ERIC EJ1144814: Social and Emotional Learning and Equity in School Discipline

2017·0.19 MB·English

by  ERIC

Social and Emotional Learning and Equity in School Discipline
Social and Emotional Learning and Equity in
School Discipline
Anne Gregory and Edward Fergus
Summary
Beginning as early as preschool, race and gender are intertwined with the way US schools mete
out discipline. In particular, black students and male students are much more likely than others
to be suspended or expelled—punishments that we know can hold them back academically.
These disparities, and the damage they can cause, have driven recent reforms, including some
that incorporate social and emotional learning (SEL) practices.
Anne Gregory and Edward Fergus review federal and state mandates to cut down on
punishments that remove students from school, and they show how some districts are
embracing SEL in their efforts to do so. Yet even in these districts, large disparities in discipline
persist. The authors suggest two reasons current discipline reforms that embrace SEL practices
may hold limited promise for reducing discipline disparities.
The first is that prevailing “colorblind” notions of SEL don’t consider power, privilege, and
cultural difference—thus ignoring how individual beliefs and structural biases can lead
educators to react harshly to behaviors that fall outside a white cultural frame of reference. The
second is that most SEL models are centered on students, but not on the adults who interact
with them. Yet research shows that educators’ own social and emotional competencies strongly
influence students’ motivation to learn and the school climate in general.
Gregory and Fergus describe how one school district is striving to orient its discipline policies
around a conception of SEL that stresses equity and promotes both adults’ and students’ SEL
competencies. Although such reforms hold promise, they are still in the early stages, and the
authors call for rigorous empirical work to test whether such efforts can substantially reduce or
eradicate racial and gender disparities in discipline.
www.futureofchildren.org
Anne Gregory is an associate professor in the school psychology program at Rutgers University’s Graduate School of Applied and
Professional Psychology. Edward Fergus is an assistant professor of educational leadership and policy at New York University’s
Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development.
David Osher of the American Institutes for Research reviewed and critiqued a draft of this article.
VOL. 27 / NO. 1 / SPRING 2017 117
Anne Gregory and Edward Fergus
Growing evidence shows that (SEL) practices—thus making room
suspending or expelling for more developmentally appropriate,
students from school for SEL-oriented approaches to behavior. We
misconduct can harm their describe in detail the multifaceted efforts
academic progress.1 We also of three school districts where proposed
know that students’ race and gender play a changes in disciplinary procedures
role in how school discipline is meted out. and practices will likely create more
Statistical comparisons of students who’ve opportunities for student SEL and for
been referred for discipline for similar structures that support SEL among adults
reasons (such as fighting) show that black in the schools.
students and male students are more likely
to receive out-of-school suspension than Yet even if race- and gender-based
white students and female students.2 equity discipline reforms fully embrace
SEL as most people now understand it,
Such disparities are spurring reforms at the promise for substantially narrowing
all levels of government. For example, the or eliminating disparities remains
federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), limited. That’s because the prevailing
signed into law in 2015, specifies that one understanding of SEL is “colorblind” and
way to support learning is to curb the doesn’t take power, privilege, and culture
overuse of disciplinary practices that remove into account. Another limiting factor is an
students from the classroom. Reforms emphasis only on students’ SEL, despite
are happening at the state level as well. the evidence that students’ and teachers’
California schools can’t suspend students social and emotional competencies are
in kindergarten through third grade for interrelated.3 We believe that more
infractions that don’t threaten others’ safety, promising policy reforms could arise if
such as “disruption” and “willful defiance.” we reconceptualized SEL to account for
Connecticut has banned suspension of
the cultural beliefs, biases, and power
young students for any reason, with minor
dynamics that privilege developmental
exceptions. Some school districts, such as
expressions of behavior that are more
Denver, CO’s, have revised their student
likely to be nurtured among white
codes of conduct in response to grassroots middle-class children.4 We speculate
organizing by parents and students, who
that this approach would make school
filed complaints and produced reports
environments healthier both socially and
documenting disparate suspension patterns.
emotionally, while also strengthening
And civil rights investigations by the US
educators’ own social and emotional
Department of Justice have spurred extensive
competence and improving their ability to
reforms in places like Oakland, CA.
foster students’ SEL.
