The Penalty of Being a Black Girl: White Kindergarten Teachers’ Perceptions of Student-Teacher Conflict

• In Event: 196 - Regular Session. Education and Gender: Gendered Interactions and Intersections in Schools

Abstract

Previous research suggests that student race affects White teachers’ perceptions of student behavior. Also, studies have shown that girls often have better social and behavioral skills. However, it remains unclear how the intersection of students’ race and gender affect teachers’ perceptions of student behavior and if these perceptions of student behavior explain differences in teachers’ perceptions of student-teacher conflict. This paper uses national data on Black and White kindergartners with White teachers to examine how the combination of student race and gender affect White teachers’ perceptions of students’ behavior and conflictual relationships. I find that White teachers perceive that Black girls exhibit similar levels of problem behaviors as White boys. Also, White teachers rate having more conflictual relationships with Black girls, Black boys, and White boys, while they believe they have less conflictual relationships with White girls. These findings illustrate how White teachers’ perceptions of Black girls’ problem behaviors, and their relationship with Black girls, are subject to a racial penalty. I discuss the implications of these findings for our understanding of gender inequalities in education and the unique challenges Black girls face in early childhood because of their race and gender.

Author

• Calvin Rashaud Zimmermann, University of Pennsylvania