Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2026
Publication Title
Child & Youth Services
Abstract
We contribute to the literature on school discipline by investigating why some Black students, parents, and advocates perceived particular punishments as unfair. Using Betrayal Trauma Theory (BTT) as a framework, we conducted qualitative interviews with twelve Black parents and five community activists who assisted Black children throughout the school discipline process and perceived such punishments as unfair. We also interviewed four Black children who received punishments at school that they perceived as unfair. Participants reported that instances of unfair school punishment created barriers to graduation, criminalized Black students, and permitted victimization to occur on school grounds.
Funding Source
This research was funded by Illinois State University. This article was published open access thanks to a transformative agreement between Milner Library and Taylor & Francis.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
DOI
10.1080/0145935X.2026.2753449
Recommended Citation
Bell, C., Angton, A., Franklin, S., Mack, M., & Ahmed, P. (2026). Conceptualizing the Receipt of Unfair School Discipline Through A Betrayal Trauma Lens. Child & Youth Services. https://doi.org/10.1080/0145935X.2026.2753449
Comments
First published in Child & Youth Services (2026): https://doi.org/10.1080/0145935X.2026.2753449