Archambault, I., Vandenbossche-Makombo, J., & Fraser, S. L. (2017). Students oppositional behaviors and engagement in school: The differential role of the student-teacher relationship. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 26(6), 17021712.
There is unanimity in educational research that early involvement in learning activities is a fundamental aspect of perseverance and success in academic endeavors. The relationship between students and their teachers is vital to the strengthening of the course of learners’ performance in school. Therefore, having a negative relationship with educators may elicit many disengagements in the learning process with more considerable oppositional conduct while ensuring a positive connection could be a protective aspect. This article examines the influence of learners’ degree of oppositional conduct on their educational and behavioral performance in literacy. The researchers assessed whether such relationships differ between girls and boys or varied as a function of multiple elements of learner-educator connections. Three hundred eighty-five elementary school learners (45.2% girls) from grades 3 and 4 participated in the study, in addition to 28 educators (82.7% female). In the data analysis, two sequences of hierarchical linear regressions were undertaken to evaluate the research questions. In both instances, regression assumptions were verified, and variables were presented in five stages.
The findings of the study show that learners who demonstrated increased degrees of oppositional conduct had poorer engagement than their other counterparts. The development of a friendly connection with teachers was established to be more helpful for the behavioral involvement of girls, while an increased degree of conflict between learners and educators was more detrimental to the psychological engagement of boys than girls. The researchers concluded that learners’ insight into their affiliation with educators might be dependent on the behavioral challenges that they encounter, while the perceptiveness of teachers concerning such relationships could be reliant on the unruliness of students. The information presented in this study is reliable since a positive student-educator relationship is not only crucial in the improvement of the academic performance of learners but also in promoting their engagement in school. This article relates to the study by Delale-O’Connor, Alvarez, Murray, and Milner, IV (2017) since they both assert that learners who have a close affiliation with their teachers have high self-efficacy and behavioral engagement.
Bryant, D., & Wilson, A. (2020). Factors potentially influencing discipline referral and suspensions at an affiliated charter high school. Journal of Educational Research & Practice, 10(1), 119-128.
This article affirms that the inconsistent behavior of Black students is a challenge that influences millions of learners and families across the globe. The expulsion and suspension levels for Black learners are twofold to threefold that of a comparable level for other racial groups at the elementary, middle, and secondary school stages. Nonetheless, the rising cases of expulsion and suspension for Black learners are disturbing since it is not apparent whether such measures improve the behavior of the students in any way, strengthen their positive attitude toward school, hinder them from interrelating with the wrong people, or support the security of the learning environment. The study aimed to establish whether variables such as learners’ ethnic background, socioeconomic position, and gender contribute to the possibility of students’ disciplinary problems or their suspension at their school. The study was guided by Skinner’s behaviorism and Bandura’s social learning theories.
The researchers embarked on a correlational and descriptive quantitative study with a sample of 2,536 learners from grades 9 to 12 in the course of a school year. From the selected participants, 1,570 learners had a minimum of one disciplinary referral or a single instance of suspension during the 2013-2014 academic year. The ages of the selected participants for the study vary from 13 to 19 years. The findings from the binomial logistic regression analysis indicate that Black learners from underprivileged socioeconomic settings were considerably more likely to be suspended or expelled than students from other ethnic groups. The researchers concluded that most teacher education plans do not equip pre-service educators adequately to satisfy the needs of diverse learners. The outcome of the study is reliable since, as society keeps on embracing diversity, the education system has the social accountability of creating classrooms that will satisfy the requirements of diverse learners. The information in the article relates to the study by Chowdhury and Butler (2019) since they affirm that the percentage of Black students having disciplinary problems is higher than that of learners from other ethnic backgrounds.
Chen, G. (2020). School-to-prison pipeline persists despite local, state, and national efforts. Web.
