Problem:
Choose at least one article to read. Using your experiences and your research, address the following questions:
Do you believe early childhood educators need a better understanding of child development as a whole?
How does the fact that there are more women in the early childhood field potentially affect our perceptions and biases toward boys' behavior?
How does an educator better consider the social and cultural context in which the child lives (referring to values, expectations, behavioral conventions that shape children's lives at home and in their community) when looking at your biases towards the child's behaviors?
Article
There are large differences in expulsions and suspensions on the basis of race starting in preschool and divergent explanations for their cause. The current study explores how developmental methodology can shed light on this vexing issue. We leverage two measures: (1) childcare provider complaints about children's behavior and their recommended disciplinary action (measured by parent report); and (2) observed disruptive behavior measured by a laboratory-based standardized observation tool, the Disruptive Behavior Diagnostic Observation Schedule (DB-DOS), among a large, socio demographically diverse sample of children (n = 430; mean age = 4.79 years). We identified three latent class profiles on the basis of race/socioeconomic status (SES) and found disparities in childcare provider complaints based on profile membership. More specifically, children classified in the Black/Hispanic, poor and Black, non poor profiles both had significantly higher childcare provider complaints compared with children in the White/Hispanic, non poor profile. By contrast, there were no differences in observed disruptive behavior based on race/SES profiles. Finally, childcare provider complaints in preschool were associated with lower cognitive performance in elementary school, above and beyond observed disruptive behavior in preschool and race/SES profiles. Implications for classroom practice and contributions to the national debate on school disciplinary policies are discussed. Need Assignment Help?