Majority White Schools Research Articles

The discipline gap in context: The role of school racial and ethnic diversity and within school positionality on out-of-school suspensions

Disparities in exclusionary discipline practices are well-documented; however, variation in Black students' disciplinary experiences across different racial and ethnic school compositions remains understudied. Utilizing a state-wide dataset (N = 769,050 students in J = 1296 schools), we examined student- and school-level factors that contribute to suspensions for Black students across schools with varying racial and ethnic diversity. Consistent with prior research, we found that Black students were disproportionately suspended more often, for more days, and more likely for soft offenses. We also found that students in majority Black schools (i.e., those where >50% of the students were Black) had the highest unadjusted rates of suspension. However, when controlling for multiple other student- and school-level characteristics, including overall suspension rates, we found that Black students attending majority White schools had a higher adjusted risk of suspension than in majority Black or heterogenous diverse schools, suggesting higher rates of differential treatment in White majority schools. We discuss the implications of these results and the role school psychologists play in supporting professional development, training, and data-based decision making to reduce disproportionality.

Disappearing Diversity and the Probability of Hiring a Non-White Teacher: An Analysis of Principals’ Hiring Patterns in Predominantly White Schools

This study investigates whether a principal’s likelihood of hiring a teacher of color is sensitive to the racial composition of students in the school. We used an administrative dataset from Texas including 59,157 principal observations and 662,997 teacher observations spanning 2000–2017 to consider whether or not the disappearing diversity in a majority White school is a factor in principals’ decisions to hire teachers of color. We examined the hiring patterns of principals within schools where 50% of the students were White and compared the probability that a non-White teacher would be hired as the homogeneity of the student body increased (that is, as increasing proportions of the student body were White). We found that White principals were less likely to hire teachers of color as the proportion of White students approached 100%. This study provides initial evidence that teacher hires are sensitive not only to the principal’s race but also to the racial composition of the student body. Specifically, as the diversity of the student body disappears, so too does the principal’s likelihood of hiring a teacher of color.

Segregation, Securitization, and Bullying: Investigating the Connections Between Policing, Surveillance, Punishment, and Violence

Over the past twenty years, scholarly research on the disproportionate control, surveillance, and punishment of racial/ethnic minority students within U.S. public schools have indicated that these youth are subject to greater levels of violence and bullying. Many scholars have conceptualized the term “youth control complex.” This term references the hyper-criminalization of racial and ethnic minority youth across the U.S., which leads to greater levels of over-policing, surveillance, and punishment in U.S. public schools with large populations of racial and ethnic minority students. Using the 2015–2016 School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS) data, this study addresses two major research questions. First, do racially/ethnically segregated schools have higher rates of policing, surveillance, and punishment? Second, do policing, surveillance, and punishment within segregated schools moderate the rate of bullying? Our findings indicate that majority-Black and majority-Latina/o/x schools do in fact experience hyper-criminalization in U.S. public schools in comparison to majority-White schools. Yet, these increased crime control and punishment efforts in majority-Black and majority-Latina/o/x schools do not have a significant impact on the rate of bullying. Moreover, our findings highlight the educational inequities between majority-Black, majority-Latina/o/x, and majority-White schools.

Racial/ethnic disparities in childhood obesity: The role of school segregation.

Recent studies have observed that racial or ethnic adult health disparities revealed in national data dissipate in racially integrated communities, supporting the theory that "place, not race" shapes the nature and magnitude of racial/ethnic health disparities. This study tested this theory among children. In 2020, the racial/ethnic childhood obesity disparities within integrated schools and between segregated schools were estimated using statewide cross-sectional data collected in 2019 on fifth, seventh, and ninth grade students from California public schools. School segregation accounted for a large part of the obesity disparities between White children and children of color (Latino, Black, and Filipino children). In racially integrated schools, obesity disparities were much smaller than those in statewide data, whereas racial or ethnic childhood obesity disparities were larger when comparing children in majority-White schools with those attending schools with a majority enrollment of children of color, except for Asian children, who generally had lower obesity rates than their White peers. School-level racial segregation is a salient contributor to racial/ethnic childhood obesity disparities. Reducing obesity disparities may be particularly effective if place-level interventions target socioeconomically disadvantaged integrated schools and segregated schools attended primarily by children of color.

