing on inherent

methods strengths and counteracting inherent biases in methods and other sources (Greene,

33


1987; Greene & McKlintock 1985; Mark & Shotland, 1987; Rossman & Wilson, 1985). Simply

put, the significance of the observations were strengthened or clarified by the teacher in the

interview.

Observations revealed how contact points secured between teacher and students who

exhibited behavior that could have been classified as disruptive, defiant or disrespectful.

Disruptive was considered any behavior that was off task but not necessarily involving multiple

students or engaging the teacher directly. This behavior was typically students daydreaming or

otherwise disengaged in the lesson or attempting to engage in off task behavior by themselves.

Defiant behavior was identified as any behavior that was off task and involved more than one

student. It was usually non-academic discussions or behavior that was not connected to the

lesson. The final category of disrespectful behavior was any behavior that was directly engaging

the teacher or out of compliance with teacher direction. This usually took the form of a student

not doing what the teacher has asked a student to do or the student engaging directly with the

teacher, asking a question or arguing about being redirected.

The interviews followed up to explore those interactions observed from the data, and

asked questions so the teacher could further explain deeper meaning, reasoning, and rationale for

the interventions selected during key contacts.

The information from the observation and interview from each teacher was matched up

according to each category used in the observation tool (see appendix) and corresponding

question in the interview. For example, classroom management strategy observation, was

matched up with the teacher reflection describing their classroom management strategy. The two

sources for each question (observation and teacher’s answer) was examined for similarities,

differences and trends with each teacher. Then data from all of the teachers was examined for

34


trends in consistency or inconsistency, strength or weakness to exploring the research questions.

Similarities, trends and differences were noted and summarized, highlighting how teachers

responded to disruptions, defiance and disrespect from black male students. First the information

from the observations were analyzed to determine if the teachers were creative in their responses

to student behavior. This anecdotal evidence contributed to the research on disproportionate

discipline from the CRT framework.

Role of the Researcher

While conducting the study the researcher attempted to act as natural as possible.

Teachers/participants were asked to simply explain to students that the researcher is a student

and will be in the class to observe the classroom. The researcher had minimal participation in the

classroom but engaged appropriately by responding when engaged by students and redirecting

students as much as possible by asking them about the class and the school in general. These

interactions informed the context of the observation but was not used in any substantive way in

the data collection or findings.

Observation Data Analysis

Observation data was analyzed by coding behaviors according to key themes. These key

themes were identified by first coding the behaviors observed and creating categories for the

types of interventions the teachers employed. A dozen different categories were identified and

they were arranged according to frequency. The categories that showed the highest frequency

were set aside and revisited after the interviews were conducted and transcribed. The categories

of interventions were then examined for interventions to the behaviors most likely to warrant an

out of class referral. This third layer of analysis highlighted interventions that were particularly

35


disruptive and evoked high emotions. These interventions revealed clear trends across both

cases. These high emotion interventions revealed two distinct elements for mostly the same

interactions but revealed different elements that warranted further exploration. The two elements

were emotional charge and how the teacher manages the emotional aspect of the event and the

other element was a focus on academic engagement and reengagement, despite the disruption.

This bore out the two categories of ‘expansive view’ and emotional flexibility.

Subheadings for each category were distinguished through cross examination of the

interview data and the observation data.

Interview Data Processing

The interviews were transcribed and line numbered. Each answer was broken into smaller

paragraphs of 2 to 3 sentences. Then the transcripts were reread several times for common

themes that were also reflected in the observation data categories of different forms of behavior

redirections and the prior research themes of institutional bias, teacher bias and cultural

mismatch. Interview themes emerged in three primary categories. The first two categories,

‘expansive view” and emotional flexibility, addressed the first research question and arose

primarily from the observation data but was confirmed in the interview data. The third category,

beliefs informing practice emerged almost entirely from the interview data and addressed the

second and third research question.

After the three categories or elements were identified, the transcripts were highlighted

according to each element and divided into three sections. Three copies of each transcript had to

be printed and each set of copies was used to highlight each element separately because some

quotes fit in multiple categories.

36


Analysis

Analysis consisted of comparing the findings to the framework of Critical Race Theory,

specifically the challenge to race neutrality, to see if elements of the classroom and interviews

were consistent or inconsistent with the tenets of CRT and if behaviors can be explained or not.

The patterns that were highlighted was CRT tenet of ‘expansive view’ approaches to keeping

students engaged in learning and the race based approach illuminated in the beliefs informing

practice category. This was important in order to ground the analysis and findings with the

framework and lens of CRT for this significant problem of disproportionality. This data

expanded CRT by including teacher beliefs informing practice in addressing oppression as well

as adding a dimension of ‘expansive view’ tenet which Crenshaw (1995) identifies as a term to

describe legal examination of addressing hidden discriminatory practices. This study develops

CRT in educational practice as a classroom strategy to remedy hidden discriminatory bias and a

way to measure the impact of that bias.

