Even Preschoolers Face Racial Bias, Study Finds

[Eugene]

Source: U.S. News & World Report

Even Preschoolers Face Racial Bias, Study Finds

Both white and black preschool teachers are biased against black boys.

By Gaby Galvin | Contributor Sept. 28, 2016, at 2:37 p.m.

Racial bias against black students begins long before they get to their teens - it starts in preschool, according to a study released today from the Yale Child Study Center.

The study was conducted as a two-part experiment: in the first part, educators watched black and white children together, and in the second, they read vignettes on misbehaving students. In each situation, they were asked to identify and rate bad behavior.

The researchers showed 135 teachers a video of four children playing - a black boy and girl and a white boy and girl - and asked them to look for potentially problematic behavior. Here's the catch: there was no challenging behavior in any of the videos.

Lead researcher Walter Gilliam said the deception was necessary to get the most accurate information about implicit bias in preschool classrooms. Most people are unaware of their implicit biases, which are subtle and often subconscious stereotypes that affect decisions and behavior.

[font size=1]-snip-[/font]

Read more: http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-09-28/yale-study-finds-preschool-teachers-watch-black-boys-closer-for-bad-behavior

Related: Do Early Educators’ Implicit Biases Regarding Sex and Race Relate to Behavior Expectations and Recommendations of Preschool Expulsions and Suspensions? (Yale Child Study Center)

[Buckeye_Democrat]

1. Thank you!

I'm not trying to detract from the African American experience, but I can attest there's a bias against red-headed boys too. I went from blonde to red to brown-haired in my youth, and I was treated very poorly and unfairly during the red-haired years. Even the teachers would laugh if kids made jokes about my hair, and I got punished far more frequently despite my behavior remaining pretty much the same during the changes in hair color... except for some depression about my hair color and freckles.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

2. This was on CNN a few years ago.

What was especially sad was that the young black children often identified the "good" and "bad" children in similar ways!

Looking back on my temporary red-haired years and how I felt like "dirt" for looking and being treated differently, I might have done something similar regarding hair color too.