It takes a village: Early race socialization of African -American and Latino children in child care

The study describes the child care contribution to race socialization practices experienced by African-American and Latino (mainly Mexican-American) preschool-aged children. 120 children, 27 teachers and 7 directors from 8 traditionally African-American child care centers located in an African-American and Latino poor, urban community participated in the study. Observers recorded children's integration levels, negative interactions and prosocial behaviors with peers, interaction levels with adults (Modified Observational Record of the Caregiving Environment (MORCE), Phillips & Ahern, unpublished) and attachment security (Waters, 1995). Observers also recorded classroom quality (ECERS-R, Harms, Clifford & Cryer, 1998) and emotional climates (MORCE, Phillips & Ahern, unpublished), as well as the type and quality of multicultural materials and interactions. Teaching staff participated in individual interviews concerning child rearing beliefs and perceived discrimination across the lifetime. Directors participated in open-ended interviews about the operating philosophies of the programs. The children were assessed on self-concept (Self-description Questionnaire-Preschool, Marsh et al., 2002) and racial group orientation (Multi-Response Racial Attitude, Doyle & Aboud, 1995; play preference based on Katz & Kofkin, 1997; Aboud & Mitchell, 1977). Within the context of child care programs directed by African-Americans with primarily African-American teachers and Latino assistants, racial group orientation and self-concept were predicted by peer interaction and classroom environment rather than specific teacher beliefs. There were differences by race, which varied by the outcome under investigation, in terms of the racial composition of the classrooms, child race or whether the child and the teacher were the same race. There is some indication that teachers' perceptions of discrimination influence the development of children belonging to socially marginalized communities. Attachment quality did not mediate the effect child care socialization practices had on the child outcomes. Findings point to the importance of interpreting children's experiences by embedding them in the historical and cultural context of their communities.