While numerous works have been written on black achievement, the Discipline Gap and the School to... more While numerous works have been written on black achievement, the Discipline Gap and the School to Prison Pipeline, there is little scholarship to elucidate the ways in which they may be interconnected. By making discipline more about community accountability and respect and less about punishment and exclusion, I hypothesize that a restorative philosophy may increase students' sense of school bonding; a significant variable that moderates the relationship between discipline and achievement. Drawing on three qualitative empirical studies over the course of three years, this dissertation argues that restorative practices, an educational intervention intended to address the Discipline Gap, and the School to Prison Pipeline may also have implications for the achievement motivation, particularly for black students. In studies one and two, I evaluate the obstacles to implementing restorative practices in the school environment evidenced by interviews with restorative practices facilitators, trainers, and consultants as well as teachers and school administrators centered in Southeast Michigan. I note that most significant impediments to shifting school culture were both cultural and structural in nature. They include (1) the failure to conceptualize restorative practices as a philosophy, (2) the reality that many teachers and staff members prefer punitive measures (3) selective implementation (4) funding issues and (5) lack of xii administrative support. In study three, I conduct a case study of restorative classrooms at Spring Lake, a Southeast Michigan High school. Student interviews reveal that restorative justice practices have tangible benefits outside the realm of discipline namely by increasing (1) students' sense of support at school, (2) the development socio-emotional learning and soft skills and (3) academic self-confidence and academic motivation. I discuss the salience of race and social justice issues in restorative practices implementation and argue that any effort to introduce restorative justice practices to the school environment must include a race and social justice lens. I conclude with recommendations for whole-school application or restorative justice practices and offer directions for future research. glimpse into how black students are "disciplined" within the public school system. Nationwide Black K-12 students are disciplined both more often and more harshly by teachers and school administrators. This phenomenon has been termed the Discipline Gap by scholars. The emergence of the COVID-19 epidemic has not seemed to slow the discipline gap. In May 2020, just two months after the global pandemic shut down life as usual in the United States, Grace, a black 15-year-old high school student in Detroit was sentenced to a juvenile detention center. Despite health and safety recommendations put forth during the pandemic, a judge ruled Grace violated her probation by not completing her school's online course work after they shifted to virtual learning (Cohen 2020). Though Michigan's governor, Gretchen Whitmore, issued an executive order to temporarily halt the incarceration of juveniles who violate probation unless mandated by court order, just months before, Grace was still sentenced. Judge Mary Ellen Brennan ruled Grace was '"guilty on failure to submit to any schoolwork and getting up for school" and called Grace a "threat to (the) community," citing the assault and theft charges that led to her probation (Cohen 2020).' In September 2020, 9-year-old 4th grader Ka'Mauri Harrison was suspended from school because a BB gun was present in the background while he was taking an exam for his virtual learning class. Moments before, Ka'Mauri's brother entered their bedroom and tripped on the toy. Ka Mauri then moved the toy to his chair so no one else would fall over it. Noticing the barrel of the toy gun, in the frame of the camera, his teacher reported it to the principal which resulted in an initial expulsion. Later amended to a suspension, the school justified their decision by saying Ka Mauri was in "possession of a starter gun, stun gun and/or facsimile (Crespo 2020)" and its visibility on camera violated their on-campus weapons policy; even though Ka'Mauri was taking the exam in the privacy of his own home. The Louisiana student's classmates were asked to write letters about the incident and the suspension will be on Ka'Mauri's permanent
While numerous works have been written on black achievement, the Discipline Gap and the School to... more While numerous works have been written on black achievement, the Discipline Gap and the School to Prison Pipeline, there is little scholarship to elucidate the ways in which they may be interconnected. By making discipline more about community accountability and respect and less about punishment and exclusion, I hypothesize that a restorative philosophy may increase students' sense of school bonding; a significant variable that moderates the relationship between discipline and achievement. Drawing on three qualitative empirical studies over the course of three years, this dissertation argues that restorative practices, an educational intervention intended to address the Discipline Gap, and the School to Prison Pipeline may also have implications for the achievement motivation, particularly for black students. In studies one and two, I evaluate the obstacles to implementing restorative practices in the school environment evidenced by interviews with restorative practices facilita...
