"You're Just a Kid That's There"-Chicano Perception of Disciplinary Events

Abstract

This qualitative study examined Chicano student perception of discipline and inquired if student-teacher conflict in urban classrooms was influenced by differences in the racial and ethnic identity and cultural positions of the participants. Focus groups, semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and student records were the data sources. The participants were 4 Chicano students and 4 European American teachers from an urban high school. The data revealed that students perceived school as adult-centered, and this resulted in feelings of alienation. However, students developed empowering strategies to resist disciplinary actions. Students describe the differences of perceptions on 2 distinct levels: the content of the disciplinary event, and their conceptual view of specific components of the disciplinary act. Confrontations are described as perceived injustices in the application of rules when different sets of values, attitudes, and beliefs are held by students and teachers. Knowledge of the disciplinary consequence did not influence their decisions to comply.