SBP: An Alternative to Strict Control? Culture and Authority in Progressive Urban Public High Schools

低收入有色人种青年在城市学校经常经历排斥纪律和零容忍政策，这可能导致从学校到监狱的管道。我们知道这种政策可能是有害的，这表明迫切需要替代模式和机构，以改变与将青年定为犯罪有关的动态。“渐进式”方法强调以学生为中心的教学，强调社会、情感和学术目标，这可能是一种很有前途的策略。然而，这些方法在很大程度上是为私立学校及其相对富裕的(和白人)选民保留的。然而，最近，随着全国各地的学校和学区对这种模式表现出新的兴趣，为低收入学生提供服务的进步学校的数量有所增加。这项研究深入分析了城市公立学校为低收入有色人种青年提供进步课程的情况。这项研究的结果将对教育工作者、执法官员、社区组织专业人员和其他致力于更有效地与这类人群合作的人产生重要影响，从而可能改变教育做法，从而中断从学校到监狱的管道。使用排他性纪律和零容忍政策的城市学校往往助长了从学校到监狱的管道，这对低收入青年的社会和发展轨迹是有害的。这项定性研究将发展一种人种学驱动的学校文化概念，并更新和完善目前学校对权威的理解。该设计包括三个组成部分。第一部分，也是最大的部分，是对两所为低收入有色人种学生提供服务的进步高中的民族志案例研究，将在两年内进行，包括近2000小时的参与者观察和98次访谈。第二项活动是实地考察10所进步学校，并在各种进步教育会议和活动中进行观察，包括130小时的观察和30次访谈。第三，通过对当地学区管理人员和教育工作者的另外10次访谈，这些数据得到了进一步的背景分析。这项研究的结果将为有关学校权威、青少年发展轨迹，特别是低收入青年的社会学理论，以及关于较低社会经济地位与我们社会生活机会之间的联系的争论提供信息。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Low-income youth of color often experience exclusionary discipline and zero tolerance policies in urban schools, which can result in a school-to-prison pipeline. We know such policies can be deleterious, suggesting an urgent need for alternative models and institutions that can change the dynamics related to the criminalization of youth. “Progressive” approaches, which emphasize student-centered instruction and social and emotional as well as academic goals, may represent a promising strategy. Yet these approaches have largely been reserved for independent schools and their relatively affluent (and white) constituencies. Recently, however, the number of progressive schools serving low-income students has grown, as schools and districts across the country have shown new interest in this model. This study provides an in-depth analysis of urban public schools offering a progressive program for low-income youth of color. Results from this study will have important implications for educators, law enforcement officials, community organization professionals, and others committed to working more effectively with such populations, thus potentially changing educational practices so as to interrupt the school-to-prison pipeline. Urban schools that use exclusionary discipline and zero tolerance policies often facilitate a school-to-prison pipeline that is deleterious to low-income youths’ social and developmental trajectories. This qualitative study will develop an ethnographically-driven conception of school culture and update and refine current understandings of authority in schools. The design includes three components. The first, and largest, component is ethnographic case studies of two progressive high schools serving low-income students of color, which will occur over two years and involve nearly 2,000 hours of participant-observation and 98 interviews. The second is site visits to 10 progressive schools and observations at various progressive education meetings and events, including130 hours of observation and 30 interviews. Third, these data are further contextualized by 10 additional interviews with local school district administrators and educators. Findings from the study will inform sociological theories regarding authority in schools, adolescent development trajectories, particularly for low-income youth, and arguments regarding connections between lower socioeconomic status and life chances in our society.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.