Teacher and School Characteristics Associated with the Identification and Referral of Adolescent Depression and Oppositional Defiant Disorders by U.S. Teachers.

Teachers contribute to the process of identifying and referring students for mental health services, however, relatively little is known about how they make those decisions and how decision-making differs across school contexts. This study used a vignette-based method to investigate individual and school contextual factors associated with the likelihood that teachers identify and refer students for mental health services. Teachers were recruited from public middle and high schools across the U.S. using a stratified random sampling strategy. Teachers (N = 462) responded to vignettes by indicating their concern for students, as well as their likelihood of providing mental health referrals. Vignettes varied by problem type (depression, oppositional defiant disorder), problem severity (moderate, severe), and student gender (male, female). Data on school characteristics were extracted from the U.S. Department of Education database. Regression models indicated several significant associations of teacher demographic characteristics and school characteristics with vignette ratings. For example, female teachers were more likely than males to rate vignettes as concerning, and middle school teachers were more likely than high school teachers to indicate they would refer students for mental health services. Teachers in schools with a higher proportion of Black students rated depression vignettes as less serious and indicated they were less likely to refer students for mental health services than teachers in majority white schools. Results suggest school characteristics may contribute to established disparities in mental health service access. Findings have implications for targeting mental health supports in schools.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12310-021-09491-1.

Counter-storytelling, metaphors, and rhetorical questioning: discursive strategies of advocacy toward racial equity in school board meetings

ABSTRACT Minoritized communities have long engaged in collective resistance against racism and other forms of injustice in schools. In this article, we highlight the discursive strategies of one such case of resistance during official public comments in a series of school board meetings over nine months. Specifically, we identify how community advocates used metaphors, counter-storytelling, and rhetorical questioning to speak out against racism directed largely at Black students in a majority white school district in the US Southwest. We conclude with implications for other communities to consider these strategies in their own resistance and for educators to take seriously the discourse of minoritized communities.

Suspended While Black in Majority White Schools: Implications for Math Efficacy and Equity

This article explores whether racial disparities in mathematics arise in majority White schools for students who receive in-school suspensions (ISS). Using data from the High School Longitudinal Survey and machine learning generated propensity scores to estimate average treatment effects, we find Black suspended students in schools with low White enrollment have math test scores and efficacy beliefs no different than non-suspended Black students, but experience declines in their math scores as the percentage of White enrollment increases.

Stephani Hatch: rethinking power in health-care research

Stephani Hatch was raised in Atlanta, GA, by parents who had lived through racial segregation in the US public school system. Her parents, Hatch says, “sacrificed quite a lot for us to get a quality education. Like many during the 1980s, I was bussed to majority white schools for most of my education, to make sure I went to schools with resources because US school resources are often linked to a neighbourhood's wealth. It wasn’t lost on us as children the challenges we faced as a family. I am Black American, raised in the south in Atlanta and I think particularly in terms of exposure to racism and discrimination, there is a life course narrative very much entrenched in social context. And so for me, and for many of us, witnessing, anticipating, and experiencing racism and discrimination begin at a very young age.” Department of ErrorPrasad A. Stephani Hatch: rethinking power in health-care research. Lancet 2021; 398: 1559—In this Profile, the second sentence of the fourth paragraph has been corrected to read “…Health and Social Equity Hub for which she is a Co-Principal Investigator”. This correction has been made to the online version as of Nov 25, 2021. Full-Text PDF

Racial Discrimination Stress, School Belonging, and School Racial Composition on Academic Attitudes and Beliefs among Black Youth

It is important to consider racialized experiences and proximal indicators of academic success for Black youth when understanding the achievement gap. Acknowledging that racial discrimination is detrimental for the academic success of Black youth, this study extended previous research by examining the influence of racial discrimination stress. Using hierarchical regression analysis and a moderated moderation model, this study examined racial discrimination stress and school belonging as predictors of academic attitudes and beliefs among 344 Black youth (M age = 15.6). Additionally, we examined the interactive effects of school belonging as a buffer for racial discrimination stress, with particular focus on majority White schools. Analyses revealed that school belonging was linked with academic competence, academic efficacy, and academic skepticism. Furthermore, school belonging buffered the impact of racial discrimination stress on academic efficacy among Black youth in majority White schools. These findings highlight the co-occurrence of risk and protective factors among Black youth and demonstrate the additive influence of school racial composition on academic attitudes and beliefs. The practical and theoretical implications of these findings demonstrate the crucial role of school context in understanding risk and protective factors for the academic attitudes and beliefs of Black youth.

