Black Males in Kindergarten: The Effect of Social Skills on Close and Conflictual Relationships with Teachers

This study set out to test the D-Three Effect on Black male students in Kindergarten. This effect assumes that teachers inherently view Black boys and men through the lens of distrust, disdain, and disregard. Using data derived from 8,790 boys from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten class (ECLS-K, 2011), this study found that Black boys in kindergarten are perceived as having greater challenges with externalized problem behavior, attentional focus, and inhibitory control than their male peers. Moreover, they also have significantly lower levels of teacher-reported closeness in comparison to their White and Multiethnic peers. However, models predicting closeness and conflict were strikingly similar across racial/ethnic groups. This may suggest that teachers respond to social skills in the same manner (across groups), yet interpret behaviors differently for Black boys.