Haight Wendy, Kayama Misa, Gibson Priscilla Ann
Soc Work. 2016 Jul;61(3):235-43. doi: 10.1093/sw/sww021.
Racial disproportionality in out-of-school suspensions is a persistent social justice issue in public schools. This article examines out-of-school suspensions of four black youths from the perspectives of the youths, their caregivers, and educators. The case involving David, a 14-year-old African American with a learning disability, illustrates the challenges of students experiencing the intersection of disability and race. The case involving George, a 14-year-old Liberian immigrant, illustrates how parents and teachers may form alliances around shared goals and values despite profound cultural differences in understanding of youths' misbehavior. The case involving Nina, a 12-year-old African American, illustrates how educators' failure to consider the context of her misbehaviors as responses to sexual harassment, along with their subsequent harsh punishment and failure to protect her, led to her disengagement from school. The case involving Craig, a 16-year-old African American, provides a glimpse into how the use of criminal justice language to refer to youths' misbehaviors can support the development of a criminalized self- and social identity. These cases illustrate the diversity of black students--including ability, disability, culture, and gender--and how events surrounding suspensions are interpreted by students, caregivers, and educators. Understanding such diversity will undergird implementation of effective alternatives to suspensions.
公立学校中校外停学方面的种族不均衡是一个长期存在的社会正义问题。本文从四名黑人青少年、他们的照顾者以及教育工作者的视角，审视了校外停学情况。涉及患有学习障碍的14岁非裔美国人戴维的案例，说明了经历残疾与种族交叉问题的学生所面临的挑战。涉及14岁利比里亚移民乔治的案例，说明了尽管在对青少年不当行为的理解上存在深刻文化差异，但家长和教师如何围绕共同目标和价值观结成联盟。涉及12岁非裔美国人尼娜的案例，说明了教育工作者未能将她的不当行为背景视为对性骚扰的回应，以及随后的严厉惩罚和未能保护她，如何导致她脱离学校。涉及16岁非裔美国人克雷格的案例，让人得以一窥使用刑事司法语言来指代青少年不当行为如何助长了被定罪的自我认同和社会认同的形成。这些案例说明了黑人学生的多样性——包括能力、残疾、文化和性别——以及学生、照顾者和教育工作者如何解读与停学相关的事件。理解这种多样性将为实施有效的停学替代方案提供支持。
