Workplace Correlates of Teacher Misperceptions: Understanding Discrepancies in Teacher Predictions of Low-Income Preschoolers’ Pre-Academic Skills

Introduction: Preschool teachers are susceptible to developing and maintaining inaccurate impressions about their preschoolers’ pre-academic skills (Mashburn & Henry, 2004), which are problematic because they could lead to ineffective scaffolding during instruction, result in limited student learning during a critical developmental period, and, for children from disadvantaged backgrounds, contribute to the achievement gap (Baker et al., 2015; Duncan et al., 2007). Workplace factors, such as teachers’ perception of their job and leadership, have not been investigated directly but appear to account for a significant portion of the variability in these misperceptions (Baker et al., 2015). The current study aims to understand the link between workplace factors and, particularly, teachers’ harmful underestimation of preschoolers’ pre-academic abilities.

Method: The current study utilizes archival data from the Building Bridges project, which evaluated a kindergarten readiness program in Head Start and community child care programs (Baker et al., 2010). Our sample includes 760 ethnically diverse preschoolers (M_age = 4.6) and 123 teachers (98% female). Teachers provided demographic information and ratings for preschoolers and preschoolers were directly assessed. Discrepancy scores were computed by subtracting a standardized score representing a preschooler’s objective pre-academic ability from a standardized score representing teacher perceptions of that same preschooler’s ability. Teachers also provided information about their workplaces. Multi-level modeling was used to test the hypothesis that healthier work environments would be associated with teacher perceptions that were either more accurate or overestimated, rather than underestimated, preschooler ability. All analyses controlled for relevant child, teacher, and center characteristics.

Results: In line with hypotheses, teachers who reported that their work environments were positive and healthy were more likely to overestimate their preschoolers’ pre-academic language, B = .57, p = .01, and math abilities, B = .87, p = .002.

Conclusions: The findings from this study suggest that workplace factors such as workplace health and job satisfaction impact teachers’ accuracy when evaluating their preschoolers’ pre-academic skills. While the literature is mixed on the consequences of overestimating students’ academic abilities, the consequences of too-low expectations are clearly negative, and their negative impacts can be long-lasting (Baker et al., 2015; Rubie-Davies et al., 2006). Attending to the ecological context of the preschool may help researchers understand patterns of underachievement that could contribute to the foundation of the achievement gap. These findings also suggest avenues for intervention targeting the preschool workplace, rather than the individual preschooler, in order to address disparities.