In a period in which undesirable conduct in learning institutions, for example, harassment, bullying, sexism, racial discrimination, and shootings, have become rampant, public schools are increasingly taking measures to reinforce security and protect learners and their personnel. The outcome of such measures has been the enhancement of the school-to-prison pipeline regardless of federal, national, and local endeavors to address the issue. The author presents videos to support the affirmation that students should be helped to go through the education system successfully and not imprisoned. Five fundamental aspects have been established by the American Civil Liberties Union as the causes of the creation of police-state learning institutions that channel students into courts and prisons. Insufficient resources and financing, severe zero-tolerance policies, the presence of law enforcement officers in public schools, alternative learning environments, and juvenile court and imprisonment create conditions in which students from underprivileged and minority communities have minimal opportunities of succeeding.
The author presents four examples of the effects of the school-to-prison pipeline. One instance is the 2013 incident in North Carolina where a water balloon erupted during a senior-day hoax at Enloe High School. Shockingly, 24 armed law-enforcement officers stormed the institution to reinstate the order. One parent and eight learners, all of whom were Blacks, were arrested and remanded for numerous crimes such as disorderly behavior and trespassing. Statistics affirm that 70% of learners who are either arrested at school or imprisoned are either Latino or Black. Additionally, more than 40% of students who are either suspended or expelled every year are Black. The author concludes that great emphasis should be placed on the provision of sufficient training for staff in classroom management or conflict determination policies, in addition to the establishment of practices for the involvement of parents and learners in the improvement of the school climate. The information presented in the article is authentic because there is an evident increase in biased incarceration, suspension, or expulsion of students where Black students are highly affected. This article relates to the study by Bryant and Wilson (2020) in the affirmation that Black students have a more than threefold probability of either being imprisoned, suspended, or expelled from school than their white counterparts.
Chowdhury, L., & Butler, R. (2019). Laying the foundation of punishment against black males. In J. M. Williams, & S. Kniffley (Eds.), Black males and the criminal justice system (pp. 1-10). London, United Kingdom: Routledge.
The authors embark on a multidisciplinary context of the inquiry, in addition to a critical standpoint, to tackle the unique experiences of Black people within numerous phases of interaction in the criminal justice system. The employed framework encompasses an extensive overview of the justice system, physical and psychological health problems experienced by Black males, and reincorporation into the community after release from prison. Although the biased punishment of the Black people is a glaring contemporary injustice that many are aware of, what is least known is its systematic foundation. While a wide pool of literature covers the degree to which punishment bestowed on Black males by law enforcement officers and the criminal justice system is racial and prejudiced, there are insufficient studies that try to establish the connection between these realities with the times of slavery.
The authors assert that, similar to the present situations, Black people were subjected to suffering during slavery in the form of endless surveillance that could eventually lead to their over-policing, torture, mass incarceration, and even murder. Black people are disproportionately subjected to the supremacy of the state through discriminatory criminal justice practices. The information in the study is authentic because it covers the apparent racist practices against the Black people that happen to date. This study relates to the article by Chen (2020), which discusses the suffering of Black people attributable to prejudiced criminal justice processes.
Delale-O’Connor, L. A., Alvarez, A. J., Murray, I. E., & Milner, IV, H. R. (2017). Self-efficacy beliefs, classroom management, and the cradle-to-prison pipeline. Theory into Practice, 56(3), 178-186.
The authors sought to center on the best approach to improving the self-efficacy beliefs of educators to enhance their classroom management skills. The study does not support traditional practices of classroom management where teachers endeavor to control learners with tyrannical regulations and formations. However, the authors affirm that classroom management concerns the capacity of teachers to generate and reinforce inventive and emancipatory practices that nurture learners’ ability to study and improve their overall performance. Through a qualitative review of literature on the topic, this study demonstrates that educators’ beliefs, confidence, and self-efficacy control their decision-making practices with learners.
