Behavior Analysis and Equity in Public Education: An Abolitionist Approach
摘要
Every child is worthy of care, dignity, and humanity and deserves to be treated accordingly. It is increasingly clear that Black students encounter damaging school environments that assault their dignity and humanity. Behavior analysts working in schools are often called to action to address student “challenging” behavior that is the result of problematic contingencies embedded in school systems. If behavior analysts only approach student behavior change at the individual level, they fail to address the constellation of contingencies at the systemic level that occasion “challenging” behaviors, and thus could become complicit in perpetuating inequities and harm, especially toward children of color and children living in poverty. The purpose of this manuscript is a call to action to empower behavior analysts serving in public schools to address disparities and inequities in school disciplinary practices. We aim to reveal the oppressive systems that exist in schools by outlining data on educational disparities. We propose an approach to these disparities including abolitionist teaching in tandem with behavior analyses of the individual- and systems-level contingencies. Behavior analysts are of best service to students at risk of being marginalized and excluded from classroom learning opportunities if they engage in efforts to identify, analyze, and dismantle systems that perpetuate inequities in school disciplinary practices. Integrating the spirit and praxis of abolitionism, abolitionist teaching intervenes at both the individual and systemic level to dismantle conditions that perpetuate injustices and create systems that promote freedom-dreaming, thriving, and joy. Freedom and liberation depend on designing learning environments where exposure to new and loving contingencies produces broad transformations, leading to enhanced quality of life for children and the collective.