UC Berkeley

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of school discipline policies and practices on girls of color. This qualitative study used case study method, interviews, participant observation and document analysis to explore the multiple levels of discipline at a high school located in northern California. Twenty girls of color with discipline records were interviewed about their experiences with school discipline. Fourteen adults including teachers, counselors and administrators were also interviewed about their interpretations of students' experiences. To comprehend the girls' experiences, the study was guided by the following questions: (1a) What is the discipline environment including the federal, state and district policies that shape the case study school policies? (1b) According to school personnel, how are these policies implemented and what are their perspectives on these policies? (2) What experiences did girls of color have with discipline policies and practices at the case study site? (3) What did the girls of color identify as the factors that contributed to their discipline records at school?

Findings demonstrate that school discipline environment is a multileveled punitive structure. School discipline policies are forms of racialized and gendered disciplinary power that attempt to normalize students according to dominant standards. Students who fail to meet racial and gender norms are subject to multiple forms of punishment including referrals, suspensions and arrests. Findings also demonstrate that girls of color are subject to both formal and informal forms of punishment. Black girls, in particular, are also subject to informal punitive practices. The girls' narratives suggest that their experiences with school discipline include racial profiling and gratuitous punishment. Additionally, findings indicate that most of the girls of color who have been disciplined at school have also experienced intersecting forms of violence outside of school. Findings suggest that the girls' experiences with violence outside of school affect their behaviors in school. Results also indicate that discipline policies punish girls for how they respond to the conditions that shape their lives.

Informed by Critical Race Feminism and Black feminist theory, this study analyzes the girls' disciplinary experiences within structural and institutional contexts. The theoretical and methodological approaches employed in this study provide an intersectional approach to examining school discipline policies and punitive practices. Findings contribute to studies concerning the intersections between race, gender, school discipline and punishment.