In this article, we describe recent federal Racial and Gender Disparities in
and state legislative policy reforms School Discipline
that aim to reduce schools’ reliance on
suspension. We also give examples of local Latino, American Indian, and black
efforts to reduce discipline disparities by youth—particularly black males in
incorporating social and emotional learning special education—are significantly
118 THE FUTURE OF CHILDREN
Social and Emotional Learning and Equity in School Discipline
more likely than other students to be
referred to school administrators for
The discipline gap between
discipline problems. They are also more
black and white students
likely to be punished by out-of-school
suspension, expulsion, or a referral to starts as early as preschool.
law enforcement—a fact that’s well
documented across states, districts, and
schools.5 Recent research has found that between male and female students; still, in
lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender many schools the suspension rate for black
students may also be disciplined more female students surpasses the rate for male
often.6 students who aren’t black.
School discipline, poor achievement, The discipline gap between black and
and contact with the juvenile justice white students starts as early as preschool.
system are interconnected.7 For example, National data from 2013–14 show that
researchers who followed a large cohort although only 19 percent of preschool
of Florida youth beginning in ninth grade children are black, they represent 47
found that each suspension the students percent of preschool children who receive
experienced decreased the odds of one or more out-of-school suspensions.
their graduating from high school by 20 These disproportionalities continue as
percent and of enrolling in college by 12 students proceed through elementary,
percent.8 A Texas statewide study found middle, and high school.
that students suspended or expelled for
a discretionary school violation—that Could the disparities we see across racial
is, a violation for which suspension or groups be driven by other differences that
expulsion wasn’t mandatory, allowing fall along racial lines? The answer is no:
administrators to exercise discretion in rigorous research has shown that disparities
assigning consequences—were about in income, special education placement, and
three times more likely than other academic achievement don’t fully explain
young people to have contact with the the high rates at which black students are
juvenile justice system in the next school disciplined. For example, when researchers
year.9 Over the long term, these facts in the above-mentioned Texas study used
imply that groups of students who are statistical analyses to account for 83 possible
disproportionately suspended are less differences among students (such as income
likely to succeed in life. and achievement), being black rather than
white placed a student at a statistically
In this article, we focus on race and
significant higher risk of being suspended.10
gender disparities between black and
white youth because these groups have Other studies have shown that black
the most consistent and longstanding students are at risk for receiving harsher
discipline gaps. The differences are sanctions when compared to white students
striking: black youth are two to three whose misconduct was equally serious.11
times more likely than white youth to be When a black student and a white student
suspended. Similar disparities occur who are comparable in many ways are issued
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Anne Gregory and Edward Fergus
discipline referrals for similar reasons, the 2. State education agencies will
black student is more likely to receive an out- receive funds to support activities
of-school suspension—thereby losing more and programs on behavioral
days of instruction than the white student, interventions.
who is more likely to receive detention or
3. State education agencies will
in-school suspension. This suggests that the
develop plans for supporting school
adult assigning the sanctions may harbor
districts in reducing their use of
implicit or explicit racial bias. Yet attributing
exclusionary discipline.
racial disparities to bias on the part of the
adults who assign sanctions is too simplistic.
4. School districts will develop plans
Bias-based beliefs and inappropriate
for reducing the use of exclusionary
processes and procedures in the school’s
discipline.
structure also contribute to racial inequality.12
5. School districts will identify schools
Evidence that exclusionary discipline is with high rates of discipline
harmful—and that students face persistent disaggregated by subgroups.
discipline disparities by gender and race—has
spurred a wave of reforms. Next we examine Together, these strategies promise to help
the range of reforms at the federal, state, and reduce discipline disparities by requiring
local levels, and the degree to which these that states identify discipline problems,
collect data on them, and support behavioral
reforms might increase SEL opportunities in
interventions.
schools.
