Understanding the Discipline Gap Through a Cultural Lens - Literature review Example

LITERATURE REVIEW Much of the literature relied upon as primary, secondary and supplemental sources in this study, is incorporated into the body of the study itself. However, certain selected journal articles make significantly large contributions to the overall topic and hypothesis of this study. Some of those journal articles and the writers are reviewed here for purposes of highlighting or foregrounding their individual studies, and discuss in brief the contribution the individual studies and work will make to this study. Influences on Discipline in Classrooms On school administrator and teacher lists of the most important things to achieve in public schools today is discipline (Sheets, 1996). Studies show that classroom discipline or the lack of it is as much an influence of the teacher on his or her students when the teacher conveys to the students that he or she is in control or out of control when it comes to achieving student discipline in the classroom setting (Sheets, 1996). Researcher Rosa Sheets Hernandez looks at the relationship between teachers and students, and the way students interact with one another, and how they respond to their own ethnicity and the ethnicity of one another plays a key factor in classroom discipline; one perhaps beyond the teacher’s ability to control. “They (students) influence classroom events as much as they are affected by them,” writes Rosa Hernandez Sheets (1996). Unfortunately, schools can create policies and procedures that theoretically should result in discipline, but the reality of it is that the student body of the inner city school is often in conflict with those rules in their overall living environments, which include home, community, and the school (Sheets, 1996). In a public located in central LA or the inner city in Philadelphia where there is a high rate of community crime and violence, discipline is contrary to the nature of the student’s overall environment, and as such the well disciplined student is atypical of the student population that has in large part assimilated to its overall environment. This not only makes the well disciplined student atypical of the greater student body, but puts that student at risk because he or she represents a distinctly different and contrasting person than that by which the student is surrounded in the composition of the greater student body (Sheets, 1996). Rosa Hernandez Sheets contends that in order to understand the discipline problems of the inner city schools, you must first understand how to interpret those discipline problems (1996). Understanding and responding to the discipline problems of a school must begin with an examination of the student values, motivation, and attitudes not just as perpetrators of problems, but as victims of discipline problems (Sheets, 1996).Sheets’ own study was based on the theoretical ideas and interethnic group interactions of Gay’s studies (1981). Using Gay’s theoretical framework and study information and data, Sheets was able to enlarge that body of information with her own ideas and study data and results (Sheets, 1996). What Sheets found was that “Diversity based on culture, race, gender, religion, socio-economic status, ethnicity, language, nationality, and individuality contribute to the causes of conflict in social and interpersonal relationships (Sheets, 1996).” This provided a wide range of human territory to explore in research of achieving discipline in a public school located in an inner city. As identified by Gay (1981), Sheets says that students, as inner city dwellers, are for the most part in conflict with teachers before the rules of the playing field have even been established (Sheets, 1996). The teachers are different from the students not just by virtue of their age and position as teachers, but by their goals, behavioral patterns and social codes (Sheets, 1996). How, then, are these problems overcome in a way that does not lead to a violent student revolt, but in a way that creates a spirit of diverse community and celebration of that diversity? One way to begin might be with decoding the individual players. If the teachers are pre-existing sets of separate and conflicting goals, behavioral patterns and codes, then, it stands to reason, are too the students. As such, an approach to accomplishing student discipline might begin with identifying and decoding those students groups that comprise the overall student body (Sheets, 1996). Rosa Hernadez Sheets’ work is useful to this study in that it provides data and analysis stemming from research and studies of the interpersonal relationships between students, instructors, students and students, and students and their environments, families and communities. Latinos/Hispanics When considering the Latino or Hispanic student, it becomes important to establish an up front understanding of the current uniqueness of that student; that is, that they are currently the subject of a widespread controversy. That their homeland is just south of the American border, and it is a border situation that is at the center of a huge political debate, and the source of animosity and even hatred on the part of some Americans at present, these things are sentiments and situations that will probably to some extent be reflected in the attitude of the students who are enrolled in public schools today – especially those students in the border states (Hoar, 2006). African American Students The journal articles selected for use in this paper include primary and secondary sources lending a broader and specific insight into the ethnicity and cultural aspects of the African American community, family, and, therefore, students.. These journal articles tend to inform the paper in that way, and therefore help identity problems unique to the Black American student. An article by Carol R. Monroe, appearing in appearing in Intercultural Education, looks at classroom discipline