This study examined whether varying dimensions of teacher-child relationship quality and gender moderated associations between knowledge of negative emotion-eliciting situations and peer victimization among Black preschoolers (60 boys, 54 girls) who ranged in age from 35 to 65 months. Fifty-one children had a Black teacher, 46 had a White teacher,…

The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative descriptive study was to examine the perceptions of PreK-12th grade educators from a public school district in northwest Houston, Texas, regarding factors that may contribute to the disproportionate placement of African American males. The researcher used this methodology to explain and describe the…

Recognition of social and emotional learning (SEL), as an essential educational component, has increased in recent years, and early childhood educators' perceptions of SEL are likely to impact the delivery, evaluation, and outcomes of SEL opportunities for young children. The purpose of this pilot study was to investigate SEL perceptions of…

Parent-teacher relationships are an important but understudied aspect of children's preschool experience. One important gap is understanding how parent-teacher relationships influence aspects related to school readiness, such as child self-regulation. Understanding this relationship can help highlight areas of intervention that can improve…

Accounts of educational opportunity gaps for Black boys are overwhelmingly focused on later years of development. Achievement and discipline disparities are evident across their lifespan. Life course and intersectionality theories were used to develop a framework for understanding obstacles Black boys face during their preschool through high…

This essay uses the concept of the white imaginary to reflect on Critical Whiteness Studies (CWS) in education. It examines the field's value but also its limitations, specifically its preoccupation with converting white people as the solution to systemic racism. The conversion approach ignores the fuller structural nature of whiteness and often…

In this study, we asked whether Montessori schools, which tend to have high student engagement, are associated with lower average rates of chronic absenteeism and/or smaller racial disparities therein relative to non-Montessori schools. We use multilevel modeling to answer this question, following an approach proposed in Author et al., (in press)…

In 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the national enrollment rate for pre-k children ages 3 to 4 was 40% (a drop from 54% in 2019; National Center for Education Statistics, 2022). This is partly due to fewer children in the 0-5 age group (23.4 million of 72.8 million children in the United States in 2020; U.S. Census Bureau, 2020).…

The present study examined boys' race in moderating the association between teacher-child relationship quality, measured by closeness and conflict, and boys' language gains and conduct problems change scores during Pre-K. The study was conducted using data from the National Center for Early Development and Learning's (NCEDL) Multi-State Study of…

There is an increased awareness concerning the need for educators to utilize more culturally responsive practices, particularly in early childhood education (Allen & Steed, 2016). As the number of culturally diverse students enrolled in early childhood programs rises, preschool programs must embrace this diversity and provide enriching…

We examined whether teacher-child racial congruence and child race moderated the association between children's emotion situation knowledge and the dimensions of teacher-child relationship quality (i.e., closeness, conflict, and dependency). We also investigated these dimensions as mediators linking emotion situation knowledge and later school…

The aim of the current study was to address the potential moderating roles of emotional display rule knowledge and race in the relation between false-belief understanding and preschoolers' positive interactions and behaviors with peers and teachers. Participants included 87 African American and Latinx preschoolers (52 boys and 35 girls, mean age…

Public school enrollment dramatically decreased during the pandemic, but the patterns of decline and student movement across schools are not yet well understood. Using statewide student-level data from Virginia, we find pre-K-12 enrollment dropped by 4% between fall 2019 and the first post-pandemic fall of 2020. The changes were the largest in…

Research Findings: High quality STEM professional learning is necessary for supporting early educators to implement early childhood STEM education in ways that promote young children's development. This is particularly important for educators serving young children of color or from under-resourced backgrounds who have few STEM early learning…

Absent a nationwide plan for universal public prekindergarten, states and districts have taken various approaches to increasing access to school-based educational opportunities for their youngest learners. Though some of these programs have focused on making public prekindergarten available to all families, others have targeted families most in…