Educators have a tendency to refer Black students to the office for subjective violations such as disrespect, while their White colleagues are mainly noticed for objective issues, for instance, being late to class. One of the rationales behind this occurrence is that educators are more assured or effective while teaching White learners than Black students. Since most disciplinary measures that result in suspension or expulsion emanate from classroom experiences, there is a need to establish ways of preventing the biased handling of learners and ensure that all students are treated equally. Ten themes have been suggested to be the causes of the cradle-to-prison pipeline and include funding deficiencies, unequal access to quality care, and zero-tolerance policies, to mention a few. The article concludes that involvement in approaches that enhance teachers’ understanding of students and tackling the challenges that they face is vital to the success of both learners and educators. The reliability of the information presented in this study lies in its consultation of credible sources, which are fundamental to the creation of educators’ self-efficacy in the classroom. The study relates to the research by Bryant and Wilson (2020) since they both draw from Bandura’s theory to discuss how educators’ beliefs influence their classroom management approaches. The information in the study is also akin to the affirmations in the article by Chen (2020) that understanding the school-to-prison pipeline will help in tackling discriminatory disciplinary measures propagated by teachers and the criminal justice system.
Jimerson-Johnson, C., Canady, L., & Leuleseged, E. (2017). Racism and capitalistic constructs. In P. Reid-Merritt (Ed.), Race in America: How a pseudoscientific concept shaped human interaction (pp. 243-264). Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.
The perception of race may be well understood as a socially defined concept or a network of human categorization that holds incredible weight. Nevertheless, attributable to the existing discrimination, race has become an intricate, dumbfounding, contradictory, contentious, and vague term, which is among the most sensitively charged expressions in human communications. The authors affirm that the highest degree in the hierarchy of needs is unachievable for students of color because of the existing capitalistic and racist system within educational programs in the United States. Students, particularly Blacks, face violence, negligence, and aggression which hinders their development and capacity from integrating effectively into the community. The existence of racial discrimination should be considered carefully when analyzing people’s experiences and the aspects that could influence their conduct and the choices they make.
Stakeholders and policymakers in the education sector, from classroom educators and principals to the drivers and all support staff, should be effectively trained to deliver their services without any form of discrimination. The affirmations in this study are reliable because most schools in the US appear to lack the required support and training to generate classroom interventions that decrease negative behavior and maintain a favorable learning atmosphere. The information in the article relates to the study by Chen (2020) since they both demonstrate the negative experiences that Black students face attributable to discriminatory policies that ought to be addressed. When assessing the problems that Black people experience, there is a need to take note of all their concerns and necessities, including the fundamental ones such as safety, physiological, and psychological needs.
Jones, K., Ferguson, A., Ramirez, C., & Owens, M. (2018). Seen but not heard: Personal narratives of systemic failure within the school-to-prison pipeline. Taboo: The Journal of Culture and Education, 17(4), 49-68.
In the US, inequalities in school finances, resources, and disciplinary actions ruin the promise of education of ensuring that all the students are equally supported to develop into disparagingly insightful, well-prepared, and empowered contributors to national and international progress. Existing inequalities in the education sector have unfair effects on learners from marginalized groups, Black students, children whose parents are low-income earners, and the offspring of immigrants. The school-to-prison pipeline (STPP) entails severe measures strengthened by biased expulsion and suspension practices that negatively affect Black students by withdrawing them from school and increasing their chances of incarceration. To eliminate such unjust occurrences and eradicate the negative impacts of STPP, there is a need for all the stakeholders to understand the source of the problem and the magnitude of its effects on Black students before proposing and implementing possible solutions. Thorough discourse and assessment of the people who have been affected by STPP alongside members of society and professionals who encompass professors, ministers, and directors in the education department, teachers, mental health specialists, and policymakers can help tackle the problem effectively. This process will assist in abolishing the existing cultural myths and establish a realization that will convert the unjust occurrences into educational empowerment that is fair to all students.
The researchers employ actual accounts generated with the help of a reminiscent autoethnographic method to describe the K-12 encounters of recently imprisoned learners. With the application of STPP literature and developmental theories, the researchers assert that the unmet needs of students coupled with the STPP bar the educational achievement of learners and ruin their future success. The authors conclude with multiple questions that seek to challenge readers to take part in social justice practices that can protect current and future learners from oppression or control by the STPP. The information presented in the study is reliable because STPP has been broadly identified to be a glaring illustration of injustices. Affirmations in the article relate to the research studies by Delale-O’Connor et al. (2017) and Chen (2020) since they articulate the harsh punishment and exclusionary strategies that drive Latino and African American learners away from school into prisons.
