Poster #113 - Absenteeism in Preschool: The Role of Teacher and Peer Racial/Ethnic Match

• In Event: Poster Session 01

Abstract

Early absenteeism is associated with less optimal school performance (Ansari & Gottfried, 2021). Yet, little work has considered preschool absenteeism when these habits are established and the conditions under which absenteeism may be reduced. One such condition may be teacher and peer racial/ethnic match (REM), which may improve a child and families’ sense of school belonging, and in turn, promote better attendance (Baumeister & Leary, 1995). Given the limited research, we examined: 1) the extent to which REM with teachers and peers is associated with preschool absenteeism and 2) whether these associations vary for White, Black, and Latine children.

We used data from the National Center for Research on Early Childhood Education Teacher Professional Development Study, which were collected from preschool programs across eight states between 2007 and 2011. In total, data for 2,302 children (48% Black, 12% White, 35% Latine and 5% other/multiracial) and 326 teachers were included. Teachers reported on the number of days children were absent, which was used to create both a continuous days absentvariable and a binary indicator for chronic absenteeism (missing 10% or more of the year). We created a binary indicator of whether each child had REM with their teacher and a continuous variable that captured the percent of REM with classmates. To reduce the possibility of spurious associations, all analyses included theoretically informed family, child, and classroom control variables (for a list, see Table 1).

Approximately 46% of children had a REM with their teacher and, on average, 60% of peers matched the race/ethnicity of the focal child. When examined by subgroup, 72% of White children, 60% of Black children, and 23% of Latine children had a REM with their teacher. In terms of peer REM, children matched with roughly 50% (White and Latine) to 70% (Black children) of their classmates. For our first research question, we used both covariate-adjusted regression and classroom-fixed effects models to examine the associations between teacher and peer REM and both days absent and chronic absenteeism. Although children missed roughly 11 days of school and 10% were chronically absent, teacher and peer REM was not associated with the frequency of preschool absenteeism (see Table 2). When examined by subgroup, there were no consistent differences. One exception was that peer REM was associated with higher levels of chronic absenteeism for White children, which was marginally larger than for children of color.

Overall, despite the sample including a majority Black and Latine children, who on average had many peers of the same race/ethnicity, White children were far more likely to have a REM with their teacher than children of color. Although teacher and peer REM does not seem to play a role in preschool absenteeism, teacher and peer REM are important for other areas of children’s academic success (Benner & Crosnoe, 2011). Thus, it is critical to continue to invest in increasing representation among teachers of color. And given that many preschoolers are chronically absent, researchers and practitioners should also explore other ways to promote better school attendance.

Authors

• Kathryn Zimmermann, Ohio State University
  Presenting Author

• Nicole Buckley, Ohio State University

• Arya Ansari, Ohio State University

• Michael A Gottfried, University of Pennsylvania