Graduation Term
2017
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Department of Educational Administration and Foundations: Educational Administration
Committee Chair
Beth Hatt
Abstract
This research explores the relationship between the social construction of bullying and race in K-12 schools using Crenshaw’s (1991) theory of intersectionality. The central research questions are: In what ways is the bullying discourse connected to race and racialized discourses in PK-12 settings? How do bullying discourses and policies offer protection to some students while portraying/positioning others as bullies? In what ways do bullying discourses and policies privilege and afford institutional protection for some students while marginalizing others? Twenty high school seniors will be interviewed. Ten participants attend an alternative high school because they have been expelled from mainstream schooling. They are primarily students of color from low-income backgrounds. The other ten students attend a college-preparatory high school where they have must have high grades and few behavioral infractions. They are mostly white, middle-class or wealthy students. Critical discourse analysis will be used to analyze the data. This data will inform policy and school practices around bullying.
Access Type
Dissertation-Open Access
Recommended Citation
O'Brien, Kathleen M., "Colorblind Policies and the Discourses That Uphold Them: the Social Construction of Bullying" (2017). Theses and Dissertations. 830.
https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/etd/830
DOI
http://doi.org/10.30707/ETD2017.OBrien.K