SOCIALIZATION AND SOCIAL IDENTITY: A COMPARATIVE REVIEW OF THE BLACK STUDENTS’ EXPERIENCE AT HBCUS AND PWIS

ABSTRACT The primary mechanism through which the organizational structure and culture are inculcated on members of an organization is socialization. Educational and socialization experiences are quite different between African American students who attend predominately white institutions (PWIs) and their Caucasian counterparts. The implementation of desegregation seemed to predict that black students would be successful at PWIs and graduate from those institutions at an equal or greater rate than they did at HBCUs. However, this has not been the case, for instance, according to research, although the enrollment of African Americans at majority white schools increased, students who attended black universities graduated at a much higher rate than black students at PWIs. The causes, immediate or remote can be attributed to the extent of socialization and the social identity of black students in PWIs and HBCUs. Keywords Social Identity, Socialization, HBCUs, PWIs, Performance

The Problem of Student Disengagement: Struggle, Escapism and Nietzsche’s Birth of Tragedy

Numerous studies have shown that secondary and college students are increasingly apathetic and disengaged from their schooling. The problem of student disengagement is not confined to under-represented socioeconomic groups; it is found across the country—in cities, suburbs, and rural communities; in wealthy schools and poor schools; in public schools and charter schools; in majority white schools and those composed largely of students of color. In this essay, we argue that Friedrich Nietzsche’s Birth of Tragedy contains crucial pedagogical and conceptual resources for responding to this widespread problem. The conception of “Dionysian pessimism” Nietzsche advances in this early work and its relationship to the escapist, “Alexandrianism” he observes in late 19th century German education are relevant to the contemporary problem of student disengagement, we argue, because they address head on the reality of struggle in students’ academic experiences and can potentially explain the disengagement they experience when they fail to acknowledge, accept and even embrace the struggle of education. When struggle is seen as something to be avoided and endured only for the sake of later academic and career success, as it often is, Nietzsche argues that apathy, disengagement and even resentment can result. Thus, while Nietzsche’s diagnosis is rooted in an analysis of his own culture and time, this essay hopes to show that it has the potential to speak to important practical issues in contemporary education.

Changes in Fast Food Outlet Availability Near Schools: Unequal Patterns by Income, Race/Ethnicity, and Urbanicity

Previous research has observed income or racial/ethnic inequalities in fast food restaurant availability near schools. The purpose of this study was to investigate changes in fast food restaurant availability near schools between 2000 and 2010 by school neighborhood income, race/ethnicity, and urbanicity. Using data from 7,466 California public schools, negative binomial regression models estimated the relative ratios to evaluate the income gradient in fast food restaurant availability, examine differences in the income gradient in fast food restaurant availability between 2000 and 2010, and investigate if fast food restaurant availability changed in 2010 versus 2000, stratified by race/ethnicity and urbanicity. The analyses were conducted in 2018 and early 2019. In urban areas, there was a negative school neighborhood income gradient in fast food restaurant availability in both 2000 and 2010, and across all race/ethnic groups, except majority African American schools. The income gradient in fast food restaurant availability was steeper in 2010 relative to 2000 among Latino majority urban schools. Fast food restaurant availability increased in 2010 relative to 2000 among majority African American, majority Latino, and majority Asian schools in the least affluent neighborhoods. Among majority white schools in similar neighborhoods the availability of fast food restaurants did not change but declined in the most affluent school neighborhoods. In nonurban areas, the income patterns in fast food restaurant availability were less clear, and fast food restaurant availability increased among majority white and Latino schools within the middle neighborhood income tertile. These findings suggest the need for future interventions to target schools in low-income urban neighborhoods. Additionally, reducing child health disparities and improving health for all children requires monitoring changes in the food environment near schools.