Mallett, C. (2016). The school-to-prison pipeline: A critical review of the punitive paradigm shift. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 33(1), 15-24.
The US education sector and the criminal justice system were not meant to work in a collaborative approach as they are currently. Nevertheless, in the recent past, a joint effort among schools and law enforcement agencies has been reinforced by punitive and cruel practices to the disadvantage of students from poor families. The school-to-prison pipeline is a set of strategies that make it more probable for learners to be severally charged in courts or imprisoned than achieve quality education. The involvement of students in the school-to-prison pipeline results in either their suspension and expulsion from school or incarceration, which complicates their problems and contributes to long-term negative effects. The extinguishing of students’ academic dreams usually results in poverty, trauma, cognitive and developmental challenges, and mental health disorders.
Although there are often crossover influences between the systems that impinge on the academic performance of students, the arising effects are independent and mutually dependent. In the education sector, many students, particularly the ones who are underfunded or overburdened, face expulsion or suspension from school because of either characteristic adolescent behaviors or minor mistakes such as truancy. Only very few of the students who are either expelled, suspended, or imprisoned are appropriately involved and act as security threats to their schools or society. The researcher concluded that the school-to-prison pipeline does not promote school and community security. The information presented in the article is authentic because most of the students from marginalized communities become encapsulated in detrimental disciplinary systems. Assertions in the article are akin to findings in the research by Chen (2020) and Delale-O’Connor et al. (2017) since they establish that the application of zero-tolerance strategies and the presence of police officers in schools considerably augment the imprisonment of students and their expulsion from learning institutions.
Smith, E. J., & Harper, S. R. (2015). Disproportionate impact of K-12 school suspension and expulsion on Black students in southern states. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, Center for the Study of Race and Equity in Education.
The study aimed to make known the levels at which school disciplinary actions and strategies influence Black students in public learning institutions. Regardless of the population of Black students being only about 24% in the more than 3,000 learning institutions that were examined, the level at which they are expelled from school or suspended is exceedingly high. In the US, more than one million Black students are suspended from public schools each year, with above 55% of such cases happening in thirteen Southern states. In about 100 schools in the Southern states, Black students were disproportionately expelled or suspended at a level that is fivefold their overall representation.
The authors review an extensive scope of literature and recommend that programs that are responsible for the preparation of teachers should evaluate and implement skill-developing expertise and alternative policies to zero tolerance in the education sector. If such interventions are not realized, Black students will continue to experience disproportionate harm that is inflicted on them in public schools. The authors conclude that the report should encourage families and parents to support continuing and fresh activist endeavors while advising policymakers and leaders in the department of education on vital systemic transformations. The information in the study is reliable since it is apparent that Black students are unreasonably expelled, suspended, or referred to law enforcement agencies by schools. The affirmations in this report are similar to the ones underscored by Mallett (2016) that the overuse of disciplinary measures and their effects on Black students are severe issues that require effective tackling.
Weaver, J. L., & Swank, J. M. (2020). A case study of the implementation of restorative justice in a middle school. RMLE Online, 43(4), 1-9.
Learning institutions have traditionally employed prescriptive and punitive measures to tackle students’ misconduct. Otherwise referred to as zero tolerance strategies, such plans uphold exclusionary endeavors that encompass suspension and expulsion, which entail the elimination of the wrongdoer from school and isolating the learner from other students. The researchers use a case study method and focus on the application of restorative justice in an unspecified middle school within five months in the 2018-2019 academic year. The participants in the study encompass a school administrator, educators, and students. Five themes that come up in the study include different alternatives, meaningful consequences, restorative justice practices, anticipations, and relationships.
The study utilized a qualitative case study method to assess the application of restorative justice as a disciplinary practice in learning institutions. This was enhanced by the exploration of an actual occurrence for an extended period. The findings of the research were that stakeholders who represent numerous groups, such as the administration, teaching staff, and learners reported the efficacy of the restorative justice approach. The researchers conclude that restorative justice processes offer promise for learning institutions that endeavor to implement an optional disciplinary policy. The information in the research is authentic since other studies support the affirmation that with the restorative approach, educators inspire learners to understand and uphold suitable conduct to avoid misbehavior. The findings from this study relate to the study by Smith and Harper (2015), which asserts the need to establish alternative practices to improve the behavior of students and replace zero-tolerance policies.
