Can School Climate Ameliorate Racial-Ethnic Disparities in Pre-Kindergarten Quality? Evidence From a Large Urban District

• In Event: Fairmont Roundtable Session Six
  In Roundtable Session: Racialized Contexts of Urban Schooling: Discipline, Disparities, and Data (Table 13)

Abstract

We investigated whether school climate, specifically school leadership, family ties, and trusting relationships, ameliorated well-documented disparities in pre-kindergarten quality for Black and Latine students relative to their peers. In 615 public schools in a large, urban school district serving a minoritized student population, we explored patterns of disparities and found that Black and Latine children, on average, experience lower-quality pre-kindergarten in terms of classroom organization, emotional support, and instructional support. Using structural equation modeling, we found that a multi-dimensional index of school climate moderated this relationship with pre-kindergarten quality in terms of classroom organization and emotional support, but not instructional support. Findings suggest a potential role for school climate in minimizing the adverse effects of existing inequities in pre-kindergarten quality.

Authors

• Jessica Siegel, New York University
  Presenting Author

• Alejandro Jorge Ganimian, New York University Steinhardt
  Non-Presenting Author

• Elise Cappella, New York University
  Non-Presenting Author