Race-Conscious Teacher Coaching: Disrupting Implicit Bias and Improving Teachers’ Relationships with Black Students

ABSTRACT

Racial discipline disproportionality is a persistent issue in schools with Black students experiencing exclusionary discipline two to three times more than their White peers, and Black males more likely to be diagnosed with an emotional and behavioral disorder. Interventions that target malleable root causes of disproportionality and have an explicit racial bias component may disrupt these processes. The study took place in an alternative school setting across two classrooms with White, fifth- and sixth-grade teachers (n = 2) and their Black students (n = 6). A single-case, withdrawal design (A-B-A-B) examined the impact of a semi-structured teacher coaching intervention on disrupting biases, improving classroom management and cultural competency, and ultimately improving student-teacher relationships. The coaching included Mindful STOP as a self-regulation strategy, the Mindful Reflection Protocol to discuss behaviors, and performance feedback, all focusing on outcomes related to student-teacher relationships and discipline. During intervention phases, Teacher 1 showed improvements in positive communication while keeping negative communication low. Teacher 2 showed smaller, more variable improvements. Teachers and students in both classrooms reported improvements in their relationships based on pre/post rating scales. Teacher-reported discipline outcomes were variable. These findings may provide concrete strategies for supporting the development of equitable discipline practices for Black students. Future studies will explore modifications to the current coaching package.

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by a College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services Graduate Student and Faculty Research Mentoring Grant from the University of Cincinnati.

Notes on contributors

Kandace W. Mossing

Kandace W. Mossing, M.Ed., is a doctoral student in school psychology at the University of Cincinnati. Her current research interests involve emotional and behavioral challenges, discipline policies and practices in schools, and the school-to-prison pipeline broadly. She is particularly interested in these topics as they relate to minoritized students and teacher- or systems-level changes. She is also interested in the robust integration of behavioral health services in schools and medical settings as well as coaching and consultation services for care teams in these settings.

Tai A. Collins

Tai A. Collins, Ph.D., BCBA-D, is an Associate Dean of the Graduate College and Associate Professor of School Psychology at the University of Cincinnati. His research focuses on time and resource efficient interventions for Black students in urban schools, as well as social justice research, practice, and training in school psychology.

Daniel S. Newman

Daniel S. Newman, Ph.D., NCSP,is an Associate Professor and Coordinator of the School Psychology program in the College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services at the University of Cincinnati. His research interests include school consultation practice and training, clinical supervision, and professional issues in school psychology.

Kathleen A. King

Kathleen A. King, M.Ed.,is a school psychology doctoral student at the University of Cincinnati. Her research interests include classroom coaching, interventions for high support needs populations, and student choice in interventions to promote inclusive education. Kathleen aims to empower educators in creating supportive learning environments and improve outcomes for diverse learners.

Jordan F. Pollard

Jordan F. Pollard, MSW, M.Ed., is a fourth-year PhD student in the University of Cincinnati school psychology program. His research interests include Black youth who are system involved. He is particularly interested in the mental health and academic outcomes of youth involved in the juvenile justice system.