Increasing Disciplinary Equity by Teaching Neutralizing Routines to Teachers and Students

Abstract

Racial/ethnic inequities in school discipline are a widespread problem in education. A promising intervention approach is to focus on discipline decisions as an adult behavior and use data to identify situations in which discipline decisions show the greatest disparities for underserved students (e.g., Black, Latinx, Indigenous, students with disabilities). Following a three-step process educators (1) work to identify situations and/or personal states conducive to biased decision-making, (2) develop self-management routines to be used in real time when facing those moments, and (3) teach these strategies to students. By engaging in this work, educators learn to become self-aware of moments when decisions are likely influenced by personal biases known as vulnerable decision points (VDPs). VDP identification helps educators identify actions that may not align with personal values (developing educator self-awareness). Once aware of VDP characteristics, educators can map a neutralizing routine or self-management strategies that slow down decision-making and automatic responses during VDPs. This chapter describes a school-wide approach used to support educators with identification of VDPs, the development of neutralizing routines for themselves, and then teaching these strategies to students.