Wu, J., & Hughes, J. N. (2015). Teacher network of relationships inventory: Measurement invariance of academically at-risk students across ages 6 to 15. School Psychology Quarterly, 30(1), 23-36.
A supportive connection with a teacher is paramount for a learner’s academic performance. Learners who are at risk for failure in school gain from a valuable educator-student relationship and are strongly influenced by relational support at school. Consequently, this study on teacher-learner affiliation among students who are at risk of academic failure is a worthwhile pursuit that may ensure that schools develop a favorable learning atmosphere. The researchers evaluated the longitudinal assessment invariability of the Teacher Network of Relationships Inventory (TNRI) on 784 participants whose ages vary from six to fifteen years. The inventory was generated with about 20 items to establish three correlational aspects that include conflict, intimacy, and warmth.
Both scalar and metric measures of invariability highlighted nine years, which shows that scores on the inventory have comparable insinuation across the established ages. The inventory also articulated measurement divergencies across gender and ethnic background/race. The findings of the study affirm that the TNRI is a suitable factor for the assessment of essential issues associated with developmental variations in teacher-student relationship quality (TSRQ) from early childhood to teenager. This encompasses gender and racial variations in TSRQ across the established ages. In the early elementary phase of learning, a supportive relationship with the educator offers a secure foundation for learners, hence improving interactive self-regulation. Nonetheless, the study concludes that as learners proceed to middle school, the social support of educators might buffer them from the usual failure in identification and association with teachers. The information in the study is reliable because the utilization of many credible sources facilitates the trustworthiness of the article. This study relates to the affirmation made in the research by Archambault, Vandenbossche-Makombo, and Fraser (2017), who state that the support or conflict in educator-student relationship influences learners’ social, behavioral, and academic results.
References
Archambault, I., Vandenbossche-Makombo, J., & Fraser, S. L. (2017). Students oppositional behaviors and engagement in school: The differential role of the student-teacher relationship. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 26(6), 17021712.
Bryant, D., & Wilson, A. (2020). Factors potentially influencing discipline referral and suspensions at an affiliated charter high school. Journal of Educational Research & Practice, 10(1), 119-128.
Chen, G. (2020). School-to-prison pipeline persists despite local, state, and national efforts. Web.
Chowdhury, L., & Butler, R. (2019). Laying the foundation of punishment against black males. In J. M. Williams, & S. Kniffley (Eds.), Black males and the criminal justice system (pp. 1-10). London, United Kingdom: Routledge.
Delale-O’Connor, L. A., Alvarez, A. J., Murray, I. E., & Milner, IV, H. R. (2017). Self-efficacy beliefs, classroom management, and the cradle-to-prison pipeline. Theory into Practice, 56(3), 178-186.
Jimerson-Johnson, C., Canady, L., & Leuleseged, E. (2017). Racism and capitalistic constructs. In P. Reid-Merritt (Ed.), Race in America: How a pseudoscientific concept shaped human interaction (pp. 243-264). Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.
Jones, K., Ferguson, A., Ramirez, C., & Owens, M. (2018). Seen but not heard: Personal narratives of systemic failure within the school-to-prison pipeline. Taboo: The Journal of Culture and Education, 17(4), 49-68.
Mallett, C. (2016). The school-to-prison pipeline: A critical review of the punitive paradigm shift. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 33(1), 15-24.
Smith, E. J., & Harper, S. R. (2015). Disproportionate impact of K-12 school suspension and expulsion on Black students in southern states. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, Center for the Study of Race and Equity in Education.
Weaver, J. L., & Swank, J. M. (2020). A case study of the implementation of restorative justice in a middle school. RMLE Online, 43(4), 1-9.
Wu, J., & Hughes, J. N. (2015). Teacher network of relationships inventory: Measurement invariance of academically at-risk students across ages 6 to 15. School Psychology Quarterly, 30(1), 23-36.