Racial/Ethnic Match and Language and Social Outcomes for Black Children Enrolled in High-Quality Preschools

• In Event: Examining the Language Skills of Racially and Linguistically Marginalized Children in Early Childhood

Abstract

Racially matched teachers of Black preschoolers tend to bring an asset-based lens when appraising children’s behaviors and skills (Darling-Hammond, 2017; Gay, 2018; Iruka et al., 2020; Shivers et al., 2011). Black teachers have previously rated Black preschoolers as having better language skills at the beginning of pre-K than White teachers (Downer et al., 2016). However, teacher-racial match was not associated with direct assessments of children’s language skills. The current study examines the degree to which the lead and assistant teacher racial match and the preschool racial composition might form a foundation for positive language and behavior outcomes for Black preschoolers.

This study utilized existing data collected in 20 high-quality preschools that enroll children from families with low-income (2014-15 through 2018-19 school years). Data for this study were drawn from a longitudinal study of the Educare Learning Network (ELN). Educare serves the same population of children as Head Start but provides additional resources related to teacher qualifications, program quality, and family engagement. Our study included data from 2,553 preschool-age Black children enrolled in 418 classrooms. Children were included in the analysis sample if their primary caregiver reported that they identify as African American or Black and were enrolled during the year or two prior to Kindergarten. Black children were more often enrolled in schools with a majority (>=50%) Black peers and had more frequent teacher-child racial match with lead and assistant teachers in Black Majority schools (see Table 1).

Child progress monitoring was conducted at least two times per year and annual classroom observations were conducted by trained and reliable local evaluation partners. Family data were collected through a fall interview with the child’s primary caregiver and a spring survey. Language assessments were conducted by the local research team in the child’s school. Teachers completed ratings of the child’s social skills in the fall and spring of each year. The joint effects of enrollment in Black Majority schools and teacher-child racial match were related to beneficial outcomes for Black preschool-aged children (see Table 2). Black Majority school enrollment was associated with more problem-behaviors but not associated with differences in language skills; behavior concerns were reduced when the assistant teacher was also Black and child initiative improved when both the lead and assistant teacher were Black. The lack of differences in language outcomes is likely related to the exclusive focus on vocabulary development, whereas benefits related to match would likely be observed if other language outcomes were assessed like oral narrative development (Gardner-Neblett & Iruka, 2015). Results from our study suggest that the effect of teacher-child racial match for Black children must be considered jointly with the racial composition of schools and that although complex, both provide potential benefits for Black children.

Authors

• Sandra L Soliday Hong, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  Presenting Author

• Kamilah Legette, University of Denver

• Laura J Kuhn, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

• Eleni Zgourou, Kean University

• Kirsten L Kainz, UNC Chapel Hill

• Noreen Yazejian, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

• Iheoma U. Iruka, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill