Teacher and student race as a predictor for negative feedback during instruction.

Abstract

There is a long and persistent gap between the academic achievement of White and Black students in America's schools. Further, Black students are suspended from school at a rate that is more than three times greater than White students. While there has been some suggestion that perhaps teacher-student racial matching may be part of a solution, the research does not currently provide adequate support for teacher race alone to be sufficiently effective. This study analyzed 41 Black and White teacher-student dyad mixes in elementary schools and another 41 in a high school to examine how teacher and student race interact in terms of teacher and student behaviors. While Black students were slightly more likely to be off-task and disruptive, both Black and White teachers were found to provide significantly more negative feedback to Black students regardless of their behavior. Implications for teacher practice and future study are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).