from the African American student’s perspective. Monore begins her article with a very telling bit of information, “African American students are disciplined at rates that are disproportionately higher than Black student’s statistical representation in public schools (Monroe, 2005, p. 317).” What this means, of course, is that if you have a Black student body of 100 students, there are at least 101 instances of discipline that are documented; perhaps more, though Monroe does not provide the statistics in that regard since the statement conveys the need for the problem to be addressed. Like Hispanics and Asians, Black American high school students, according to Monroe, are part of what has been coined the “discipline gap,” and, going back to Rosa Hernandez Sheets’ earlier statement and whose sentiment Monroe shares; that majority of the teachers in the schools attended by Black students at inner city schools are not themselves Black, poor, and residing in communities where crime and violence are prevalent, then there immediately exists differences in the perspectives of the teachers and their students (Sheets, 1996; Monoroe, 2005). Even as educators make commitments to changing the balance of inequality as it exists in perspectives between themselves and students, as Sheets and Monroe have suggested, bringing that equality or equilibrium to the school setting and classroom goes beyond the good intention of commitment. Monroe discusses the nature of some of the sources of the disparities that constitute the difference in teacher/student perspectives. First, Monroe points out, there is the parenting that is most often associated with African American students as being a skill set that is lacking in the low income Black households (Monroe, 2005). Parenting skills that include parental decision making and discipline practices in raising the child are generally absent in low income Black households, and this manifests itself in the school setting and in the classroom (Monroe, 2005). Monroe points to a study conducted by Hillard (2002, p. 8), where Hillard writes, “. . . culture is nothing, more nor less, than the shared ways that groups of people have created to use and define their environment (Monroe, 2005, p. 317).” In understanding the nature of the African American perspective with which the teacher is confronted, it is to be prepared to know that physical movement, animation, spontaneity and displays of emotion are a part of the prevalent modes of communication in African American communities (Monroe, 2005). Thusly, when the teacher in the high school setting is conducting a class, and, as is often the case, there is a moment of instruction where humor might serve purpose in making the information memorable, that this would be followed by not just laughter, but physical exchanges of “way to go,” or other kinds of concurring expressed in a physical way might be expected. The classroom teacher who is not cognizant of that social trait might be taken aback, might see it not as an expression of concurring in the spirit of the humor of the instructor, and this could result in a disciplinary action that could be avoided if the teacher were aware of, and accepting of, the cultural implications of the exchange between the students. Also typical of Black cultural exchanges are rhythmic and confident interpersonal behavior of Black males that is personified, personalized, by dress (Monroe, 2005). Verbal exchanges, Monroe says, are an extension of these character traits, and expression of the individual student that can be expected (Monroe, 2005). The instructor who understands these character traits, will be less surprised or put off by the behavior, and can keep the momentum of the class moving past the behavior that is stemming from the student’s cultural environment. Like other students whose ethnicity is other than the instructor’s own, the teacher will be quick to notice that there are language patterns and semantics that vary from one ethnic group to another (Monroe, 2005). Black speech, Monroe says, is categorized into five areas; call and response; signification; tonal semantics; and narrative sequencing (Monroe, 2005). The physical rhythm with which Black students move, is, likewise, manifest in their speech patterns, which carry a distinct cadence (Monroe, 2005). Two more articles by Monroe, Misbehavior or Misinterpretation, appearing in the Kappa Delta Pi Record (2006), and Why Are Bad Boys Always Black (2005), appearing in the Clearing House; of the same nature as the one referenced above, will be cited in this study as well. Like the first journal article, this one offers insights into the cultural overlays that once understood serve to improve the teacher’s interact ion with her or his students. Monroe’s work lends itself to the important understanding of African American student backgrounds, traits, and for those reasons is useful to this study. Another source contributing to the insights expressed in this research paper as pertains to the African American will be an article written by Darcus Howe, and appearing in the The New Statesman (2007). In the article Howe addresses the problem of Black (English) youths and gun control (Howe, 2007). This is a problem that is just emerging as a one that has Howe and other parents frightened and worried about their children – and they should be. Howe’s thought s as expressed in his article will be explored in terms of parental/student relationships and violent weapons. Language Barriers This research paper utilizes the study done by Gordon S. Bates, whose study appears in the Journal of Latinos and Education (2005). The study focuses on a particular school district, surveying 140 bilingual program directors in the area of accountability for program decisions (Bates, 2005). Gordon employs 11 data elements in his study, and from those elements arrives at conclusions on policy and accountability in public schools in regards to accountability systems in school settings with