Doctoral Dissertation Research: Responses to and Consequences of Misconduct in the Educational Context

University Of California-Riverside, Riverside CA

Investigators

Abstract

SES-1303521 PI: Katja Guenther Co-PI: Kerry Mulligan University of California - Riverside This dissertation research will utilize content analysis of the media and court room depictions of a national sample of criminal cases involving misconduct between teachers and their students to analyze how the gender and race of the perpetrators shape the responses of individuals in the media and criminal justice system. Drawing on sociological insights about social construction, this research focuses on how the race and gender of the perpetrator relate to the way in which events are presented, perhaps differently, in media coverage and criminal justice responses to these cases. The research employs a mixed-methods approach, including both quantitative and qualitative techniques, to analyze data from newspaper articles and court transcripts. The proposed research will improve understanding of the apparent resilience of ideologies by articulating how ideas about gender are integrated into social institutions through the actions and beliefs of individuals. Specifically, the research will establish the extent to which these cases serve as opportunities for individuals to expand and transform dominant ideas about gender or adhere to normal expectations. Second, by focusing on incidents in which constructions of the case vary, this research will demonstrate how dominant ideas about gender are strategically employed by varying actors to serve their interests. By examining legal and media settings, the research will reveal how strategies for constructing the events vary by institutional setting. Broader Impacts: This research has the potential to contribute to broader society in a number of ways. Recent research on the frequency of responses to and consequences of teacher misconduct suggest broad interest and concern over these types of incidents. This project will contribute new information about a large sample of these types of cases and will add to this scholarly dialogue in a way that can assist policy makers and educational administrators in developing more targeted prevention, disclosure, and response procedures in U.S. schools. The research will also provide an empirically based critique of the tendency to ignore or minimize the victim status of male victims of female teacher misconduct. This has the potential to draw greater attention and support to this under-served population.