Date of Award
5-2025
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Program
Urban Studies
Department
School of Urban and Regional Planning
Major Professor
Dr. David Gladstone
Second Advisor
Dr. Therese Mendez
Third Advisor
Dr. Stacey-Ann Barrett
Fourth Advisor
Dr. Paul Bole
Abstract
As long as teachers have the option of writing students up for subjective infractions, there will always be a question about whether the student's behavior earned a disciplinary referral or if a teacher is less tolerant of certain behaviors and is arbitrarily punishing certain students (Theriot & Dupper, 2009b). In Louisiana, "willful disobedience," is an undefined offense but one often seen in documented school suspension data. Theriot and Dupper (2009b) claim this subjective infraction may be widening the school discipline gap between Black and white students in Louisiana.
The purpose of this research focused first on examining school discipline disparities overall in Louisiana's schools. By assessing publicly available school discipline data and school discipline records, this research revealed the propensity of Black students to be suspended more than their white classmates. A second purpose of this research was to document the classroom management strategies of practitioners as these strategies relate to willful disobedience. A third and overriding purpose of the research was to produce an evidence-based and race-neutral definition of willful disobedience for use in teacher training programs throughout Louisiana and beyond.
Recommended Citation
Barthelemy, Maniko, "From Perception to Policy: Defining Willful Disobedience through the Experience of Classroom Teachers in Louisiana" (2025). University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations. 3227.
https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/3227
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Rights
The University of New Orleans and its agents retain the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible this dissertation or thesis in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. The author retains all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis or dissertation.