Federal and State Policies to Though ESSA doesn’t explicitly mention
Reduce Suspension discipline disparities, a resource guide from
the US Department of Education spells out
Federal and state discipline reform the connection between disparate outcomes
policies don’t directly call for more SEL and some of the ESSA policy provisions,
opportunities for students. Instead, they tend framing racial disparities in discipline as a
to focus on reducing the use of suspension civil rights issue.13 The guide states that the
in general. The 2015 reauthorization of the disparities documented by the department’s
Elementary Secondary Education Act— Office for Civil Rights don’t occur by
now called the Every Student Succeeds chance, and that school districts therefore
Act (ESSA)—establishes the federal need to know their statutory obligations
government’s perspective and approach on to ensure that discipline is administered
discipline. ESSA seeks mainly to curtail the without discrimination on the basis of race,
overuse of exclusionary practices that remove gender, or national origin. To prevent
students from the classroom. The act outlines discrimination, the guide argues, school
districts must understand that “fair and
five strategies for doing so:
equitable discipline policies” are part of a
1. State education agencies will now school environment that helps all students
be required to collect data from learn and grow. According to the guide,
school districts on different forms of “Equipping school officials with an array of
exclusionary discipline. tools to support positive student behavior,
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Social and Emotional Learning and Equity in School Discipline
thereby providing a range of options to resulted in unnecessary expulsion,
prevent and address misconduct … will out-of-school suspensions, and referrals
both promote safety and avoid the use of to law enforcement agencies … [and
discipline policies that are discriminatory or that] state laws must allow school
inappropriate.”14 administrators and local boards of
education to use their discretion to
Together, ESSA and the DOE resource
determine the appropriate disciplinary
guide make room for schools to consider
response to each incident of student
SEL approaches to handle student
misconduct.17
behavior. Moreover, a directory in the
DOE guide offers resources for training Another argument is that exclusionary
and interventions focused on SEL. But we practices are inappropriate for children at
don’t yet know whether states and districts certain developmental stages, particularly
will provide more SEL opportunities for elementary-age children. For example,
students in response to federal policy California’s Assembly Bill AB420—which
changes that aim to reduce reliance on passed in 2014 and took effect January 1,
suspensions 2015—prohibits school districts from using
in-school and out-of-school suspension for
State Legislation
students in kindergarten through third grade
for disruption or willful defiance.18 In 2015,
States have also passed legislation
Connecticut’s General Assembly prohibited
recognizing that exclusionary discipline
schools from suspending children in second
fails to create safer school environments
grade and below, except for possession of
and should be used sparingly. For example,
weapons.19 That same year, Oregon’s State
California Assembly Bill 1729, which took
Legislature moved in a similar direction,
effect in 2013, mandates that suspension
limiting the circumstances in which students
should not be the first disciplinary
in fifth grade and below may be suspended
consequence for students. According to the
or expelled. Oregon’s law also requires
bill, “The overuse of school suspension and
school administrators to consider students’
expulsion undermines the public policy of
age and behavior patterns before imposing
this state and does not result in safer school
suspension.20
environments or improved pupil behavior.”15
In 2010, Connecticut lawmakers removed
Banning or limiting the suspension of
suspension and expulsion as an option at the
young children may help states reduce lost
preschool level.16
instructional time. It can also interrupt a
reinforcing circle of disengagement and
In other states, legislators are seeking to
punishment for students from groups
reframe zero tolerance policies to give
that have traditionally been suspended
school and district administrators the
disproportionately. In preschools and
discretion to use less exclusionary practices.
elementary schools, removing or limiting
For example, a Colorado law argued that:
suspension also opens up opportunities for
The use of inflexible “zero tolerance” different approaches to handling student
policies as a means of addressing behavior. Without the option of sending a
disciplinary problems in schools has student home, schools may seek other ways
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Anne Gregory and Edward Fergus
To illustrate this point, we briefly describe
Overall, policymakers and discipline reforms in three US school
districts: the Syracuse (NY) City School
practitioners are recognizing
District, Denver (CO) Public Schools,
that exclusionary disciplinary and the Cleveland (OH) Metropolitan
School District. Reforms in all three
practices don’t improve
districts discourage punitive discipline and
the quality of children’s
emphasize prevention and early detection
educational experience. of behavioral difficulties, suggesting that
students need opportunities to increase
their social and emotional literacy.
