Date of Award

3-30-2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

School Name

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Education

Major Advisor

Dr. Alexandra J. Taylor

Second Advisor

Dr. Grant S. Smith

Third Advisor

Dr. Winn C. Wheeler

Abstract

The discipline of students has long been an issue in schools. Children and teenagers are just that, and they will misbehave. However, the discipline gap clearly indicates that responses to misbehavior are different for different students (Lorenzetti & Johnson, 2023; Santiago-Rosario et al., 2021). Black students are disciplined more frequently and more severely than any of their peers (Kupchik & Ward, 2014; Welsh & Rodriguez, 2024). This study investigates what, if any, relationship exists between a teacher’s race, gender, age, and bias score (as measured by Project Implicit’s (n.d.) single category race implicit bias test) and the number of referrals a student might receive in their class. The hypothesis is that there is a significant linear relationship between teacher race, age, gender, and bias score and the number of referrals a student receives. Using a multiple linear regression model, the study examined data from 66 teachers. Those teachers completed a demographic survey of themselves (race, age, and gender), their students (number of Black males, Black females, White males, White females, Other race males, and Other race females in their class), and number of referrals per student group. Teachers then took the Project Implicit (n.d.) race implicit bias test for their bias score. The data were analyzed across 12 MLR models to determine what significant relationships existed between the four predictor variables (teacher race, age, gender, and bias score) and the 12 outcome variables (average number of referrals for BM, BF, WM, WF, OM, OF, males, females, White, Black, Other race, and combined POC). Two of the 12 models, Black males and males, showed statistical significance for the linear relationship between teacher race and average number of referrals for those student groups. Generally, results indicated the models were not significant, however, a future iteration of the study with a larger sample size might yield different outcomes. Overall, the results supported the existing literature, finding that Black males, and male students in general, experience more frequent referrals for behavior. The results also showed that teacher race can be a significant factor in the number of referrals a student receives in class.

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