Inequities in the Number of Days Assigned to Girls to an Exclusionary Discipline Consequence as a Function of Ethnicity/Race, Economic Status, and At-Risk Status of Texas Middle School Girls: A Multiyear, Statewide Investigation

Purpose

The overall purpose of this journal-ready dissertation was to determine the extent to which inequities were present in exclusionary discipline consequences assigned to middle school girls. In the first study, the purpose was to determine the degree to which inequities existed in the assignment of exclusionary consequences to middle school girls by their ethnicity/race. In the second study, the purpose was to ascertain the extent to which inequities were present in the assignment of exclusionary consequences to middle school girls by their economic status. In the third study, the purpose was to determine the degree to which inequities existed in the assignment of exclusionary consequences to middle school girls by their at-risk status. For each article, the presence of trends was addressed across the 2016-2017, 2017-2018, 2018-2019, and 2019-2020 school years.

Method

A causal-comparative research design was used in this analysis (Johnson & Christensen, 2020). Three independent variables were present: ethnicity/race, economic status, and at-risk status. Two dependent variables were present: assignment to an exclusionary discipline consequence and the number of days assigned to that consequence. These data were archival data obtained from the Texas Education Agency Public Education Information Management System.

Findings

Inferential statistical procedures revealed the presence of statistically significant differences in the assignment to an exclusionary discipline consequence and to more days, on the average, by the ethnicity/race of Grades 6, 7, and 8 girls. Black girls and Hispanic girls in all four school years were disproportionately assigned, in comparison to their enrollment and to White girls, to an in-school suspension. Moreover, when they were assigned to such a consequence, they were assigned to almost one day more than were White girls. High percentages of girls in poverty and girls who were at-risk were also assigned to an exclusionary discipline consequence and to more days, on the average, to such consequences. The disparities documented in this journal-ready dissertation in both the rate at which girls of color were assigned to an exclusionary discipline consequence and in the number of days they were assigned undoubtedly contribute to the existing achievement gaps.