Hey Identifier, 

Updated Oct. 7

Implicit bias — unintentionally treating someone differently because of their race or another characteristic — appears to exist among police officers, doctors, job interviewers, K–12 teachers and many others. All of us are subject to the phenomenon.

So it stands to reason that preschool teachers treat black students differently than white students, particularly in light of the well-documented disproportionate rates of discipline imposed on black children.

Indeed, a recent Yale study, released as a research brief — and a slew of news stories that followed in its wake — seemed to confirm as much was happening to kids at the tender age of 4.

“Bias Isn’t Just a Police Problem, It’s a Preschool Problem,” declared NPR. “Yes, Preschool Teachers Really Do Treat Black and White Children Totally Differently,” The Huffington Post said.

In fact, the study found that preschool teachers were just as likely to recommend suspending or expelling a black student as a white one — a fact buried or omitted altogether in news coverage.

The findings of the research present mixed evidence that implicit teacher bias explains disproportionate rates of exclusionary disciplinary measures. That doesn’t mean such bias doesn’t exist, but it does call for a more nuanced reading of the Yale research.

Perceptions changed when teachers learned more

The paper — the full version of which has not been publicly released yet — uses a sample of both white and black preschool teachers, who are first shown a video of two black children and two white children, one boy and one girl of each race. The researchers told the teachers watching to be on the lookout for misbehavior — even though there was none in the clip. Using eye-tracking technology, the researchers examined which students the teachers were more likely to watch.

They found that the teachers, particularly black teachers, paid more attention to the two black students, and were especially more likely to watch the black boy. The differences weren’t huge but were noticeable and statistically significant.

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