Edwards, Linsey
Researchers: Linsey Edwards
University Affiliation: Princeton University
Email: lnedward@princeton.edu
Research Question:
Does individual race interact with school racial composition to affect punishment?
Published: Yes
Journal Name or Institutional Affiliation: Social Forces
Journal Entry: Vol. 95, No. 1, Pp. 55-76
Year: 2016
Findings:
- The percent of black students in a school is related to increased odds of suspension/ expulsion, and differential effects of behavior partially mediate these relationships.
- Black students may be most likely to experience unequal sanctions on their behavior in racially homogeneous contexts—whether homogeneously black or white.
- Compared to a white student, a black student exhibiting similar behavior has 2.04 (p < .0001) greater log odds of being disciplined.
- Attending a school with the highest proportion of black students (75-100 percent) appears to significantly increase the odds of experiencing a suspension or expulsion, by about 75 percent, compared to a school with only 0-25 percent black students.
- Compared to more homogeneous schools, black students who attend racially mixed schools where black students comprise 25-50 percent of the student body are significantly less likely to experience inequality in school sanctions. In fact, compared to black students who attend majority black schools, these students are 88 percent less likely to be sanctioned for their behavior.
- In schools where black students comprise more than 50 percent of the student body, behavior is significantly more likely to lead to an official school sanction such as suspension.
- Blacks are more severely punished for their behavior as the percentage of blacks in the school rises.
- When SES was controlled for, none of the results change significantly, and the same qualitative interpretations remain.