While numerous works have been written on black achievement, the Discipline Gap and the School to... more While numerous works have been written on black achievement, the Discipline Gap and the School to Prison Pipeline, there is little scholarship to elucidate the ways in which they may be interconnected. By making discipline more about community accountability and respect and less about punishment and exclusion, I hypothesize that a restorative philosophy may increase students' sense of school bonding; a significant variable that moderates the relationship between discipline and achievement. Drawing on three qualitative empirical studies over the course of three years, this dissertation argues that restorative practices, an educational intervention intended to address the Discipline Gap, and the School to Prison Pipeline may also have implications for the achievement motivation, particularly for black students. In studies one and two, I evaluate the obstacles to implementing restorative practices in the school environment evidenced by interviews with restorative practices facilitators, trainers, and consultants as well as teachers and school administrators centered in Southeast Michigan. I note that most significant impediments to shifting school culture were both cultural and structural in nature. They include (1) the failure to conceptualize restorative practices as a philosophy, (2) the reality that many teachers and staff members prefer punitive measures (3) selective implementation (4) funding issues and (5) lack of xii administrative support. In study three, I conduct a case study of restorative classrooms at Spring Lake, a Southeast Michigan High school. Student interviews reveal that restorative justice practices have tangible benefits outside the realm of discipline namely by increasing (1) students' sense of support at school, (2) the development socio-emotional learning and soft skills and (3) academic self-confidence and academic motivation. I discuss the salience of race and social justice issues in restorative practices implementation and argue that any effort to introduce restorative justice practices to the school environment must include a race and social justice lens. I conclude with recommendations for whole-school application or restorative justice practices and offer directions for future research. glimpse into how black students are "disciplined" within the public school system. Nationwide Black K-12 students are disciplined both more often and more harshly by teachers and school administrators. This phenomenon has been termed the Discipline Gap by scholars. The emergence of the COVID-19 epidemic has not seemed to slow the discipline gap. In May 2020, just two months after the global pandemic shut down life as usual in the United States, Grace, a black 15-year-old high school student in Detroit was sentenced to a juvenile detention center. Despite health and safety recommendations put forth during the pandemic, a judge ruled Grace violated her probation by not completing her school's online course work after they shifted to virtual learning (Cohen 2020). Though Michigan's governor, Gretchen Whitmore, issued an executive order to temporarily halt the incarceration of juveniles who violate probation unless mandated by court order, just months before, Grace was still sentenced. Judge Mary Ellen Brennan ruled Grace was '"guilty on failure to submit to any schoolwork and getting up for school" and called Grace a "threat to (the) community," citing the assault and theft charges that led to her probation (Cohen 2020).' In September 2020, 9-year-old 4th grader Ka'Mauri Harrison was suspended from school because a BB gun was present in the background while he was taking an exam for his virtual learning class. Moments before, Ka'Mauri's brother entered their bedroom and tripped on the toy. Ka Mauri then moved the toy to his chair so no one else would fall over it. Noticing the barrel of the toy gun, in the frame of the camera, his teacher reported it to the principal which resulted in an initial expulsion. Later amended to a suspension, the school justified their decision by saying Ka Mauri was in "possession of a starter gun, stun gun and/or facsimile (Crespo 2020)" and its visibility on camera violated their on-campus weapons policy; even though Ka'Mauri was taking the exam in the privacy of his own home. The Louisiana student's classmates were asked to write letters about the incident and the suspension will be on Ka'Mauri's permanent
While numerous works have been written on black achievement, the Discipline Gap and the School to... more While numerous works have been written on black achievement, the Discipline Gap and the School to Prison Pipeline, there is little scholarship to elucidate the ways in which they may be interconnected. By making discipline more about community accountability and respect and less about punishment and exclusion, I hypothesize that a restorative philosophy may increase students' sense of school bonding; a significant variable that moderates the relationship between discipline and achievement. Drawing on three qualitative empirical studies over the course of three years, this dissertation argues that restorative practices, an educational intervention intended to address the Discipline Gap, and the School to Prison Pipeline may also have implications for the achievement motivation, particularly for black students. In studies one and two, I evaluate the obstacles to implementing restorative practices in the school environment evidenced by interviews with restorative practices facilita...
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