Racial Mismatch: Exploring the Impact of Teacher Diversity on School Readiness

• In Event: Race-Conscious Practice and Representation in Contemporary Social and Emotional Learning

Abstract

For many children, preschool is one of the first introductions to a consistently diverse group of peers both by race and gender. Unfortunately, research indicates considerable disparities when evaluating academic potential and overarching school readiness among boys and children who belong to minority groups (Downey, 2008; Early et al., 2010; Entwisle, Alexander, & Olson, 2007; Fryer & Levitt, 2004; Legewie & DiPrete, 2012). Despite strides taken by programs like Head Start put in place to lessen the achievement gaps among children from low-income and ethnically diverse backgrounds, marginalized children still fall short developmentally on outcomes assessing academic achievement and socio-emotional competence (Bulotsky-Shearer, Fantuzzo, & McDermott, 2008). While there is a growing body of literature demonstrating that teacher-child racial match predicts performance on behavioral evaluations, there is very little literature exploring children’s socio-emotional outcomes and the role that teacher-child racial mismatch plays. Focusing on in-class applications of diversity would aid in the reduction of developmental gaps trajecting school readiness at the kindergarten level and beyond.

Participants in this sample were recruited from 16 Head Starts and private child care centers across Northern Virginia including 312 children and 44 teachers. Due to the region the data were collected in, the sample was most appropriately representative of the black and white teacher-child racial pairs so that was the primary focus on the analyses. Four dyadic groupings were created to examine the effects of racial mismatch on a child’s preschool outcomes. The groupings included two match groups: (a) White children (N = 93) taught by a white teacher (29.8% of groupings) and (b) Black children (N = 53) taught by a Black teacher (17% of groupings); and two mismatch groups: (c) White children (N = 69) taught by non-white teachers (22.11% of groupings) and (d) Black children (N = 44) taught by non-black teachers (14.1% of groupings). We then used a general linear structural equation modeling framework to estimate multivariate multilevel variance components and missing data management. After running a Confirmatory Factor Analyses five components of school readiness were revealed: Positive/Engaged, Independently/Motivated, Connected/Prosocial, Emotion Regulation, and Executive Control. Similar patterns were found across each component; children were less emotionally regulated when matched with their teachers, while boys that were ethno-racially matched with their teachers yielded even poorer outcomes.

The goal at the start of these analyses was to determine if racial mismatch negatively influences the social competence and behavioral outcomes of children in educational settings; particularly among black boys. The opposite was discovered; white boys were predicted to be the least emotionally regulated when in matched classrooms. These findings suggest that for all children being instructed by diverse teachers promotes their prosocial behaviors and readiness for kindergarten. Children from backgrounds lacking diversity may benefit most from classrooms designed to expose them to different types of teachers and students not only by race but by gender as well.

Authors

• Terrance Lane, Florida International University

• Craig Steven Bailey, Yale School of Medicine

• Annette Ponnock