Beyond Boundaries: Envisioning Metropolitan School Desegregation in Boston, Detroit, and Philadelphia, 1963-1974

From the early 1960s onward, battles over school desegregation took on an increasingly metropolitan orientation, one all but destroyed by the Supreme Court’s 1974 decision in Milliken v. Bradley. In Boston, Detroit, and Philadelphia, segregationist urbanites, when faced with a legal challenge either created or made possible by black civil rights advocates, reversed course and trumpeted the advantages of metropolitan desegregation. These tactical metropolitanists recognized that a larger desegregation area reaching into the predominantly white suburbs would mean that white children would continue attending majority-white schools and they understood that stoking suburban opposition to desegregation could defeat integrationist legislation. Despite their segregationist motives, tactical metropolitanists offered a potentially productive solution capable of mitigating white flight, providing lasting integration, and aligning with the efforts of integrationist civil rights advocates in court. Uncovering tactical metropolitanism complicates our understandings of urban segregation and the sources of metropolitan reform. It suggests the need for a metropolitan history of civil rights that centers the importance of municipal boundaries in perpetuating inequality.

School racial composition and lifetime non-medical use of prescription painkillers: Evidence from the national longitudinal study of adolescent to adult health

ObjectiveTo investigate the possible effects of middle and high school racial composition on later reporting of lifetime non-medical use of prescription painkillers (NMUPP) in young adulthood, and to explore whether there is evidence of variability by individual race/ethnicity in such effects. MethodsUsing data from Wave 1 (1994/5) of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), we categorized the sample's 52 middle schools and 80 high schools as majority (>50%) non-Hispanic white, majority non-Hispanic black, or neither. We used two-level hierarchical modeling to explore associations between individual- and school-level race at Wave 1 and lifetime prescription painkiller misuse reported at Wave 4. We included a cross-level interaction between individual race and school racial composition to assess variability in school-level associations by race. ResultsOverall crude prevalence of lifetime NMUPP in majority white schools (17.9%) was over three times that of prevalence in majority black schools (4.8%), and also higher than prevalence in schools neither predominantly black nor predominantly white (12.4%). Lifetime misuse among blacks in majority white schools was more prevalent (5.2%) than among blacks in black schools (2.8%), as was misuse among whites in white schools (19.3%) compared to their white peers in black schools (15.7%). Two-level random intercept Poisson regression results suggest that attendance in a majority black secondary school lowered a participant's risk of lifetime NMUPP (compared to attending a majority white school: RR=0.66, p = 0.03). Compared to blacks in black schools, blacks in white schools had twice the risk of prescription painkiller misuse (p = 0.004) over a decade later, and whites in white schools had 5.5 times the risk (p = 0.01). The risk ratio comparing whites in black schools to whites in white schools was not significant (RR: 1.30; p = 0.37). ConclusionsWe found evidence of an effect of school racial composition on the risk of misusing prescription painkillers over a decade later, over and above individual race, with higher risk of misuse reported among participants who had attended white schools. Black participants who had attended predominantly white schools were, on average, twice as likely to report lifetime misuse of prescription painkillers compared to blacks who had attended black schools.

A Review of Los Angeles Unified Data Following the OCR Compliance Investigation

In 2011, the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) conducted a compliance review of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) to examine the district’s provision of resources and opportunities to schools with predominantly African American students as compared with schools with predominantly White students. The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which LAUSD has responded to OCR findings. Research questions include the following: (a) How do LAUSD majority White and majority African American elementary schools compare on performance indicator variables? (b) What are the differences in teacher quality variables between majority African American and majority White schools? (c) How successful has the OCR review been to date in accomplishing the outcomes advocated for by the OCR? Findings indicate that majority African American schools continue to have significantly lower teacher and student attendance, student performance, and percentage of students identified as gifted and talented (GT). African American students also continue to experience higher rates of disciplinary incidents as compared with White students.