Teacher observations were cross examined for similarities and differences as well as

consistencies in each case study from observations to interviews. This information and insights

was compared to key elements of effective discipline outlined in the prior research as well as the

key reasons for office discipline referrals; disrespect, defiance and disruption as well as more

neutral classifications such as off task behavior, disruptions, and challenges. This was important

to highlight the range of findings whether consistent or inconsistent with the anticipating

findings.

Being consistent with the design of the study, it was crucial to examine and analyze the

findings horizontally and vertically. Each case was reviewed and studied as well as matching

observations and interviews across both cases.

37


Data was reduced to the highest correlation of findings within and across cases; (validity)

of practice (ex. engaging all students creatively), principle (ex. belief in students right to be in

class and learn) and outcome (students are engaged and stay in class). This increased

consistency according to the framing in the problem statement and articulation of the key

elements of the problem in the prior research review.

38


CRT Table 3.2

APPLIED CRITICAL RACE THEORY
Addressing disproportionality of suspension of black
males using CRT as a theoretical frame

KEY TENETS RESEARCH THE THREE
TO CRT REVIEW COMMITTMENTS
Two tenets of CRT used Primary causes for Effective elements for
to frame the causes of disproportionality cited significantly reducing or
disproportionality in research eliminating out of class
referrals of black male
Centrality of Teacher Bias students
Whiteness White Hidden stereotypes
Courageous
ideology, values, compel adults to
have different Commitment:
and interests are at Taking
the center of all expectations and
hold black students extraordinary steps
aspects of to ensure students
to a different
dominant culture & standard. stay in class and
policy. learn.
Institutional Bias
The Challenge to Inequality is Emotional
dominant reproduced Commitment:
ideology regardless of
Utilizing a wide
individuals in the
Countering the array of tools to
institution or
claims that the manage their own
assumed institutional
legal system of intolerance of emotions.
justice and all post- racism.
modern American Commitment to
institutions, namely Cultural Social Justice &
public education is Mismatch Black Equity:
colorblind, race- students culture is Deliberately direct
neutral and pathologized and attention and
provides equal viewed as
resources to
opportunity incompatible with
counter
(Brown v Board). the educational
setting. institutional racism
and inequity.


CHAPTER 4

FINDINGS

The purpose of this study was to explain how teacher responses to student behavior,

influence disproportionately high suspension rates of black males in schools. By examining

classroom teachers with effective, low-referring discipline practices, this study identified key

elements of a classroom management and discipline strategy that can contribute to the significant

reduction or elimination of this disparity. The following research questions guided this study: (1)

What are the features of discipline strategies and practices that mitigate disruption and office

discipline referrals among black male students? (2) Are there beliefs and assumptions (personal

values) that effective teachers have about their students and their behavior that challenge race

neutrality or the colorblind myth? (a) How do those beliefs support effective discipline strategies

& practices?

Using classroom observations and in depth interviews, study participants revealed their

discipline strategies and practices as well as their attitudes toward their students and their

personal beliefs and values about teaching and how they approach discipline. This chapter

presents a description of each case, then displays the findings of both cases based on classroom

observations and individual in depth interviews with teachers.

Case Summary: Ron

Ron is a 36 year old male history and social studies teacher at the Oakland Community Middle

School (OCMS). Having taught for 10 years, he deliberately choose OCMS to teach because of

their predominantly black student population and the neighborhood the school is situated in

which features high poverty rates and high levels of community violence. This is Ron’s first year


teaching at OCMS and has taught at 9 different schools in 10 years. He teaches US history and

social studies for 7th and 8th grade students. The school serves approximately 215, 6-8 graders

and has 10 teachers and 2 administrators. The school is predominantly black and male. Eighty

percent of the students are African-American and 115 out of 215 are male. Ten percent are

Latino and the rest are Arab, Asian, and other races.

Ron was observed eight times. His classes averaged 25 – 30 students with over half of

those students being black males. His classroom is decorated with posters of African-American

and Latino historical figures as well as posters for hip-hop artists. He uses media and music

everyday in his class to creatively expose his students to a variety of cultures and practices from

around the world in a way that engages their interest and sparks critical thought. He frequently

uses a microphone for students to participate in class and remind other students to be quiet when

others are talking, reinforcing the ground rule of “one mic”, where one person talks at a time.

Of Puerto Rican heritage, Ron offers creative opportunities for students to earn extra

credit points in his class by attending relevant community events. He clearly brings multiple

skills and talent in his classroom. As an independent filmmaker, Ron uses multiple forms of

media to creatively engage students. He teaches standing up and never sits down. He moves

around the classroom teaching from all areas of the classroom. His classroom is highly organized

with procedures in place when students enter the classroom. There is assigned seating and

students have a writing prompt when they first enter the class.

