Poster #35 - Biased Teacher Perceptions of Student Leadership Skills in Dual Language Education Settings

• In Event: Poster Session 09

Abstract

Acquiring leadership skills at a young age promotes later student success, self-confidence, collaboration, and helping behavior (Mulick, 2009); however, little is known about student leadership skills among elementary-school-age students. Also, racial bias is known to exist in teacher ratings of student social and academic skills (Minor, 2014). Dual language education (DLE) programs are ideal and under-utilized settings for examining potential teacher bias in perceptions of student leadership skills. The present study examined the extent to which student ethnicity (Hispanic vs. not), home language, and initial proficiency in English and Spanish predicted teachers’ ratings of student leadership skills.
We examined 203 kindergarten-3rd grade students in Spanish-English DLE programs in the Southeastern US. Students were 59% female; 39% Hispanic, 24% White, 29% Multiethnic, and 7% Black. Distribution by grade was K (34%), G1 (33%), G2 (18%), or G3 (16%). Home language was categorized as mostly Spanish (33%), both Spanish and English (22%), and mostly English (45%). Teachers rated student leadership skills (subscale on the BASC-3; Reynolds & Kamphaus, 2015) in the winter, and student language proficiency (LAS Links; CTB/McGraw-Hill, 2006) was individually assessed at the beginning of the academic year. Students were enrolled in a DLE program where they either were taught by two teachers (one in Spanish and one in English, N = 139), or by one bilingual teacher (N = 64). Table 1 compares results for three different regression models predicting teachers’ leadership ratings of students: 1) overall ratings for all students (one bilingual teacher’s rating or the averaged ratings across two teachers providing instruction in English or in Spanish), 2) ratings from teachers providing instruction in Spanish, and 3) ratings from teachers providing instruction in English; models 2 and 3 were run only for students taught by two teachers in their DLE program. Independent variables included student gender, grade level, parental education, home language, and fall language proficiency.
Overall, teachers gave less favorable leadership ratings for older students and for students with less educated parents. Teachers providing English instruction gave more favorable leadership ratings for students with more English spoken at home. Across all models, student English and Spanish proficiency were associated with better student leadership ratings; however, positive associations were stronger for English proficiency. Positive associations between student Spanish proficiency and leadership ratings were stronger for teachers providing instruction in Spanish.
In addition, a mixed (between subjects and repeated-measures) ANOVA showed significant effects for teacher instructional language and student ethnicity, and a marginally significant interaction between Hispanic ethnicity and teacher instructional language (Figure 1). Teachers providing instruction in either English or Spanish perceived leadership skills less favorably when rating Hispanic students; however, ratings of leadership were particularly low when teachers providing instruction in English rated Hispanic students, suggesting bias. It is concerning that even in DLE settings, which intend to promote ELs’ home language strengths, teachers are less likely to see Hispanic students as having strong leadership skills. Preconceived views of Hispanic ELs should be addressed in professional development efforts in general and in DLE programs.

Authors

• Ximena Franco-Jenkins, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  Presenting Author

• Doré R. LaForett, Child Trends - North Carolina

• Diego Ordoñez Rojas, George Mason University

• Ulda Gibelli Maldonado-Arias, George Mason University

• Adam Winsler, George Mason University