Poster #142 - How Community-level Racial Bias is Associated with Teacher Reports of Black Kindergarten Children's Socioemotional Skills and Behavior

• In Event: Poster Session 17

Abstract

Several highly publicized incidents of racially motivated violence, demonstrate the need to develop anti-racist teaching practices. However, teachers are ill-equipped to embody an anti-racist teaching framework if they are embedded in communities that are plagued by racial biases (Riddle & Sinclair, 2019; Starck et al., 2020). Because racism operates across multiple systems, and individuals develop within nested and interactive interrelated systems, we must consider the influence that community-level racism has on a person’s behavior and perceptions. Educational inequities rooted in American society seep into our classrooms and shape both implicit and explicit biases that influence how teachers perceive and evaluate children, especially for Black children. The study examines whether differences in teacher ratings across race are exacerbated in areas with higher levels of community racism. The research questions guiding our investigation are: (1) How is community racism related to teacher reports of children's socioemotional skills and behaviors among Black and White children? (2) Are there discrepancies between teacher and parent report on children's socioemotional skills and behaviors? If so, are these more pronounced among Black children than White children in areas with higher levels of community racism? This paper utilizes data from multiple sources to advance recent research assessing disparities in teacher reports and community-level racism (Chin et al., 2020; Riddle & Sinclair, 2019). The primary data are the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study–Birth Cohort (ECLS-B), a multimethod longitudinal study of a nationally representative cohort (N=10,7001; Flanagan & West, 2004). We use the combined 2006/2007 kindergarten samples of Black and White children (N = 3,950, M(age) = 5.85 (0.24) years; 48% female). Teachers reported on 22 socioemotional and behavioral items (i.e., paying attention, impulsivity, etc.). Using ZIP codes, ECLS-B data will be merged with Project Implicit and Google Trends data to assess community racism. Analyses will estimate the relationship between community racism and teacher report of Black and White children’s socioemotional skills and behaviors using Structural Equation Models (SEM). Preliminary analyses suggest that Black boys received the lowest teacher ratings on interpersonal skills and approaches to learning but the highest teacher ratings on aggression. Black girls received lower teacher ratings on interpersonal skills and approaches to learning but higher ratings on aggression than White girls. Preliminary analyses of community racism demonstrate clear geographic patterns of anti-Black racism. Should findings indicate community racism is linked with teachers’ negative reporting of Black children, this study will underscore the need for advancing research on how racism operates at the community-level and how it can seep into school practices and into children’s daily lives. Taken together, these opportunities and insights may provide added urgency to increasing calls for anti-racist teaching and action. Simply focusing on interventions within schools while neglecting to address the racism that exists within communities is inadequate if we are to move towards systemic level changes that will have implications on the broader field of education and developmental science.

Authors

• Nneka Ibekwe-Okafor, Boston University

• Jacqueline P. Sims, Boston University

• Sheniqua Jeffrey, Fordham University

• Emily Stolz, Boston University
  Presenting Author

• Stephanie Michelle Curenton, Boston University