Principals’ Successes and Challenges of Designing and Implementing Professional Learning to Reduce Discipline Disproportionality
Open Access DepositedPrincipals’ Successes and Challenges of Designing and Implementing Professional Learning to Reduce Discipline Disproportionality It is clear from years of research that discipline disproportionality is a problemthat impacts education as well as life outcomes (Noguera, 2003
Skiba et al., 2014). Because disciplinary incidents tend to be more common in middle and high school, participants in the study were middle and high school principals (Hayes et al., 2022). Although there is research on the causes and effects of discipline disproportionality, school-based interventions, social justice, and professional learning, the gap in the literature identified for this research study was the principal’s role in designing and implementing professional learning to reduce discipline disproportionality. The purpose of this dissertation was to consider how principals described their successes and challenges with discipline disproportionality and examine the extent to which they designed and implemented professional learning to reduce discipline disproportionality. I conducted a basic interpretive qualitative study to examine school discipline practices, knowledge and application of social justice leadership and transformative learning, and principals’ perceptions and experiences with professional learning design and implementation. Three major themes emerged from analyzing the data from 13 principals, interviewed from across the country. The first theme that emerged was that principals’ values, beliefs, and experiences shaped their disciplinephilosophy. The second major theme that developed from the data was related to the professional learning structures and implementation that impacted school disciplinary practices. The last theme that was addressed by the principals in their interviews were the 21st century problems that they encountered and required further resources to address to mitigate discipline disproportionality.
McIntosh et al., 2020
Skiba et al., 2014). In my study, I focused on Black students receiving higher rates of exclusionary discipline at the elementary, middle, and high school levels and examined the longevity of the problem (Children’s Defense Fund, 1975
Schiff, 2018
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