Spare the Rod, Spoil the Child: Perspectives of Educators who are also Parents of Public-School Children, Regarding Effective Discipline Practices in Urban Elementary Schools in Predominately African American Communities

Abstract

The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative research study was to analyze the perspectives of educators who are also parents of public-school children regarding the effectiveness of the implementation of punitive, exclusionary and restorative discipline practices within low-income urban elementary schools. The guided protocol questions in this study examined the discipline practices that educators deemed effective in influencing African American students to make better behavioral choices and improve their academic performance. This study explored how punitive, exclusionary and restorative practices are used in two Title 1, elementary schools located in South Texas. The research questions enabled further exploration into what educators who are also parents of children enrolled in public schools understand about current school discipline practices mirroring discipline practices that are enforced at home. This study included individual interviews from eight participants, four from each campus, and one focus group comprised of four individuals, two from each of the selected campus. This study used historical disciplinary and demographic data to highlight the disparities that still affect African American students despite the implementation of restorative practices. Data supported the necessity of understanding current school discipline policies in order to take the appropriate action to modify them. Findings indicated that while using punitive measures could hold students accountable for their behavior, they might also have the opposite effect of what was intended. Findings also revealed that disciplinary procedures as well as the general atmosphere of a school or community may be significantly impacted when punitive and restorative methods are combined