Racial bias toward children in the early childhood education setting

Abstract

Racial disparities in the education setting are well-documented, including suspensions and expulsion for Black children beginning in pre-school. Racial bias has been hypothesized as a factor contributing to these disparities. However, little is known about the racial attitudes that childcare educators and staff have toward children. To describe levels of implicit and explicit racial bias toward children among early childhood educators, we measured implicit pro-White/anti-Black racial bias of teachers and staff from three urban childcare centers using the Child Race Implicit Association Test (IAT). Explicit bias was measured using a racial preference scale. Of the 48 participants in this sample, 56% were White, 29% Black, and 10% Hispanic. Although 21% (n = 10) of participants had no racial bias on the Child Race IAT, most had implicit pro-White bias ranging from weak to strong (n = 29%and 60%). The remaining participants had implicit pro-Black bias ranging from weak to strong (n = 9%and 19%). In contrast, 95% of participants reported no having no explicit racial preferences toward White or Black children. Additionally, we asked participants about perceptions, knowledge, and beliefs about sources of early childhood disparities. Knowledge of bias can be used in developing strategies to mitigate bias and reduce disparities in childcare settings.