Abstract
Educators face multiple forms of misbehavior in the classroom on a regular basis. This ethnographic research project addresses the difficulties encountered by teachers in a high school setting, giving consideration to the decision-making process in determining whether to admonish students for misbehavior and whether to issue a referral to an administrator, which holds the possibility of more severe punishment. This research demonstrates the continuing importance of Labeling and Social Reproduction Theories in understanding the process of classroom management, emphasizing the importance of the teachers’ and administrators’ perception of whether the student demonstrates the acquisition and possession of cultural capital.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
The research protocol approved by the University’s Institutional Review Board requires confidentiality. Further disclosure of demographic data of the surrounding community has the potential to compromise the identity of the participating school district.
References
Adams, M. (1996). Labeling and differential association: Towards a general social learning theory of crime and deviance. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 20, 147–164.
Adams, M., Robertson, C., Gray-Ray, P., & Ray, M. (2003). Labeling and delinquency. Adolescence, 38, 171–184.
Bernstein, B. (1977). Social class, language, and socialization. In J. Karabel & A. H. Halsey (Eds.), Power and ideology in education. New York: Oxford University Press.
Bowditch, C. (1993). Getting rid of troublemakers: High school disciplinary procedures and the production of dropouts. Social Problems, 40(4), 493–509.
Brym, R. A., & Lie, J. (2003). Sociology: Your compass for a new world. Stamford: Wadsworth Publishing.
Delpit, L. (1995). Other people’s children: Cultural conflict in the classroom. New York City: The New York Press.
Dumais, S. A. (2002). Cultural capital, gender and school success: The role of habitus. Sociology of Education, 75(1), 44–68.
Ferguson, A. A. (2000). Bad boys: Public schools in the making of black masculinity. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.
Gregory, A., & Ripski, M. B. (2008). Adolescent Trust in teachers: Implications for behavior in the high school classroom. School Psychology Review, 37(3), 337–353.
Gregory, A., & Weinstein, R. S. (2008). The discipline gap and African Americans: Defiance or cooperation in the high school classroom. Journal of School Psychology, 46, 455–475.
Hanna, J. L. (1988). Disruptive school behavior. New York: Holmes and Meier.
Heath, S. B. (1983). Ways with words. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Karabel, J., & Halsey, A. H. (1977). (Eds.), Power and ideology in education. New York: Oxford University Press.
Lamont, M., & Lareau, A. (1988). Cultural capital: Allusions, gaps and glissandos in recent theoretical development. Sociological Theory, 6, 153–168.
Lareau, A. (2000). Home advantage: Social class and parental intervention in elementary education. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers.
Lareau, A. (2003). Unequal childhoods. Berkeley, CA: University of CA Press.
Lareau, A., & Horvat, E. M. (1999). Moments of social inclusion and exclusion: Race, class and cultural capital in family-school relationships. Sociology of Education, 72(1), 37–53.
Leone, P. E., Mayer, M. J., Malmgren, K., & Meisel, S. M. (2002). School violence and disruption. Rhetoric, reality, and reasonable balance. Focus on Exceptional Children, 33, 1–19.
MacLeod, J. (2009). Ain’t no Makin’ It. Boulder: Westview Press.
McCarthy, J. D., & Hoge, D. (1987). Social construction of school punishment. Social Forces, 65, 1101–1120.
Monroe, C. (2005). Why are “bad boys” always black? Causes of disproportionality in school discipline and recommendations for change. The Clearing House, 79(1), 45–50.
Oakes, J. (1985). Keeping track: How schools structure inequality. New Haven, London: Yale University Press.
Regoli, R. M., Hewitt, J. D., & Delisi, M. (2008). Delinquency in society: Youth crime in the twenty first Century (7th ed.). New York City: McGraw-Hill Publishers.
Rist, R. C. (1970). Student social class and teacher expectations: The self-fulfilling prophecy in ghetto education. Harvard Educational Review, 40(3), 411–451.
Roscigno, V., Tomaskovic-Devey, D., & Crowley, M. (2006). Education and the inequalities of place. Social Forces, 84(4), 2121–2145.
Shelden, R. G. (2007). Resurrecting radical non-intervention: Stop the war on kids. Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice. Accessed Online: www.cjcj.org/files/radical.pdf.
Skiba, R. J., Michael, R. S., Nardo, A. C., & Peterson, R. L. (2002). The color of discipline: Sources of racial and gender disproportionality in school punishment. The Urban Review, 34(4), 317–342.
Skiba, R. J., Peterson, R. L., & Williams, T. (1997). Office referrals and suspension: Disciplinary intervention in middle schools. Education and Treatment of Children, 20(3), 295–315.
US Census. (2013). State and County QuickFacts. Last Revised: Thursday, 27-Jun-2013 13:52:14 EDT http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/21000.html.
Vavrus, F., & Cole, K. M. (2002). I didn’t do nothing: The discursive construction of school suspension. The Urban Review, 34(2), 87–111.
Weinstein, C., Curran, M., & Tomlinson-Clarke, S. (2004). Toward a conception of culturally responsive classroom management. Journal of Teacher Education, 55(1), 25–38.
Weinstein, C., Tomlinson-Clarke, S., & Curran, M. (2003). Culturally responsive classroom management: Awareness into action. Theory into Practice, 42(4), 269–276.
Willis, P. (1977). Learning to labor: How working class kids get working class jobs. New York City: Columbia University Press.
Wu, S. C., Pink, W. T., Crain, R. L., & Moles, O. (1982). Student suspension: A critical reappraisal. The Urban Review, 14, 245–303.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Glass, C.S. Perception of Misbehavior: Understanding the Process of Labeling and the Role of Cultural Capital in the Disciplinary Process. Urban Rev 46, 372–394 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-013-0268-z
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-013-0268-z