The Effects of Discipline with African-American Males at an Alternative Middle School: The Perceptions of Parents/Guardians, Teachers, Administrators, and Other Academic Stakeholders

This qualitative single case study is designed to address the prevalent issues of disproportional disciplinary actions with African-American males. This study investigates whether culture intersects motives such as race and class privilege when perceptions lead the decision for exclusion and other disciplinary actions with African-American men in an alternative middle school. Numerous studies support the findings suggesting African-American males face discipline more often than any other group of students in schools. Consequently, these students receive alternative middle school placement as punishment and that may be the result of perceptions from other key stakeholders involved with metering out these disciplinary actions. To test this idea of unfair disciplinary actions this study uses qualitative single case design because the results may provide dialogue and opinions that otherwise would not surface. Qualitative research is well suited because it encompasses interviews and interview data. The targeted population consisted of African-American males, teachers, administrators, and other academic stakeholders at an alternative middle school in Little Rock, Arkansas. This research investigates the students' behavior and teachers' control beliefs as those factors correlate with perceptions of the diverse culture that defines African-American males. The investigation purposefully uses CRT because this theoretic framework has been proven to challenge, disclose, and change attitudes regarding race relationships in America. Using CRT as a framework, to review literature, provides a point of reference that links the history and matters of race relations to the present situations with African-American males at an alternative middle school