In Their Words: Black Students' Perception of the Achievement and Discipline Gap in a Predominantly White Secondary School

Background/Purpose: While significant gains have been made in terms of academic achievement in the last 45 years, these gains have not been realized for all students. Consistently, research has shown there are significant academic-related differences and disparate disciplinary sanctions between Blacks and White students. Every student deserves to feel safe, protected, and culturally affirmed in educational settings that are culturally responsive and intentionally built for students from diverse backgrounds. While this ideal is reflective of many students’ educational experiences, this is not the reality for all students. This study aimed to explore the factors that Black students attending an urban-suburban secondary school have identified as contributing to lower academic achievement and disproportionately higher disciplinary sanctions. The research question guiding this study was: What factors influence academic achievement among Black students attending an urban-suburban, predominantly White secondary school?

Methods: This study used a grounded theory methodological approach to analyze qualitative data to understand factors that, through students’ voices, they believe contributed to their lower academic achievement and disproportionately higher disciplinary sanctions while attending a predominantly White school. The sample included students in secondary school in a suburb north of a large midwestern city. Students had to be Black, attend Crest Academy Secondary School (pseudonym), have parental consent, and voluntarily agreed to participate. Participants were recruited using flyers and letters mailed home of all Black students who attended the school. Eight focus group interviews were conducted where three focus groups were with grades 7-8 primary school students, and five were with secondary school students. The findings from this study focused on secondary school students. Theoretical coding was used to establish connections between categories of codes. Qualitative techniques including memos, triangulation and member checking were used to establish trustworthiness.

Findings/implications: Data analysis revealed that Black students did not feel a sense of belonging in the Crest Academy school district and community. Students received spoken and unspoken messages that they did not belong from every aspect of the district: police and community, administration, teachers, curriculum, extra-curricular activities, and school practices. A lack of belonging had four primary components: an unwelcoming environment, lack of mattering, racial insensitivity, and not seeing themselves reflected. This study illuminated the importance of belonging among Black students. Culturally responsive educational practices have the potential to create a welcoming environment, generate feelings of mattering, saturate school culture with racial sensitivity, allow each student to see themselves reflected, and ultimately provide children with opportunities to feel a sense of belongingness in their schools and communities. These findings have implications for policy, practice, and further research centering on culturally responsive educational practices needed for social workers and educators serving Black youth in predominantly White secondary schools.