“Talkin’ bout Good & Bad” Pedagogies: Code-Switching vs. Comparative Rhetorical Approaches

Code-switching pedagogies do not consider that some features of African American Verbal Tradition (AVT) are rhetorically effective mainstream communication structures in academic writing. My research asserts that when teaching language/dialect difference in majority white school settings, contrastive analysis techniques such as these may have highly negative effects on AAL (African American Language) speakers. Thus, as an alternative to code-switching pedagogical practices, I introduce a comparative approach that may be applied across all minority language groups and that highlights African and African American contributions to standardized American written communication structures and demonstrates the value of AVT in academic settings. This comparative rhetorical approach may have a positive impact on student language attitudes toward AAL by illustrating that many academic writers from varied racial/ethnic backgrounds often use AVT in their writing for rhetorical purposes and to produce lively, image-filled, concrete, readable essays.

Introduction

Introduction Jacqueline Ellis and Ellen Gruber Garvey In recent years, government policy in the United States has increasingly defined education's purpose as preparing students for the workplace. In 2014, President Barack Obama typified this line of thinking in remarks that questioned the value of studying disciplines that do not align with specific careers: [A] lot of young people no longer see the trades and skilled manufacturing as a viable career. But I promise you, folks can make a lot more, potentially, with skilled manufacturing or the trades than they might with an art history degree. Now, nothing wrong with an art history degree—I love art history. So I don't want to get a bunch of emails from everybody. I'm just saying you can make a really good living and have a great career without getting a four-year college education as long as you get the skills and the training that you need. (Jaschik, "Obama") Obama's comments were criticized for their dismissive attitude toward the liberal arts—a perspective more commonly associated with Republican politicians—and for his reinforcement of policies that have led to corporatized, routinized, test score–oriented approaches to education that require elementary school children to be "college and career ready." At the same time, Obama's words suggest that the liberal arts—the study of literature, history, art, and philosophy—are unnecessary for young people who might be better suited to traditionally working-class occupations. His point implies that education that does not funnel students into a specific career should be accessible only to a privileged few. As schools narrow their purpose, they increase educational inequality. Public schools in poorer areas increasingly focus only on subjects that are assessed in standardized tests. In one example, in 2015, Frankie Adao, the father of an eighth grader in a public school in Newark, New Jersey, posted his son's schedule on social media. The schedule showed only three class periods in a week [End Page 1] that were not dedicated to math, STEM, or English language arts. Parents from suburban school districts and private schools posted their children's schedules in response, showing a stark disparity, as middle-class, majority-white school districts offered classes in civics, media and public speaking, creative writing, music, and even Google hacks. As Adao noted: I know in suburban and better off communities the resources differ from district to district. Hell, Newark, is fighting to keep schools open! Never mind having courses like Ceramics and Google Hacks. Ceramics, by the way is a course I did have in 8th grade at the very same school my son attends but no longer is available. The stark differences a child [receives] in education from district to district is an amazing and stark reality of how different and uneven the educational playing field is for our children. (Strauss) This same narrowing and division is occurring in higher education, as enrollments in history and literature courses decline (Flaherty; Jaschik, "Shrinking") and students feel pressed by their student loans to take only courses that they believe will feed directly into a career. Instructors and students have turned to one another and to their many communities to keep the challenging and questioning spirit of education alive. The contributions included in this second issue of "Teaching Community" explore this question of education's purpose and suggest a much broader scope than is prescribed by education policy. Several of the authors, for example, examine various forms of service learning. Others explore the connections between universities and their surrounding communities and suggest ways to build collaborative partnerships. Emese Toth's photo-essay, "Teaching Contested University Histories through Campus Tours," critiques the public identity of a college by offering an "alternative campus tour," whereas guest editors Erica Meiners and Therese Quinn's Teachers Talk, "Dissenting Images: Engaging the Pedagogy of Protest," explores the pedagogical possibilities of public protest in reflections on the Women's March in January 2017. Overall, this issue proposes a model of education that emphasizes inclusivity and a commitment to teaching and learning that is critically engaged and socially transformative. The students discussed in both Anne Valk and Holly Ewald's essay, "Turning Toward...

