Context matters for preschool discipline: Effects of distance learning and pandemic fears.
Sch Psychol
; 36(5): 325-334, 2021 Sep.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1368915
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic transformed the context and delivery of early childhood education, yet little is known about its impact on exclusionary discipline (e.g., suspension, expulsion), which nationally representative evidence has shown disproportionately impacts Black boys. Using one experiment, we test how preschool providers respond to three hypothetical vignettes about a Black boy's behaviors. Participants (N = 60) were randomly assigned to read vignettes set in either distance learning or in-person classroom contexts. Then, participants completed measures about discipline and COVID-19. Results indicated there was an interaction between context and the sequence of vignettes on providers' troubled feelings and endorsements of discipline. Providers showed heightened troubled feelings and endorsements of discipline severity in the distance learning context, as compared to an in-person context, as vignettes progressed. Additionally, the more providers feared COVID-19, the more they felt troubled over the course of the vignettes across conditions. Practitioners can use this research to inform consultative interventions that mitigate discipline by directly addressing providers' pandemic fears and classroom contexts. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Students
/
Child Behavior
/
Education, Distance
/
Racism
/
School Teachers
/
Social Interaction
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Prognostic study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Limits:
Adult
/
Child
/
Child, preschool
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Language:
English
Journal:
Sch Psychol
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Similar
MEDLINE
...
LILACS
LIS