Influence of a child's race and the EMR label on initial impressions of regular-classroom teachers.
Regular-classroom elementary school teachers (n = 99) were shown a photograph of an 11-year-old black, Mexican-American, or white child and were told that the child was either EMR or attended a fifth-grade class. Three dependent measures were used to assess the teachers' initial impressions of the child's attractiveness and his academic and behavioral potential. Data indicated that the race of the child significantly influenced the teachers' initial expectations. The EMR label yielded significant results when the teachers assessed the child's intellectual potential. A significant interaction was found on the behavioral measure between race and label, indicating that the race and label of a child can differentially influence a teacher's initial impressions of his or her behavior. Implications and suggestions for further research were discussed.
D001741:Black or African American; D001290:Attitude; D004495:Education of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability; D008297:Male; D008800:Mexico / Q000208:ethnology; D013663:Teaching; D044465:White People