Teachers Closing the Discipline Gap in an Urban Middle School

This study focuses on student discipline as related to the perceptions, work, and backgrounds of effective Black and White teachers. The article expands current knowledge by reporting findings from a case study of 4 teachers (2 African Americans and 2 Whites) employed in an urban, predominately African American middle school. Interviews, field visits, and documents were analyzed according to guidelines created by Miles and Huberman (1994) and collectively point to four themes: (a) learning-based perceptions of student behavior, (b) the role of preservice teacher preparation, (c) the influence of remembered teachers and teacher mentors, and (d) outreach efforts to students' parents and families. The study's implications for future scholarship and practice are considered.