Abstract
Careful examination of the discipline gap reveals growing disproportionality in the use of exclusionary discipline measures with female students of color, particularly African American females. Most often, adolescent girls of color are disciplined for subjectively defined behaviors, or behaviors considered inappropriate by educators. This study seeks to understand how seven middle school girls of color explain and justify their compliant and noncompliant behaviors and how their interactions with educators shape their beliefs about such behaviors. Using the theory of intersectionality, we examine how these girls both experience oppression and resist it within various domains of power. Findings show that a hostile school environment characterized by a lack of academic and social support, challenges to justice and fairness, presumptions of guilt, miscommunications and misunderstandings, and peer conflict alienates these young females of color from the learning process. Additionally, findings suggest participants strive to be heard and respected at school, using it as a site of resistance and reflecting their individual empowerment and self-advocacy.
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Notes
We use the terms African American and Black interchangeably throughout the paper to refer to those of African descent who are located in the US and have an American socialization.
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Murphy, A.S., Acosta, M.A. & Kennedy-Lewis, B.L. “I’m not running around with my pants sagging, so how am I not acting like a lady?”: Intersections of Race and Gender in the Experiences of Female Middle School Troublemakers. Urban Rev 45, 586–610 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-013-0236-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-013-0236-7