Teachers as Disruptors of the School-to-Prison Pipeline

Abstract

This chapter seeks to provide context for teachers' overreliance on punitive discipline practices and how these practices contribute to the school-to-prison pipeline. If preservice teachers course content can be enhanced, it may help teachers learn about their own bias, more proactive responses to challenging behavior, trauma and its manifestations, and trauma-informed alternatives to challenging behavior. These changes may lead to classrooms that are more trauma-sensitive and culturally relevant, which will allow teachers to disrupt punitive discipline systems that are contributing to the school-to-prison pipeline. This chapter provides an overview of relevant literature and suggestions for ways that teacher training programs can prepare teachers to be more trauma-sensitive. Topics include positive behavioral interventions and supports, social-emotional learning, and trauma-informed approaches. Specific classroom practices will be described.