Framing the Challenge: Research on Disciplinary Disproportionality and the Need for Equity-Explicit Intervention
Russ SkibaThe Equity Project at Indiana University
Gerald WilliamsAfrican American Male Achievement Project, OUSD
2013 PBIS National Leadership Forum
Rosemont, IL October 10, 2013
Discipline Disparities Research to Practice Collaborative
Expanding research/practice/advocacy for reducing disciplinary disparities Quarterly Meetings: Publication of Findings,
Spring 2014 National Closing the Discipline Gap
Conference Commissioning new research
What Do We Know About Disciplinary Disparities
Disparities in school exclusion are enduring and expanding
Other Groups at Risk
Increased risk for: Latino students: May increase over time Students with disabilities (Losen & Gillespie, 2012)
Gender: Both male & female (Toldson et al., 2013; Wallace et al., 2008)
Emerging data that LGBT students also at risk Over half at risk for exclusion (Snapp & Russell, 2013)
About 50% more likely to be stopped by police (Himmelstein & Bruckner, 2011)
What Do We Know About Disciplinary Disparities
Consistent and severe for African Americans Latino less consistent
Not due to: SES More severe behavior
Can Poverty Explain Disproportionality?Can Poverty Explain Disproportionality?
Rates of discipline are related to SES SES and suspension/expulsion are correlated,
but... Effects of race remain after control
Do Black Students Misbehave Do Black Students Misbehave More? More? Do Black Students Misbehave Do Black Students Misbehave More? More?
White students referred more for:
Smoking
Vandalism
Leaving w/o permission
Obscene Language
Black students referred more for:
Disrespect
Excessive Noise
Threat
Loitering
Of 32 infractions, only 8 significant differences:Of 32 infractions, only 8 significant differences:
Skiba, R.J., Michael, R.S., Nardo, A.C. & Peterson, R. (2002). The color of discipline: Sources of racial and gender disproportionality in school punishment. Urban Review, 34, 317-342.
What Else Predicts Disproportionality?
Higher rates of students of color (Racial Threat Hypothesis)
Diversity of staff (Representative Bureacracy) Classroom Contributions
Classroom management Cultural mismatch/implicit bias
Office Contributions
Harsher Penalties for the Same Infraction Same punishment, different behaviors (Finn & Servoss,
2013) Black students: 1.8X odds of exclusion Hispanic: 1.64 x odds of exclusion
Contributions at office level independent of classroom referral Black/Latino increased odds of suspension for minor
misbehavior (Skiba et al, 2011) Controlling for type of behavior, black students significantly
more likely to receive OSS, expulsion (Skiba et al, 2013)
What Do We Know About Disciplinary Disparities
Consistent and severe for African Americans Latino less consistent
Not due to: SES More severe behavior
Yields increased risk
Is The School-to-Prison Pipeline Real?Pathways from Schools to Juvenile
Justice
Juvenile Justice/Delinquency
School Climate
Dropout
More Than a Metaphor…• School Climate: Schools w/ harsh discipline policies, higher
OSS rates ≈ perceived less safe (Steinberg, et al., 2011)
• School Engagement/Ed. Opportunity: For African American males, more suspensions predict lower achievement and school engagement (Davis & Jordan, 1994)
• School Dropout: Suspended/expelled students 5 times as likely to drop out (CSG, 2011)
• Black males 2x more likely to dropout for discipline (Stearns & Glennie, 2006)
• Juvenile Delinquency/JJ Involvement• OSS increases risk of antisocial behavior (Hemphill et al., 2006)
• Greater contact with Juv. Justice System (CSG, 2011)
The School-to-Prison Pipeline:Pathways from Schools to Juvenile
Justice
Juvenile Justice/Delinquency
School Climate
Dropout
What Do We Know About Disciplinary Disparities
Consistent and severe for African Americans Latino less consistent
Confounds our expectations
Not due entirely to: SES More severe behavior
Yields increased risk Schools make a
difference
Contributions of Schools Principal perspective on discipline contributes to
racial disparities in suspension (Skiba et al, 2013)
Schools w/ high structure/high support have fewer suspensions/disparities (Gregory et al. 2011)
Chicago: Among schools with similar demographics, more suspensions = lower feelings of safety (Steinberg, Allen & Johnson, 2013)
Relationships more important than crime, poverty in predicting safety
What Should We Do to Intervene? Emerging Research
Develop relationships My Teaching Partner Restorative Practices
Building Emotional Literacy Cleveland Metro School District: SEL, student support
teams, and student-centered approach Restructuring Disciplinary Practices
Va. Threat Assessment Codes of Conduct SWPBIS
PBIS Implementation and Disproportionality: Decidedly Mixed Skiba, Horner, et al. 2011
African American and Latino students more likely to be disciplined for minor infractions
Vincent et al. 2011, Vincent & Tobin, 2012 No reduction in disparities for Afr. Amer. students Suspensions decreased in higher implementing schools, but even
there, no reductions in disparities for Afr. Amer. students Vincent, Sprague & Gau (2013)
Some reduction in OSS rates for Hispanic, AI/AN students, but not for African American students
Case study successes Canadian study (Greflund, MacIntosh, et al, 2013) Case studies in literature (e.g., Jones et al, Chee-Dodge Elem.) Garfield Middle School
Mixed Results in Practice
Total ODRs
ODRs per 100
students
Risk Index
AA
Risk Index White
RR AA
Middle School #1 2004-05 2006-07
1738 1080
204.47 124.00
75.90 71.43
41.18 31.51
1.84 2.27
Middle School #2 2004-05 2006-07
2150
805
318.52 115.83
85.88 54.93
32.39 26.88
2.65 2.04
Data Source: SWIS Ethnicity Reports
PBIS Indiana: Building a Statewide CR-PBIS Network
Working to increase awareness of, and institutional supports for: Reflective consideration of school contributions to cultural
issues in school discipline, so that PBIS may be used to develop more effective behavioral and
disciplinary processes relating to culture and disproportionality.
