Disproportionality in public school exclusionary discipline data has been documented throughout the United States, including the Commonwealth of Virginia. The literature reviewed indicates that Black male students are disproportionately excluded from school and that subjective office discipline referrals are a factor. Within subjective referrals, disruptive behaviors are the primary reasons for the referral of Black male students. The literature has investigated implicit bias as a possible cause and found that Black males were viewed as more aggressive and academically lower achieving than other subgroups. This study sought to investigate disproportionality in referrals for disruptive behavior and the possible relationships among race, gender, and academic achievement for students issued the referrals. Three years of enrollment, discipline, and academic achievement data for students in grades 3 through 8 were obtained from three Title I schools, two elementary schools and a middle school, in a high-poverty school division. A correlational, nonexperimental design was used to address two questions, was there evidence of disproportionality by race/ethnicity and/or gender in office discipline referrals for disruptive behavior? Was there a relationship among race, gender, and academic achievement for students issued those referrals? Two phases of data collection and analysis were involved, with descriptive statistics used for each phase. Results were analyzed and there were four findings: there was evidence of disproportionality by race/ethnicity, there was evidence of disproportionality by gender, there was not consistent evidence of disproportionality by race/ethnicity and gender, and there were no statistically significant relationships among race, gender, and academic achievement for students issued a referral. These findings could help researchers and educators identify and understand disproportionality in referrals for disruptive behaviors and address disproportionality in exclusionary disciplinary practices. / Doctor of Education / Disproportionality in public school exclusionary discipline data has been documented throughout the United States, including the Commonwealth of Virginia. The literature reviewed indicates that Black male students are disproportionately excluded from school and that subjective office discipline referrals are a factor. Within subjective referrals, disruptive behaviors are the primary reasons for the referral of Black male students. The literature has investigated implicit bias as a possible cause and found that Black males were viewed as more aggressive and academically lower achieving than other subgroups. This study investigated disproportionality in office discipline referrals for disruptive behavior and the relationships among the variables of race, gender, and academic achievement. A correlational, nonexperimental design was used to address two questions, was there evidence of disproportionality by race/ethnicity and/or gender in office discipline referrals for disruptive behavior? Was there a relationship among race/ethnicity, gender, and academic achievement for students issued those referrals? Three years of enrollment, discipline, and academic achievement data for students in grades 3 through 8 were obtained from three Title I schools, two elementary schools and a middle school, in a high-poverty school division. Results were analyzed and there were four findings: there was evidence of disproportionality by race/ethnicity, there was evidence of disproportionality by gender, there was not consistent evidence of disproportionality by race/ethnicity and gender, and there were no statistically significant relationships among race, gender, and academic achievement for students issued a referral.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/110398 |
| Date | 01 June 2022 |
| Creators | Downing, Angilee Mills |
| Contributors | Counselor Education, Mullen, Carol Ann, Boyles, Emily Tolley, Cash, Carol S., Brinkmann, Jodie Lynn |
| Publisher | Virginia Tech |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation |
| Format | ETD, application/pdf |
| Rights | In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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