Date of Conferral
6-27-2024
Date of Award
June 2024
Degree
Ph.D.
School
Education
Advisor
Kimberley Alkins
Abstract
Middle school African American girls have yet to be studied comprehensively concerning school discipline practices related to their behavior. It has been assumed that teachers are not doing their jobs and are mistreating African American girls by singling them out; however, teachers’ voices and perceptions of school discipline practices in the classroom have not been examined extensively to understand this issue. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to examine middle school teachers’ perceptions of implementing school discipline practices related to African American girls in their classrooms, schools, and districts. The conceptual framework was based on Gregory et al.’s 10 principles of increasing equity in school discipline and McCold and Wachtel’s restorative justice theory. This qualitative study addressed teachers’ perceptions of implementing school discipline practices related to African American girls. Interviews were conducted with eight middle-school teachers across the United States and analyzed reporting the common patterns or themes. The themes were (a) middle school teachers’ understanding and implementation of discipline practices, (b) factors influencing disciplinary practices and responses, and (c) middle school teachers’ perceptions of disciplinary practices and African American girls’ responses. The implications for positive social change are that the findings reinforce the importance of using more positive school discipline practices that could yield better results for behavior correction versus zero-tolerance policies through teacher and student interaction within the classroom.
Recommended Citation
Gladney, Jasmine Marie, "Middle School Teachers’ Perceptions of Implementation of School Discipline Practices for African American Girls" (2024). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 15982.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/15982