The classes involved a high level of engagement. Students were never asked to be

completely silent but were always expected and asked to engage in the work of the class. He

frequently spoke to students about staying focused and on task. When doing discipline, he never

stopped the flow of his class for more than 10 – 15 seconds. During the 8 observations he never

41


wrote a referral and he never required an extended intervention with any student. He later

explained that there were more incidents that involved referrals out of class and physical contact

with students, fights etc. at the beginning of the year. Since the observations took place during

the last 3 months of school, he indicated that there was a significant amount of improvement

with his relationship and rapport with his students and that they were more acclimated to his

form of discipline and management.

Case Summary: Kelly

Kelly is a 26 year old female math and algebra teacher at the Marcus Foster Middle

School (MFMS). In her third year of teaching, she worked at MFMS because of their

predominantly black student population. This is Kelly’s second year teaching at MFMS. She

taught math and algebra for 6th, 7th and 8th grade students. The school had 430 students, 28

teachers and 2 administrators. The school is predominantly black and male. Fifty five percent of

the students are African-American and 230 out of 430 are male. Thirty seven percent are Latino

and the rest are Asian, Pacific Islander and other races.

Kelly was observed 8 times for an average of 45 minutes. Her classroom environment has

a lot of student work on the walls. She had large posters in the front of the room of Che Guevara,

a Cuban revolutionary and Barack Obama, the current US president. The other poster was a

motivational poster of the ocean with the word “persistence” on it. The other features of her

classroom were multiple reminders of the discipline policy. She exhibited a calm demeanor,

never raised her voice and walked around the room constantly. Her classes were frequently

smaller than the school average with 20 – 25 students. She taught using creative projects. For

instance they had a mathematical problem that analyzed the assassination of former US president

John Kennedy which included a description packet, a video and a mathematical grid. Students

42


had multiple “entry points” to engage in learning. There was no one way to engage with the

problems but rather several angles which a student could approach the problem. Kelly was

highly organized and procedures were posted on the board. She walked around the class and

would frequently kneel next to her students to assist them individually.

She spoke evenly and quickly and was able to multi-task instruction, redirection and

respond to request all at once. She would frequently encourage and compliment her students for

their effort in math.

The Three Commitments

While there are a number of studies that have examined factors that contribute to

effective classroom discipline. This study has identified three primary elements that contributed

to effective teachers doing discipline in a way that mitigated suspensions and out of class

referrals for Black male students (See Table 4.1). These primary elements, termed the three

commitments (the 3 C’s) were heavily evidenced in the observations and interviews and are in

essence a response to the 3 D’s of disproportionality: disruption, defiance and disrespect. The

three C’s counter the impact of disproportionality by directly addressing the inherent biases of

the 3 D’s: teacher bias, institutional bias, and cultural mismatch. By challenging these

institutional and interpersonal biases against black male students at the classroom level, the 3 C’s

represent potential interventions at the institutional level as well.

This chapter is organized in the following way. First, this chapter outlines the discipline

strategies that reflect the first commitment, the ‘courageous commitment’ approach to student

learning. In this approach, both teachers took extraordinary steps to ensure that students stayed in

class and learned. The second element is ‘emotional commitment’ and this is discussed and

demonstrated by the data. Lastly, the ‘commitment to social justice’ is discussed. This

43


commitment confirms the existence of institutional racism and highlights strategies and practices

that explicitly attempt to keep black male students from being suspended.

Table 4.1 The Three Commitments

The
Three
Commitments

Critical
Race
framing
of
teacher
practice
that
keeps
black
males
in
the
classroom.

Effective
Element
Description
of
Element
Key
Features

1.
Courageous
commitment
Teachers
taking
extraordinary
• Learning
focused

(Addresses
institutional
bias)
steps
to
ensure
students
stay
discipline

in
class
and
learn.
• Multiple
avenues
to

access
learning

• Student
centered

policies

2.
Emotional
commitment
Utilizing
a
wide
array
of
tools
• Socio-‐emotional

(Addresses
cultural
mismatch)
to
manage
their
own
attunement

emotions.
• Relationship
building

• Emotionally
struggle

with
practice

3.
Commitment
to
social
justice
Addressing
institutional
• Beliefs
informing

(Addresses
teacher
bias
&
racism
toward
black
males
at
practice

institutional
bias)

the
classroom
level,
based
on
• Personal
regard
for

teacher
beliefs
&
experiences.
students
&
teaching

• Social
Justice
charge

Courageous Commitment

The first element identified is the courageous commitment to student engagement and

learning. This element focuses on the courage that these teachers exhibit when conceptualizing a

discipline policy and implementing their strategies in the classroom.

