THE ROLE OF SAFETY TRANSFERS AND SCHOOL-WIDE POSITIVE BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTIONS AND SUPPORTS (SWPBIS) ON THE LEARNING EXPERIENCE OF AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENTS
Date
2021-05
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Abstract
Historically students of color are historically disproportionately represented in the publicschool systems' special education and school discipline processes.
In particular, African American students are more likely to become eligible to receive special education services, especially under the emotional disturbance diagnostic label, and be disciplined than students from other races. In the past decades, many studies have investigated the dynamics of students' disproportional representation in major systems and structures such as special education and disciplinary practices. However, there is a lack of research investigating how disproportionality is emerging in other minor processes that can affect students and families'
learning experiences in the public school system.
This mixed-method study investigated how the safety transfer mechanism, a process in which African American students are also disproportionally represented, impacted the students' academic performance in a major urban school district with a small African American student population. The study's qualitative component examined the perspectives of the school personnel who supported students and families through this process, which were also triangulated with the African American parents' perspectives on students' overall disproportionality in the special education and disciplinary processes.
The data analysis revealed that African American parents and school personnel shared common themes and views on improving students' academic experience by focusing on building a positive relationship with students and families and addressing the systemic racism present in the educational institutions. While the quantitative data analysis showed that the students' academic performance going through a safety transfer process was not positively impacted by the characteristics of the school of attendance. Moreover, their attendance rates decreased
significantly across the three years part of the study.
Overall, the data have unveiled that merely moving a student from one school to another without focusing on investing resources in changing educators' mindset and attitudes towards
African American students' does not benefit the students' academic performance.
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Keywords
safety transfer, African American, disproportionality