Day Care Interactions and Teacher Perceptions As a Function of Teacher and Child Ethnic Group

Abstract

Teachers' perceptions of children and teacher-child interactions have been studied as a function of ethnic group in older children, but not in preschool children. Furthermore, schools that are predominantly African American and Hispanic (children and teachers) have been largely ignored, or else the studies have grouped children from various minority groups into a single category. The present study examined low-SES preschool classrooms that are predominantly African American and Hispanic. Hispanic teachers described Hispanic boys as having high levels of difficulties, and they engaged in high levels of interactions with these boys. These results suggest that Hispanic teachers may be particularly sensitive to Hispanic boys' difficulties, and point to the need to differentiate concern from bias. Perceptions of girls were more positive and less influenced by ethnicity. These data are consistent with a model of girls as relatively invisible in the classroom.