to deal with misconduct, and educators in
Syracuse
schools with traditionally high suspension
rates could be prompted to turn to SEL
Syracuse public schools began their reforms
approaches. The laws may compel educators
after being investigated by the New York
to shift from a punishment mindset to
State Attorney General’s office for possible
a developmental perspective, which
civil rights violations related to using
recognizes that fostering students’ social
school discipline in a manner that treated
and behavioral competencies will help them
“similarly situated individuals differently
follow school rules.
on the basis of race.”21 At the time of
the investigation, Syracuse’s suspension
Overall—as the framing of state and
rates placed it among the top 3 percent
federal discipline policy reform shows—
of districts in the nation. In the district’s
policymakers and practitioners are
secondary schools in 2009–10, 38 percent
recognizing that exclusionary disciplinary
of black students were issued one or more
practices don’t improve the quality of
suspensions—14 percentage points above
children’s educational experience. Policies
the national average for black high school
that aim to identify more inclusive
students.22
disciplinary practices may help usher in SEL
as a discipline reform strategy. However, it’s
In 2014, after an extended process that
still an open question whether such policy
involved numerous constituencies, the
changes will actually give students new
district released a revised student code of
opportunities to learn, improve, and practice
conduct. Its aim was to ensure “that schools
SEL skills.
provide equal access to a wide range of
supports and interventions that promote
School District Discipline Reforms
positive behavior, help students develop
If federal and state reforms have made self-discipline and social and emotional
room for SEL by reducing reliance on efficacy, and enable students to improve
suspension, some district-level reforms have and correct inappropriate, unacceptable,
gone a step further by embracing an SEL and unskillful behaviors.”23 Whereas typical
orientation. In other words, these districts codes of conduct usually focus on a matrix
are orienting policies and practices toward of punishments applied to each type of
increasing SEL opportunities in schools. infraction, the Syracuse district’s revised
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Social and Emotional Learning and Equity in School Discipline
code limits the use of in-school and out-of- restorative approaches. Reforms there
school suspension, stressing that removing came in response to grassroots organizing
students from the classroom should be a last by parents and young people in the activist
resort. With its SEL orientation, the code group Padres & Jóvenes Unidos, which
focuses on supports and interventions that collaborated with the Advancement Project
can help students develop self-discipline. At on a 2005 report drawing attention to the
the same time, it emphasizes equal access to problem of racial disparities.26 Since then,
such supports. the group has worked with the district
to support a staged rollout of restorative
To help shift the district away from a
interventions, beginning with seven pilot
punitive approach to behavior, the Syracuse
schools. More than 2,500 Denver educators
code uses a multi-tiered system of support.
have now been trained to lead restorative
This framework, characterized by four
interventions.
conceptual tiers or levels of support,
aims to build capacity among all students Unlike traditional school discipline,
and to intervene with greater intensity restorative approaches—which the Syracuse
when students have more need. At the and Denver districts integrated into their
first level, school-wide efforts focus on equity reforms—focus on strengthening
teaching, practicing, and recognizing relationships, encouraging collaborative
positive behaviors with all students. At the problem-solving, and giving voice to both
second level, students with specific needs the person harmed and the person who
receive targeted interventions. At levels caused the harm.27 Restorative practices in
3 and 4, students with the greatest needs
schools arose out of the restorative justice
receive comprehensive interventions.24
movement, wherein victims, offenders, and
Opportunities for SEL likely arise
other affected people—including families
throughout all four levels of support.
and community members—meet to resolve
conflicts and repair relationships.28
The Syracuse code also emphasizes
an alternative approach to student
Many schools apply restorative approaches
misconduct—restorative interventions.25
to behavior within multi-tiered systems of
Such interventions can help students
support. At tier 1, for example, all students
correct their own behaviors, solve problems,
participate in community-building circles:
make amends and repair harm, learn new
as they sit facing one another, they’re asked
behaviors, and restore their good standing.
