"Okay Boys and Girls, We're Going to Talk about Race Today": Exploring the Relationship between Teachers' Racial Attitudes and School Discipline at Schools Utilizing Restorative Practices

Background: Suspensions and expulsions from school often result in deleterious outcomes for students and contribute to the broader phenomenon known as the school-to-prison pipeline, wherein children are funneled out of systems of learning and into the criminal legal system. Students of color, particularly Black students, are disproportionately excluded from school compared to their white peers. Numerous districts across the country are now using restorative practices, an intervention focused on relationship building and humanizing responses to conflict and harm, to reform school discipline policy and address this disparity. Research has demonstrated that a school’s use of restorative practices often reduces the total number of suspensions; however, the racial disparities in school discipline outcomes typically remain. Teachers play a crucial role in the implementation of restorative practices and in school discipline and thus have the capacity to mitigate or exacerbate inequitable school discipline outcomes.

Methods: This mixed-methods study examines how teacher racial attitudes relate to discipline practices in schools that are utilizing restorative practices. Data are drawn from surveys (N=345) and in-depth interviews (N=18) conducted with in-service teachers working in schools using restorative practices in a set of nine schools serving a majority of Black and economically disadvantaged students. Multivariate regression was used to explore whether teachers’ racial attitudes predicted their referral rates, their perceptions of school safety, student behavior, and restorative practices. Thematic analysis was used to define and synthesize patterns and themes that had emerged in the qualitative coding process.

Results: Qualitative findings suggested that racial attitudes among teachers ranged from color-blind to color-conscious, with some teachers displaying what we have labeled color-cautious racial attitudes, an intermediate category wherein teachers recognize the societal significance of race, but do not see the racism in their schools. Professional development (PD) has been identified as a primary mechanism for building a color-conscious attitude. We explored teachers’ interest in color-conscious PD and found that teachers are generally interested in such training, but also identified numerous barriers.

Analyses of survey data reveal that teachers with color-conscious attitudes use fewer office discipline referrals and have more positive perceptions of their students’ behaviors, their school’s level of safety, and the effectiveness of restorative practices in their schools. Taken together, the qualitative and quantitative analyses provide insights into how teachers’ racial attitudes actively inform their approach to discipline.

Implications: The findings in this study have important implications for social work practice, policy, and research. Findings suggest that interventions to address racial disparities should not be race neutral, and that restorative practices are enhanced when they are done in conjunction with anti-racist interventions. Social workers have the necessary training and skills to facilitate these processes and must actively contribute to school discipline reform.