Date of Conferral
2021
Degree
Ph.D.
School
Criminal Justice
Advisor
Victoria Landu-Adams
Abstract
AbstractAfrican American students have been affected by the School-to-Prison pipeline detrimentally. The disproportionate expulsions of African American students from schools have resulted in their overrepresentation in prison. Racial inequity has made African American students more prone to suspensions than Caucasian students, resulting in African American students missing classes and falling behind academically. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore how minor disciplinary violations may be perceived as a threat to African American students, funneling them into the school-to-prison pipeline. The theoretical framework was based on Bertalanffy’s general system theory. Data were collected using open-ended, semi structured interviews with 10 adult students. The research questions were designed to focus on the disparate implementation of the zero tolerance policy. Results from coding analysis revealed eight themes: poor psychological health concerns, impoverished impacts on academic and social well-being, prejudiced behavior of teachers, unjust disciplinary actions, rehabilitative perspectives, negative expectancies from African American students, demeaning communication, and bias in teachers’ conduct. Findings may be used to promote positive change by increasing awareness of the need to provide professional training sessions to teachers to improve academic outcomes for African American students and to mitigate the school-to-prison pipeline.
Recommended Citation
Douglas, James Anthony, "African American Students’ Experiences with Teachers’ Discriminatory Behavior in the School-to-Prison Pipeline" (2021). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 12329.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/12329
