Examining Potential Biases in Preschool Teachers’ Behavioral Assessments of Children of Color

NIH RePORTER · NIH · R03 · $175,572 · view on reporter.nih.gov ↗

Abstract

Project Summary In recognition of race/ethnic-based discrepancies in suspensions and expulsions for Black and Hispanic children relative to White children, many districts, states, and publicly-funded preschool programs have begun to implement suspension and expulsion bans. Although such bans may reduce racial/ethnic differences in exclusionary disciplinary rates, it does not address the underlying biases in teacher judgment that led to these discrepancies in the first place. Thus, there is a need for research that moves beyond examining proportionalities in suspensions and expulsions towards a better understanding of the ways in which teachers evaluate children’s behaviors that serve as the basis for these disciplinary decisions. It may be particularly important to examine teachers’ behavioral assessments at preschool because the effects of exclusionary disciplinary actions are believed to be cumulative over time, but the vast majority of research on teachers’ behavioral assessments has been conducted at the K-12 level. Furthermore, the existing studies that have examined potential biases in preschool teachers’ behavioral assessments have been stymied by small sample sizes and methodological limitations. Using a large-scale dataset, this study addresses the following research questions: 1. Do Black and Hispanic children with similar demographics and comparable levels of social-emotional regulation as White children receive harsher behavioral assessments? What types of behaviors are more likely to elicit differential assessments? 2. Is teacher-child racial/ethnic match related to teachers’ ratings of children’s behaviors? 3. Are teachers’ behavioral assessments of children at preschool predictive of children’s social-emotional, suspension, attendance, and achievement outcomes at elementary school?

Key facts

NIH application ID
10867774
Project number
1R03HD114838-01
Recipient
NATIONAL OPINION RESEARCH CENTER
Principal Investigator
Vi-Nhuan Le
Activity code
R03
Funding institute
NIH
Fiscal year
2024
Award amount
$175,572
Award type
1
Project period
2024-05-01 → 2026-04-30