On reducing disparities in office discipline referrals: a systematic review of underlying theories

ABSTRACT

Root causes of disproportionality in exclusionary discipline are multiply determined. Teachers’ perceptions and implicit biases, enacted within the contexts of schools as racialised organisations, shape how educators interpret and respond to student behaviour. Focusing on the referral phase of the disciplinary process, this systematic review of theoretical frameworks applied in studies on discipline-disparity reduction uncovers how scholars have theorised the impacts of school-based programmes seeking to diminish inequities. We analysed research published between 1990 and 2021 to examine how empirically evaluated programs and their theoretical underpinnings have approached discipline disparities and their alignment with root causes established in the broader literature base. Our findings indicated that studies’ conceptual frameworks were commonly at odds with established theory regarding root causes, and we found a notable absence of frameworks related to schools as white, hegemonic spaces. We advocate that researchers apply conceptual frameworks that decentre whiteness, smartness, and goodness in schools.

KEYWORDS:

• Exclusionary discipline
• office discipline referrals
• discipline gap
• race/ethnicity
• culturally and linguistically diverse students

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).