Project Activities
Researchers will use primary and secondary data sources to address the project's aims. Across four years, the team will recruit a total of 80 unique preschool classrooms, 160 preschool teachers, and sample 10 children per classroom. Researchers will collect data from teachers and conduct classroom observations in fall of each year. They will collect child assessment data in fall and spring of each year.
Structured Abstract
Setting
This project will take place in early care and education programs from 10 states and the District of Columbia.
Sample
The study sample will include 80 classrooms located within 27 preschool centers/sites serving primarily children from economically disadvantaged families. The researchers will use a stratified random sample to ensure proportional representation of children from different racial/ethnic groups. They will enroll 10 children from each classroom (n=800) to participate as well as have two teachers (n=160) per classroom complete implicit bias tasks.
Factors
Malleable factors include implicit bias, teacher expectations, and teacher-child interactions. Implicit bias refers to mental associations linking social groups to stereotypic attributes. These associations form the basis for stereotypic thoughts and feelings that come to mind involuntarily, independent of whether a person consciously believes or rejects those thoughts and feelings.
Research design and methods
This four-year project will involve primary data collection and secondary data analysis. Researchers will use secondary data from Educare preschool program sites and collect primary data from Educare program sites and a large preschool program in an urban area. Across four project years, the research team will recruit a total of 80 unique preschool classrooms, with 10 students enrolled per classroom. They will also recruit two teachers per classroom to address research questions related to implicit bias effects. Researchers will collect child language and social-emotional outcome data in the fall and spring of each year to examine child gains. In addition, they will collect data about teacher implicit biases, teacher expectations, and teacher-child interactions in the Fall of each year. In Year 4, the researchers will conduct analyses and disseminate the study findings.
Control condition
Due to the exploratory nature of this study, there is no control group.
Key measures
The research team will measure teacher expectations using a project-developed and validated 9-item rating scale. They will measure teacher-child interactions using the Individualized Classroom Assessment Scoring System (inCLASS), a direct observation measure. In addition, the researchers will assess language development using the Preschool-Language Scales-Fifth Edition (PLS-5) and social-emotional ability using the Devereux Early Childhood Assessment (DECA). They will also measure implicit bias using the Affect Misattribution Procedure, a computerized task.
Data analytic strategy
The research team will use multilevel path analyses to examine the relationships between teacher and child variables. These analyses will adjust for the nesting of children within their teachers/classrooms and potentially within centers and control for the main effects of child sociodemographic characteristics and teacher/classroom characteristics.
People and institutions involved
IES program contact(s)
Products and publications
Products: Researchers will produce preliminary evidence of the association between implicit bias and children's school readiness skills and peer-reviewed publications. Researchers will prepare research briefs and present study findings at researcher and practitioner conferences.
Additional project information
Supplemental information
Co-Principal Investigators: Iruka, Iheoma; Payne, Keith
Questions about this project?
To answer additional questions about this project or provide feedback, please contact the program officer.