She Did It on Purpose: Teacher Education Students' Interpersonal Attributions of Black Girls' Behavior and Classroom Disciplinary Decisions

Black youth overwhelmingly experience excessive discipline and exclusionary practices in schools, which contribute to the growing achievement and opportunity gaps between Black and White students. This study examined 915 teacher education students' (TES') interpersonal attributions of classroom behaviors of elementary age Black and White girls, using sets of vignettes and questionnaires to analyze the impacts of student race on TES' interpersonal attributions and consequent discipline decisions. The findings indicate that TES attribute a more internal locus of control and controllability to the behaviors of Black girls than White girls displaying comparable behaviors. TES' more often refer White girls to school psychologists and more often ignore the classroom misbehavior of White girls than Black girls at statistically significant rates. Incorporating explicit, anti-racism classroom management into teacher education curricula could address TES' racially biased interpersonal attributions of student behaviors, and create more equitable and safe educational spaces for Black students.