It Only Looks Like We’re Close: Teachers’ Perceptions of Relationships With Challenging Black Male Preschoolers

• In Event: Roundtable Session 45
  In Roundtable Session: Meeting the Needs of Diverse Learners

Abstract

At all grade levels disproportionately teachers remove Black males from classrooms for challenging behavior (Lewis, et al, 2010). Based on studies finding of a correlation between teacher-student relationships and young student’s school trajectory (Harmes & Pianta, 2001), three data points were used to explore the interactional quality between urban Head Start Teachers and the Black male preschoolers they identified as challenging. Study findings strongly indicated the need for a critical examination of the cultural influence on non-White and non-Black teachers perceived relationship quality with these students. The dismal collective educational outcomes of Black male students provide evidence for more studies of this type in Minority Majority States like California were teacher workforces, like student populations, are rapidly diversifying (Howard, 2010).

Author

• Patricia Nunley, Mills College