Centering Black Adolescent Girls’ Voices:
Strategies to Prevent Disproportionate Discipline
Positive youth-adult relationships are critical in schools, yet staff commonly interact negatively with Black girls in ways that promote disproportionate discipline. Informed by a project centering the voices of Black adolescent girls, this 2-part series of briefs discusses what girls experience day-to-day with school adults in their own words and provides research-informed suggestions to positively transform these relationships. Part 1 zooms in on the role of adults working directly with Black girls in secondary schools. Part 2 underscores how educational leaders of secondary schools and districts are critical in establishing structures that support equitable learning experiences and foster positive youth-adult interactions for Black adolescent girls. Together the briefs point to how school adults interact in ways that can ultimately support or hinder Black girls’ positive identity development during adolescence.
How to Cite These Briefs
Part 1
Griffith, A.N., Sack, J.K., Lee, S., Crimmins, B., & Harris, J. (2024). Centering Black adolescent girls’ voices: Strategies to prevent disproportionate discipline (Part 1) (Practice Brief Vol. 5, No. 1). American Psychological Association Division 15 Educational Psychology. https://apadiv15.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Div15_PositiveIdentityDevPart1_3.25.24.pdf
Part 2
Griffith, A.N., Sack, J.K., & Harris, J. (2024). Centering Black adolescent girls’ voices: Strategies to prevent disproportionate discipline (Part 2) (Practice Brief Vol. 5, No. 2). American Psychological Association Division 15 Educational Psychology. https://apadiv15.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Div15_PositiveIdentityDevPartII_3.25.24.pdf
About the Authors
Dr. Aisha N. Griffith
Email: [email protected]
Jean K. Sack
Jean K. Sack is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Illinois Chicago. Her professional experiences as a high school teacher and social emotional learning specialist in urban schools fostered her research interests in equity in school discipline, social and moral development, and student-educator relationships.
Email: [email protected]
Justyce Harris
Justyce Harris is an undergraduate student in the Department of Applied Psychology at the University of Illinois Chicago and is currently a student intern at the Urban Youth Trauma Center. Her research interests include investigating racial, ethnic, and gender disparities in ADHD and depression diagnosis amongst youth from marginalized communities to promote access to accurate diagnosis and innovative treatments.
Email: [email protected]
So Jung Lee
So Jung Lee is a doctoral student in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Illinois Chicago, with a concentration in human development and learning. Her current research delves into the impact of racial, ethnic, and cultural similarities and differences on youth-adult relationships within youth programs.
Email: [email protected]
Bradley Crimmins
Bradley Crimmins is a doctoral student in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Illinois at Chicago and teaches special education in Chicago Public Schools. He is interested in social-emotional development within school settings and is currently researching racial/ethnic diversity within high schools and its influence on adolescent wellbeing.
Email: [email protected]