Signifying, Narrativizing, and Repetition: Radical Approaches to Theorizing African American Language

Abstract Code-switching and code-meshing pedagogies, though they are two vastly different approaches, do not consider that some features of African American Verbal Tradition (AVT) are and/or have become rhetorically effective mainstream communication structures in academic writing. This article explores how teaching language/dialect difference in majority white school settings, using contrastive-analysis techniques such as code switching may have highly negative effects on African American Language (AAL) speakers. Code-switching maintains that AAL and other “non-standard” language varieties are only appropriate for use in the home or social settings. Thus, as an alternative to code-switching pedagogical practices, the author introduces a comparative approach that may be applied across all minority language groups. This technique highlights African and African American contributions to standardized American written communication structures and demonstrates the value of AVT in academic settings. In the accompanying lesson plan, students are invited to think about how the English language, as a field, is constantly evolving and changing in our diverse, ever-widening international community; they are then given opportunities to use various writing instruction pedagogies to articulate theories, histories, methods, and practices.

Latina/o Students in Majority White Schools

Latina/o high school students face many challenges in school, and much current research on ethnicity and education likewise focuses on the downsides of being an ethnic minority in the U.S. educational system. Social scientists attribute the educational gaps associated with ethnic minority status to factors such as fewer family resources, discrimination, teacher-student mismatch, English learner status, and social isolation at school. This article shifts attention to the ways in which ethnic minority status can bolster educational attainment and highlights the significance of co-ethnic physical spaces or “enclaves” in majority white high schools. Data include 11 interviews with teachers and administrators at a public high school in the Southeast, supplemented with 100 hours of classroom participant observation and over 100 narratives written by students. Student perceptions are tapped through analysis of an open-ended essay writing exercise on what it means to be a Latina/o in the United States, completed by the Latina/o students enrolled in four Spanish language–only courses during three terms in 2013–2014. The observation, interview, and essay-based data indicate that Latino/a high school students benefit from school ethnic enclaves where they are free to draw on the support of co-ethnic peers and culturally flexible teachers. These themes emerge in the interviews with teachers and are supported by student comments in a writing exercise. School ethnic enclaves provide both academic and social support, help foster a positive ethnic self-image, and ultimately link ethnic minority status and heritage to success despite the significant—and more often studied—educational challenges faced by Latina/o high school students.

Race and Cultural Flexibility among Students in Different Multiracial Schools

Background/ContextOne of the most critical functions of a well-integrated school is the development of “culturally flexible” students who, over the course of their social development, effectively navigate diverse social environs such as the workplace, communities, and neighborhoods. Most studies, albeit with some exceptions, have investigated the impact of desegregation on short- and long-term gains in achievement and attainment, as opposed to its impact on intergroup relations. Mixed-race schools are vital not only for bolstering achievement outcomes of previously disadvantaged students but also for promoting social cohesion in a diverse society.Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of StudySpecifically, this article examines the difference in cultural flexibility between black and white students enrolled in schools with different racial and ethnic compositions. Cultural flexibility is defined as the propensity to value and move across different cultural and social peer groups and environments. Furthermore, this article provides some insight into how students in different mixed-race and desegregated educational contexts experience their school's social organization and cultural environments, which influence their interactions and academic behaviors.SettingThe study was conducted over a 6-month period in four high schools: a majority-minority school and a majority-white school located in a northeastern city, and a majority-minority school and a majority-white school located in a southern city.Research DesignSurvey data were gathered from a randomly stratified sample of 471 Black and White students attending. In addition, ethnographic notes from weeks of school observations and transcribed interview data from 57 group interviews conducted in the four schools with students in Grades 9–12 complemented the survey research.Data Collection and AnalysisFindings reveal significant associations among self-esteem, academic and extracurricular placement, and cultural flexibility for black students. Also, black students in majority-minority schools scored significantly higher on the cultural flexibility scale than those in majority-white schools. Among white students, regional location and academic placement showed statistically significant associations with cultural flexibility. The ethnographic and interview data further explicate why these patterns occurred and illuminate how certain school contextual factors are likely linked to students’ cultural flexibility. Overall, this study's findings highlight some connections between student and school behaviors as they pertain to both students’ and educators’ willingness and ability to realize the visions of racial and ethnic integration wholly.