There were key strategies that the teachers explained in interviews and practiced in their

classrooms that stood out as critical strategies for effectively addressing institutional racism.

These strategies did not pathologize black male culture (cultural mismatch), they did not ignore

potential teacher bias or limit the risks to simple bias. These strategies took into account

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institutional racism and worked to teach and discipline black males from a race-based, and

courageous approach. The term courageous commitment reflects the personal commitment that

these teachers exhibited to their students staying in class and learning. They linked their own

success and sense of self-efficacy as a teacher to evidence (empirical as well as antidotal) that

their students were learning and being prepared for success in overcoming institutional barriers

of racism and inequity. The teachers in these two cases positioned themselves as responsible to

support their students learning and success in school. They extended themselves personally and

emotionally as well as professionally in a way that is best described as courageous. They both

exceeded their expectations as a teacher in an institution that is expected to fail most of their

students. Because of the difficulty that the students’ behavior and lack of academic preparation

posed daily, they faced significant challenges. They could have easily pointed to numerous

factors outside of their control to explain why these students may have not been successful in

their class. Instead, they focused on what they did have control of which was their classroom.

They took extraordinary measures to learn about their students and shape a learning environment

and discipline policy that fostered and supported the success of every student. To the extent they

achieved that, was the extent that they felt successful as teachers. Both teachers expressed a

belief that they were only successful as teachers to the extent that their students were successful

in their class.

When the teachers in this study approached student learning as their personal

responsibility, they took extraordinary steps to ensure that those students stayed in class and

learned. One obvious reason to keep students in class to ensure learning is that a student cannot

learn the material if they are not in the class or if the class time is spend disciplining and

reprimanding students. Instead teachers were observed doing the following to keep students in

45


class and learning. Teachers valued learning as a focus over compliance. This was evidenced by

teachers giving explanations for all procedures and behavior expectations placed on students.

Learning objectives were also explained constantly and put into context of a larger learning

scheme. When students were disruptive or off task, the nature or content of their behavior was

addressed in a way that reminded students of the learning expectation and how the procedure or

behavior expectation that was being violated, prevented them from learning. This is significantly

different from a compliance based strategy that emphasizes compliance for the sake of

reinforcing the authority of the teacher. A learning focused redirection emphasizes a

teacher/learner partnership and the agreements that the teacher is accountable to meet as well as

the student. This approach makes for a more practical approach to discipline that reinforces

learning and gives students more room to reengage with learning.

Courageous Commitment: Key Features

One key feature of courageous commitment was a learning focus that emphasized

learning over rule compliance. As long as students were engaged in academic learning, they were

supported in their behavior appropriately in a way that encouraged continued academic learning,

instead of rule compliance. For instance Ron remarked to 15 students at once “Thank you, this

whole side of the room for being quiet and working” while remaining in the general area of a few

students who were talking and not doing work. Even if students bordered on being inappropriate,

RON found creative ways to reframe students as academic learners rather than misfits. One

example is when a student asked a black male student how to spell the word “asthma” and the

black male student said “spell it how it sounds: ass….ma”. At that point Ron responded “That

kind of talking is alright as long as you are spelling words in the assignment.” As a result, the

student stopped the behavior and returned to work. It was obvious that the student was trying to

46


creatively use profanity and Ron’s response was a creative way to redirect the student to not use

profanity but stay engaged in the work. Another example of that was when students were talking

to each other and Ron said “If you’re talking about the assignment, its ok.” This fostered

responsible self regulated behavior by extending a level of trust to the students to be appropriate

with their conversations and not need the teacher to referee or control every conversation in the

classroom.

Students frequently would be engaged in chatter and Ron would choose to redirect

students to do their work every time. He repeated “Stay focused” 3 times in an attempt to keep

students engaged in academic work. One particular learning focused redirection, Ron connected

engagement in class with classmates to community service, revealing a social justice value. In

this instance a black male student was talking and Ron remarked “You’re doing a lot of talking”.

The student replied that he was helping another student. The teacher replied “Sounds like you’re

doing a lot of community work. Helping out your community?” This was a strategic reframing of

cooperative learning as community engagement on a more macro level outside the school but

also casting the students as a community. Indeed his classroom was framed as a community of

learners.

In general, Ron teacher never spent more than a few seconds redirecting students before

returning to academic instruction. In the first observation the class seemed chaotic. The noise

level seemed very high. After a few minutes of closer observation, there were only 6 students

talking and 22 students quietly working. The teacher constantly redirected students but never for

more than a few seconds at a time. He spent the majority of the time instructing and supporting

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Critical Race Theory Examines Teacher Commitments to Reduce Suspensions of Black Males

Critical Race Theory Examines Teacher Commitments to Reduce Suspensions of Black Males

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