Moving from pathology to politicized care: Examining Black school leaders' perspectives on school discipline

School discipline is a significant educational policy and equity issue in K-12 education in the United States due to well-documented racial inequality in students’ disciplinary outcomes and the deleterious effects of exclusionary discipline on academic and adult outcomes. The roles and approaches of school leaders in the production of racial inequality in exclusionary discipline warrant further inquiry. In this qualitative case study, we apply the theoretical lenses of politicized caring and internalized racism to 12 semi-structured interviews with Black principals and assistant principals in an urban emergent district in Southeastern U.S. to examine how Black school leaders make sense of and address racial disparities in school discipline. The findings illustrate that Black school leaders’ disciplinary perspectives and practices are complex with four major themes emerging: (a) deficit thinking and pathologization, (b) internalized racism, (c) politicized care as a disciplinary ideology and (d) politicized care in disciplinary practice. Uplifting the voices of Black school leaders reveals the pervasive nature of racism and the complex ways in which Black educators attempt to dismantle inequitable patterns. The findings highlight the need to create unique support for Black school leaders to enhance their disciplinary practices through mentorship, coaching and professional development.