SBP:MCA: Understanding School Professionals Disciplinary Decisions and Black Children

Ohio State University, The, Columbus OH

Investigators

Abstract

Children who are suspended from school are more likely to have low academic achievement and increased contact with the criminal justice system. Unfortunately, rates of suspension in preschool have increased dramatically. Additionally, this rise in preschool suspensions has had a disproportionate impact on Black children. To decrease suspensions, scientists need a better understanding of how perceptions of Black children and adult decision-making combine to impact the number of students subject to these disciplinary practices. The candidate’s Mid-Career Advancement (MCA) training will have immediate impact on multidisciplinary research in the fields of developmental psychology, social psychology, and school psychology as well as advancing scientific theory and understanding of the connections between human behavior and law. Despite policy statements developed by the Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Education on school discipline, the use of suspensions in preschools continues to be used. Research indicates that a majority of these suspensions are incurred by Black children. A majority of research in this area has been conducted with school-aged children; however, a significant gap exists in the preschool domain. As such, this project, which is grounded in attribution and social cognitive theories will include: 1) conducting a systematic review and bibliometric analysis of research in this area; 2) developing videos and vignettes of preschool children’s’ behavior; 3) examining the degree and intensity of preschool teachers’ racialized perceptions of students; and 4) implementation of field research with preschool teachers, pre-service teachers, and pre-service school psychologists to understand if they consider the immediate behavior of the child and the long-term outcomes of children when they recommend suspension from preschool. This work with school-based professionals will have a significant impact on communities given that it has the potential to lessen preschool suspension frequencies and reduce the school-to-prison pipeline. Additionally, knowledge gained through this MCA project will be used to develop interventions to help school professionals to alleviate suspensions and expulsions in preschool-aged children. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.