to reflect on a prompt or question and then
These benefits of restorative interventions
take turns voicing their perspectives. At tier
overlap conceptually with social-emotional
2, students affected by a minor disciplinary
competencies such as self-management,
incident work together in responsive circles
relationship skills, and responsible
to resolve the problem. At tier 3, everyone
decision-making.
involved in a serious disciplinary event
participates in restorative conferences, in
Denver
which a facilitator guides the exchange using
Like those in Syracuse, Denver’s public a structured set of questions. Ultimately,
schools have been working to reduce participants are asked to jointly develop
exclusionary discipline and integrate a solution to the problem and repair the
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Anne Gregory and Edward Fergus
harm caused. Also at this tier, school criminalized or harshly punished instead
administrators and others involved in a of offered help or support.31 Cleveland
student’s return to school after a long-term revamped its in-school suspension programs
absence participate in a re-entry process to as well: now called “planning centers,” they
welcome the student back and to identify use de-escalation strategies and social-
any supports the student may need. problem-solving techniques to help students
practice alternative ways to resolve conflicts
Restorative circles and conferences
while continuing their academic work.
are thought to offer SEL opportunities
for students. When participants gather The Cleveland schools also joined seven
after a discipline incident, they have an other districts around the nation in the
opportunity to reflect on such questions as, multi-year Collaborating Districts Initiative,
What happened? What were you thinking led by the Collaborative for Academic,
about at the time? Who was affected by Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL).
what you did? How has this affected you
CASEL helps members of the initiative
and others? What do you think needs to
build capacity for systematic changes to
happen to make things right? What do
enhance students’ social and emotional
you think you need to do to make things
development.32 For example, Cleveland is
right?29 We need more research to confirm
training all prekindergarten to fifth-grade
it, but we believe that these questions may
teachers in an SEL curriculum called
foster the type of reflection that enhances
Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies
students’ self-awareness, self-management,
in which classroom lessons that promote
social awareness, relationship skills, and
emotional literacy, self-control, social
responsible decision-making.
competence, positive peer relations, and
interpersonal problem-solving skills are
Cleveland
carried out two or more times a week for a
Beginning in 2008–09, the Cleveland minimum of 20 to 30 minutes per lesson.
schools adopted a series of reforms to Teachers are also trained to use instructional
increase school safety, support students’ strategies throughout the school day that
behavioral and academic needs, and reduce reinforce concepts introduced in the formal
punitive approaches to behavior.30 The SEL curriculum.33
reforms included supports for students that
were oriented toward both prevention and Evidence for District-Level Change
intervention. The reforms also established
Data show that all three districts discussed
support teams to identify students who
above have substantially reduced
could benefit from early behavioral help,
exclusionary discipline. For example, in
to discern the underlying reasons for the
2014–15, when Syracuse implemented its
students’ behavioral problems, and to
reforms, 54 percent fewer black students
develop plans accordingly.
were suspended than in 2011–12. The
The district also aimed to provide equitable number of white students who were
access to such supports and interventions, suspended also fell, by 39 percent. From
a move that may especially benefit students 2006 to 2013 in Denver, the district’s overall
in demographic groups that tend to be suspension rate dropped by half, from 10.58
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Social and Emotional Learning and Equity in School Discipline
percent to 5.63 percent. In Cleveland, was integral to changing how these
suspensions dropped by 60 percent over schools approached students’ behavioral
three years. Moreover, in Cleveland development. It seems reasonable to
schools whose principals reported suppose that such multifaceted reforms
medium- or high-level implementation of as multi-tiered systems of support,
Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies, restorative justice, and SEL coursework
discipline incidents decreased significantly helped re-orient responses to behavior by
in the categories of disobedient/disruptive emphasizing students’ social and emotional
behavior, fighting/violence, harassment/ development.
intimidation and serious bodily injury.34
Persisting Disparity Despite Reforms
Although the Syracuse, Denver, and
The good news is that in all
Cleveland school districts have reduced
three districts, substantially suspension rates, large racial disparities in
discipline persist. For example, in Syracuse
fewer students were
in 2014–15, black students constituted
excluded from instruction
50 percent of those enrolled but 69.5
for discipline infractions. percent of those suspended. During the
same period, white students constituted
The bad news is that black
24 percent of those enrolled but only 14.1
students’ exclusionary percent of those suspended. Denver saw
discipline rates remained a slight narrowing of racial suspension
gaps: from 2006 to 2013, suspension rates
substantially higher than
for black students fell by 7.2 percentage
those of white students. points—the largest reduction among the
district’s racial groups in absolute terms.
