Impact of In-School Suspension on Black Girls’ Math Course-Taking in High School

Sheretta T. Butler-Barnes,David L. Barnes,Odis Johnson,Habiba Ibrahim

doi:10.3390/socsci10070272

Sheretta T. Butler-Barnes, David L. Barnes + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci10070272

Copy DOI

Abstract

Black girls are more likely to receive in-school suspension (ISS) in comparison to their non-Black peers. However, research on the effect of in-school suspension on students’ academic achievement, specifically math achievement of Black girls, is still very limited. Mathematics is an important foundational component of science, technology, and engineering fields, which are domains in which Black girls are underrepresented. Using the nationally representative Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS:2002), this study explores the relationship between in-school suspension and the highest math course completed in a multi-level analysis of 860 Black female participants from 320 high schools. Our findings revealed that in-school suspension was associated with lower mathematics course-taking. Implications for policy, practice, and research are discussed.

Highlights

Diversifying the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce has been a priority in the United States for several decades
For Black girls (Table 5), at the student level (Model 2), in-school suspension was associated with lower mathematics course-taking (B = −0.34, SE = 0.09, p < 0.001)
The findings indicated that in-school suspension (B = −0.33, SE = 0.10, p < 0.001) was associated with lower mathematics course-taking

Summary

Introduction

Diversifying the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce has been a priority in the United States for several decades. Public and private corporations have invested immensely in increasing the STEM readiness of gendered and racialized populations. Despite these efforts, persistent inequities remain with little progress. African Americans are underrepresented, with only 6.4% having careers in STEM fields (Landivar 2013), and their underrepresentation has not changed much in the last 14 years Women make up 48% of the total U.S labor force, they account for only 24% of the STEM workforce (Landivar 2013). Representing only two percent of the STEM workforce, Black and Latina women are the least represented in the country’s STEM workforce

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion