The Benefits of Being Latino: Differential Interpretations of Student Behavior and the Social Construction of Being Well Behaved

Students of color are overrepresented in school disciplinary records nationally, but little is known about how disciplinary disproportionality varies among groups. Classroom observations in 1 elementary school suggested that when Latino students misbehaved, teachers were less inclined to interpret their behavior as problematic and less inclined to discipline them than their African American peers. Interpretations of behavior developed relationally, as teachers assessed behavior and compared it to that of students whom they considered problematic. Compared to students with "impulse control problems," Latino students developed a positive reputation and avoided the cycle of disciplinary processes in which their peers found themselves.