Decriminalizing practices: disrupting punitive-based racial oppression of boys of color in elementary school classrooms

Abstract

In elementary schools, boys of color are punished more often and more severely, despite not engaging in infractions any more frequently than their White peers. Previous research has identified these disparities as a form of racial criminalization, and that many boys of color regularly resist this criminalization as a healthy response to oppression. This longitudinal, multi-site study examined a collective set of practices some educators employed in an elementary school STEM program to directly disrupt criminalization of boys of color. These highly effective decriminalizing practices often had immediate and consistently positive impacts on the boys and their learning experiences. Grouping decriminalizing practices into six categories, this research describes the characteristics and impacts of decriminalization with salient examples. The manuscript concludes with a discussion of where decriminalization may fit into the pedagogical landscape of teaching and school practices and procedures, including restorative justice, models of punishment, and the school-to-prison pipeline.