Still, in 2013 the suspension rate for black
Because the three districts implemented students, at 10.42 percent, remained
numerous initiatives each school year, almost five times higher than that for white
and because simply comparing pre- and students, at 2.28 percent.35 Moreover, a
post-reform discipline data only tells us so recent study found that black students in
much, we can’t pinpoint which programs Denver were still significantly more likely
or policies helped reduce discipline to be suspended than white students, even
incidents and suspensions. In fact, we can’t after controlling for various school and
even claim that the reforms caused the student characteristics (such as low income
reduction—that is, we can’t rule out the status), the reasons students were referred
possibility that other factors in the districts to the office for misconduct (for example,
were responsible for the reductions. We tardiness versus fighting), and whether
also have only limited information on how the students participated in restorative
well the reforms were implemented. That conferences or circles. These findings
said, we speculate that the SEL orientation suggest that despite the reforms, Denver’s
of these comprehensive reforms, as black students continued to receive harsher
opposed to a punishment orientation, sanctions for similar misconduct.36
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Anne Gregory and Edward Fergus
The good news is that in all three disciplinary practices, and interpersonal
districts, substantially fewer students interactions guided by culturally informed
were excluded from instruction for adult and student social and emotional
discipline infractions. The bad news competencies.
is that black students’ exclusionary
In the 2015 Handbook of Social and
discipline rates remained substantially
Emotional Learning, psychologist Joseph
higher than those of white students. This
Durlak of Loyola University Chicago and
suggests that using an SEL orientation to
his colleagues present a conceptual SEL
guide policy and practice reform is only
model of coordinated classroom, school,
a first step. It’s likely that the prevailing
family, and community strategies that
SEL mindset doesn’t sufficiently account
are supported through district, state, and
for the ecological conditions in schools
federal policies. They argue that a positive
that affect equity. In the context of
school climate and fair and equitable
schools, ecology refers to interactions
discipline are integral to school-wide SEL.
between young people and the factors
In the same volume, Patricia Jennings
that influence their development—such
and Jennifer Frank of Pennsylvania State
as the quality of instruction, classroom
University draw on categories developed
management strategies, messages on the
by CASEL—which we discuss in more
school walls, and so on. These ecological
detail later in this article—to argue that
factors may contain bias-based beliefs
educators themselves need social and
and discriminatory processes that affect
emotional competencies. For example,
students’ school experiences. To make
they write, teachers with high self-
more progress toward racial equity in
awareness recognize their own emotions
discipline, we may need to pay more
and can motivate students to learn through
attention to such factors, as well as to the
joy and enthusiasm. Teachers with high
dynamics of power and privilege in the
social awareness understand how their
lives of students and adults.
own emotions and those of their students’
Ecologically and Equity- affect one another. And teachers with
Oriented SEL strong relationship-building skills develop
mutual understanding with their students,
We believe that even discipline reforms
consider multiple perspectives during
that fully embrace SEL as it’s currently
conflicts, and resolve disputes skillfully.37
conceptualized hold limited promise
for eliminating disparities, for two Other scholars have also made the case
reasons. The first is that “colorblind” that educators’ social and emotional
notions of SEL don’t consider power, skills are essential for building positive
privilege, and cultural difference. student relationships and preventing
The second is that prevailing SEL discipline incidents.38 Whereas typical
models are centered on students, but SEL interventions tend to focus on
not on the adults who interact with students’ skills, some interventions do
them. Student-centered SEL doesn’t aim to strengthen those of educators. For
consider the school environment, with example, the RULER program developed
all its multifaceted influences—policies, at Yale University helps teachers
126 THE FUTURE OF CHILDREN