Reducing racial and ethnic disproportionality in school discipline through an assessment-to-intervention process: A framework and process

Michael D. Pullmann*, Larissa M. Gaias, Mylien T. Duong, Tara Gill, Caryn Curry, Colleen Cicchetti, Tali Raviv, Sharon Kiche, Clayton R. Cook

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

Racial and ethnic disproportionality in discipline (REDD) represents a longstanding and pervasive issue in the United States educational system. However, researchers and interventionists have not sufficiently provided educators with appropriate frameworks and feasible tools to disrupt REDD and promote equity. The goal of this paper is to present a framework of eight malleable factors associated with REDD and describe the Disproportionality in Discipline Assessment for Schools (DDAS). The DDAS is a suite of user-friendly tools based on this framework, designed to help school teams identify and address REDD. Two studies are described. Study 1 presents the results of educator feedback on a presentation of the framework and the DDAS in terms of their perception of its feasibility, usability, and validity/logical soundness. Study 2 presents the process of applying the DDAS in four real-world school settings. Results indicated that the framework and the DDAS were useful and feasible tools to help schools increase equity and address REDD. Modifications to the framework and the DDAS were made to improve validity and appropriateness.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)2486-2505
Number of pages20
JournalPsychology in the Schools
Volume59
Issue number12
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2022

Funding

This project was funded using the US Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences (R305H150035 and R305B170021). We would like to acknowledge the support of Semret Nicodimos, Janine Jones, Samantha Bindman, Eric Anderson Eric Bruns, Elizabeth McCauley, and Aaron Lyon.

Keywords

  • classroom behavior
  • racial and ethnic disproportionality in discipline
  • racial equity
  • strengths and needs assessment

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Education
  • Developmental and Educational Psychology

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