A scalable empathic-mindset intervention reduces group disparities in school suspensions

Area of Science:

• Educational Psychology
• Intervention Science
• Sociology of Education

Background:

• Student suspensions are prevalent in the U.S., disproportionately affecting racial-minoritized students, students with prior suspensions, and students with disabilities.
• Existing policies and theories identify these groups as vulnerable to exclusionary school discipline practices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of a scalable "empathic-mindset" intervention for middle school teachers.
• To determine if the intervention can reduce suspension rates, especially among disproportionately affected student groups.

Main Methods:

• A longitudinal, active placebo-controlled field experiment involving 66 teachers and 5,822 students.
• Teachers completed a 45- to 70-minute online exercise focused on understanding student perspectives and maintaining positive relationships.

Main Results:

• The empathic-mindset intervention significantly reduced overall student suspension rates.
• Suspension rates decreased notably for Black and Hispanic students, reducing the racial disparity by 45% (from 10.6 to 5.9 percentage points).
• Reductions in suspensions were also observed for other at-risk student groups and persisted into the subsequent academic year.

Conclusions:

• A brief, scalable empathic-mindset intervention can effectively reduce student suspensions and narrow racial disparities in school discipline.
• Positive teacher-student relationships fostered by this intervention can lead to lasting improvements in student behavior and academic trajectories.
• Targeted interventions focusing on teacher mindset can be a powerful tool for promoting educational equity.