high levels of multi-ethnicity, and where language barriers and problems can impact student learning. Bates’ study will be utilized in this research study, and should lend itself to those areas where bilingual programs are discussed in the context of public schools and student discipline. Course Content As important to decoding multicultural student codes is to establishing an equilibrium in the classroom that achieves student success, is course content that reflects an understanding and awareness of ethnicity and the cultural overlays that comprise the student body in today’s public schools. To this end, this paper will utilize the study of Christine M. Cress (1997) in support of this researcher’s ideas on multicultural instruction and course content. Cress’s research provides data and statistical information based on data collected from 33,986 full-time college and university faculty members at 384 two year colleges, four colleges and universities (Cress, 1997). The findings of this research reveal the preferred course materials used in course instruction by ethnic teaching groups (Cress, 1997). This information will prove useful to this research study, especially in discussions of bridging ethnic cultural gaps in course instruction. Student Achievement Student achievement is the goal of education reform, and as such will be an integral component of this research paper. A journal article published by the Center for Evaluation and Education Policy, and written by Russell Skiba and M. Karega Rausch (2004), will be cited in this paper with regard to data and statistics on student achievement. Skiba and Rausch look at statistics in the correlation between out of school suspensions and the percentage of students who scored passing marks on the Math and English/Language Arts sections of the Indiana State Test of Educational Progress (ISTEP). In talking about the correlation between student achievement and discipline, the data from the research conducted by Skiba and Rausch will be useful to this study. The research on zero tolerance as a form of discipline will be considered in relationship to student achievement. To that end, this study will rely upon the research study of Patrick Webb (2006), as it appeared in the National Journal for Publishing and Mentoring Doctoral Student Research. Instructor Perspectives As this study brings to into focus the disparity between teacher and student perspectives, that the students and teachers begin on an unlevel playing field from the start because they have different goals, experiences, and values; it becomes important to this study to consider separately teacher perspectives. The main point of this study is discipline, therefore outside studies and research in the area of teacher perspectives on discipline was sought, and lead to the study cited here by Anthony Onwuegbuzie, Anne E. Witcher, Janet Filer, and Jan Downing (2000). In their study titled Factors Associated with Teacher’s Beliefs on Discipline, the researchers identify attitudes towards discipline; interventionist, non-interventionist, or interactionalists (Onwuegbuzie, et al., 2000). Based on data compiled completed by querying 201 students who were either in preservice or inservice teaching programs, the researchers, having first defined the discipline perspectives then categorized their study participants by perspective on discipline (Onwuegbuzie, et al., 2000). This information presented in the research of this study will be useful in considering student discipline from the teacher’s perspective, and this study will utilize these definitions of perspective. Reference List Cress, Christine, 1997, ‘Multiculturalism in the Classroom: Predictors of Faculty Efforts to Diversify Course Content’, Association for the Study of Higher Education, November, 1997. Fontes, Lisa Aronson, 2002, ‘Child Discipline and Physical Abuse in Immigrant Latino Families: Reducing Violence and Misunderstandings, Journal of Counseling and Development, Vol. 80, 32-80. Gates, Gordon, 2005, ‘Accountability Data and Decision Making in Texas Bilingual Education Programs, Journal of Latinos and Education, 4(4), 271-282. Howe, Darcus, 2007, ‘The Heroic Struggle of Black Parenthood’, The New Statesman, 12 March 2007, 21. Monroe, Carla, ‘Why are “Bad Boys” Always Black? Causes of Disproportionality in School Discipline and Recommendations for Change, Clearing House Publications, 45-50. Monroe, Carla, 2006, ‘’Misbehavior or Misinterpretation: Closing the Discipline Gap through Cultural Synchronization, Kappa Delta Pi Record, Summer 2006, 161-165. Monroe, Carla, 2005, ‘’Understanding the discipline gap through a cultural lens: implications for the education of African American students’, Intercultural Education, Vol. 16/4, 317-330. Onwuegbuzie, Anthony, Witcher, Anne E., Filer, Janet, Downing, Jan, 2000, ‘Factors Associated with Teacher’s Beliefs on Discipline, Midsouth Educational Research Association. Sheets, Rosa Hernandez, 1996, Urban Classroom Conflict: Student-Teacher Perception 1, American Educational Research Association. Sheets, Rosa Hernandez, 1995, ‘Discipline: Chicano Student Perception, Ethnic Integrity, or Maladaptive Behavior?’, American Educational Research Association, 18 April 1995. Sheets, Rosa Hernandez, 2002, ‘”You’re Just a Kid That’s There” – Chicano Perception of Disciplinary Events’, Journal of Latinos and Education, (2), 105-122. Skiba, Russell and Rausch, Krega M., 2004, ‘The Relationship Between Achievement, Discipline, and Race: An Analysis of Factors Predicting ISTEP Scores,’ Center for Evaluation and Education Policy, 9 July 2004. Webb, Patrick, 2006, ‘Zero – Tolerance Policies and Youth: Protection or Profiling?’ National Journal for Publishing and Mentoring Doctoral Student Research, Vol. 3/1, 1-8. Wright, Cecile and Weeks, Debbie, 2003, ‘Race and Gender in Contestation and Resistance of Teacher Authority and School Sanctions: The Case of African Caribbean Pupils in England’, Comparative Education Review, February. Read More