Activities: Development of six model sites Work with out-of-compliance schools Scaleup of CRPBIS training throughout state
PBIS Indiana: Elements of CR-PBIS Awareness Building:
Discussions about race and culture are avoided Begin with activities to increase comfort in addressing disparities.
Data Disaggregation: Not sufficient to measure overall ODRs and suspension/expulsion. Disaggregate data by race, SES, disability, or any other group showing
disparities.
Data Interpretation: Deficit explanations (e.g., family poverty) are common in explaining disparities. Teams are encouraged to think reflectively about possible school contributions.
Culturally responsive practices: Examination of data leads to examination of practices and the development
of new programs to address disparities.
Tough to Talk About…
“When you say minorities, are you, what are you speaking of?...[INTERVIEWER: Ethnic and racial minorities]...Oh....OK...Alright...We have like...I guess we have about half and half. I don’t know that I’ve ever really paid attention to it .”
--Classroom Teacher
“Color-Blindness”
“I don’t see the color as being the issue. I think that a lot of the issues that they come with perhaps come from the fact that they are in a Black situation over here, where these kinds of attitudes are constant all the time.”
--(McKenzie & Scheurich, 2004)
Microaggressions Today
““I play football, so you know they expect you to be I play football, so you know they expect you to be good in sports. But when you are on the ASB good in sports. But when you are on the ASB (Associated Student Body) council, like I am, and (Associated Student Body) council, like I am, and being a school leader, have good grades, and talking being a school leader, have good grades, and talking about going to college on an academic scholarship, about going to college on an academic scholarship, then they look at you like Whoa!! I didn’t think that then they look at you like Whoa!! I didn’t think that they (Black males) were into those kind of things. One they (Black males) were into those kind of things. One teacher even told me once, ‘You’re not like the rest of teacher even told me once, ‘You’re not like the rest of them.’ I didn’t ask her what that meant, but believe them.’ I didn’t ask her what that meant, but believe me, I knew what that meant.” me, I knew what that meant.”
--(Howard, 2007, p. 907)
“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”
--James A. Baldwin
CR-PBIS Faultlines: Tier 1
Establishing (and rewarding) schoolwide expectations Respect, responsibility, safe, excellence…
But… Is respect culturally neutral? Why is defiance the main source of dispro?
Solutions? Self-reflection Mentoring?
CR-PBIS Faultlines: Tier 2
Re-connect at-risk youth, reduce current misbehavior Check-in, check-out
But… “Why are all the kids in Tier 2 & 3 Black or
Brown?” Solutions?
Disaggregate our data Why are some teachers more successful?
CR-PBIS Faultlines: Tier 3
Address students with challenging behavior Support schools, expand resources (e.g.
school-based wraparound) But…
Does Tier 3 “hijack” the conversation? Solutions?
Examine historical conditioning As in all PBIS implementation,
disproportionality starts with Tier 1
Overcoming Our History
State sponsored discrimination: 355 years Since its end: 40 years Why would we assume there would not be
culturally influenced practices in our educational systems?
PBIS is about changing adult behavior
Russ SkibaDirector, Equity ProjectCenter for Evaluation and Education Policy1900 E. 10th St.Bloomington, IN 47406812-855-4438
[email protected] Website:
www.indiana.edu/~pbisin
Gerald WilliamsResearch Associate , Disproportionality Department of Quality, Accountability& Analytics4551 Steele StreetOakland, CA 94619510.336.7533
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