Black-White Differences in School Suspension: Effect of Student Beliefs About Teachers

Research suggests that there are differences in the frequency with which white and African American students are punished in schools, with African American students being 2.3 times more likely to be suspended than white students. Most of the research on school punishment has focused on documenting race differences and looking for student and school-level factors to help explain disproportionality in out-of-school suspension. This study aims to fill the gap in the literature by analyzing the role of the teacher in affecting student punishment in a large, urban, primarily minority student district. Results indicate that positive teacher behavior toward students and positive teacher expectations of students reduces suspension from school.