ERIC ED616879: Student-Teacher Ethnoracial Matching in the Earliest Grades: Benefits for Executive Function Skills. EdWorkingPaper No. 22-511

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by  ERIC

EdWorkingPaper No. 22-511
Student-Teacher Ethnoracial Matching in the
Earliest Grades: Benefits for Executive
Function Skills
Michael Gottfried Michael Little Arya Ansari
University of Pennsylvania North Carolina State University Ohio State University
The benefits of student-teacher ethnoracial matching on student outcomes—ranging from academic
achievement to postsecondary attainment—are well documented. Yet, we know far less about the role of
student-teacher ethnoracial matching in the earliest grades school and on less about effects on non-academic
outcomes. The purpose of this study is to advance our understanding of student-teacher ethnoracial matching
in early elementary school by exploring two executive function outcomes – working memory and cognitive
flexibility. Drawing on data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study – Kindergarten Class of 2011, our
findings suggest student-teacher ethnoracial matching benefits on working memory skills, though not
cognitive flexibility. Observed associations for working memory are of similar size to those for academic
achievement outcomes and are largest for Black and Latinx students.
VERSION: January 2022
Suggested citation: Gottfried, Michael, Michael Little, and Arya Ansari. (2022). Student-Teacher Ethnoracial Matching in the
Earliest Grades: Benefits for Executive Function Skills. (EdWorkingPaper: 22-511). Retrieved from Annenberg Institute at Brown
University: https://doi.org/10.26300/42eb-rw67
Running head: RACIAL MATCHING AND EXECUTIVE FUNCTION 1
Student-Teacher Ethnoracial Matching in the Earliest Grades: Benefits for Executive
Function Skills?
RACIAL MATCHING AND EXECUTIVE FUNCTION 2
Abstract
The benefits of student-teacher ethnoracial matching on student outcomes—ranging from
academic achievement to postsecondary attainment—are well documented. Yet, we know far
less about the role of student-teacher ethnoracial matching in the earliest grades school and on
less about effects on non-academic outcomes. The purpose of this study is to advance our
understanding of student-teacher ethnoracial matching in early elementary school by exploring
two executive function outcomes – working memory and cognitive flexibility. Drawing on data
from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study – Kindergarten Class of 2011, our findings suggest
student-teacher ethnoracial matching benefits on working memory skills, though not cognitive
flexibility. Observed associations for working memory are of similar size to those for academic
achievement outcomes and are largest for Black and Latinx students.
Keywords: student-teacher race and ethnicity match; ethnoracial match; teacher
diversity; executive function; elementary school; demographic match; ECLS-K: 2011;
race/ethnicity
RACIAL MATCHING AND EXECUTIVE FUNCTION 3
Student-Teacher Ethnoracial Matching in the Earliest Grades: Benefits for Executive
Function Skills?
The academic benefits of student-teacher ethnoracial matching on academic outcomes are
well documented (Gershenson et al., 2021; Redding, 2019). Experimental evidence from
Tennessee, for example, finds that Black students randomly assigned to a Black teacher in
elementary school demonstrate stronger math and reading skills, are more likely to graduate from
high school, and are more likely to enroll in college (Gershenson et al., 2018; Dee, 2004). In
response to findings such as these, there has been a push from researchers, policymakers, and
advocates to enact reforms that (1) increase the diversity of the teacher workforce, (2) increase
student assignments to teachers of color, and (3) improve teacher skills in working with students
of all backgrounds (Gershenson et al., 2021). Current reforms underway include President
Biden’s Executive Order “ensuring that all Black students have access to […] diverse teachers
and school leaders and other professionals who understand students’ lived experiences and can
effectively meet their learning, social, and emotional needs” (White House, 2021).
Although this literature is robust in terms of academic achievement and other long-term
academic outcomes, the literature on the benefits of student-teacher ethnoracial matching
remains underdeveloped in the earliest grades and for non-academic outcomes. This is a key gap
in our understanding of the importance of student-teacher ethnoracial matching. Even though
schools are academic institutions, they also play important roles in shaping children’s non-
academic skills, including executive function (EF) (Little, 2016; Diamond & Lee, 2011). To fill
in these gaps in knowledge, we draw upon data from the nationally representative Early
Childhood Longitudinal Study- Kindergarten Class of 2010-11 (ECLS-K:2011) to address the
following three research questions:
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Research Question 1: Do students in kindergarten and first grade who have an
ethnoracial match with their teachers demonstrate higher working memory and cognitive
flexibility skills?
Research Question 2: Do the benefits of ethnoracial matching vary between Black,
Latinx, and Asian students?
Research Question 3: How do the findings for students’ EF outcomes compare with
measures of reading and math achievement?
Using our preferred student-fixed effects estimation approach, we find benefits of
student-teacher ethnoracial matching in terms of working memory but not cognitive flexibility.
We also find that: (a) the benefits for working memory are most pronounced for Black and
Latinx students; and (b) associations for EF are similar in magnitude to reading and math
achievement, which we explored in this study in order to make comparisons with our EF
outcomes.
In the next section, we provide further background on the ethnoracial matching and EF
literatures and present our conceptual framework. We then detail our methodological approach
and results. In the final section, we explore the implications of our findings in the areas of
research, policy, and practice. We pay particular attention to how this research contributes to
discussions about advancing educational equity.
Student-Teacher Ethnoracial Match and Student Outcomes
Most of the literature on student-teacher ethnoracial matching has focused on the
achievement benefits of these matches (Redding, 2019). Furthermore, most of this literature has
focused on the third grade and higher, since it is in grades three and higher where state test scores
become available. Due to this data constraint, an extremely limited body of work has focused on
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matching in the “early grades”, which we define as those prior to the third grade. For instance,
Gottfried et al. (2019) compared ethnoracial matching benefits on a range of outcomes between
kindergartners with and without disabilities. Yet, they found no benefits of match on academic
achievement outcomes. Banerjee (2017) drew on the same dataset and examined the link
between ethnorcial match and placement in ability groups in the early grades. The author found
that Latinx students were more likely to be placed in higher ability groups when assigned to a
Latinx teacher in first grade.
Consistent with studies on academic outcomes, research on non-academic outcomes is
concentrated in higher grades. Studies have explored the benefits of student-teacher ethnorcial
match on a wide variety of non-academic outcomes, ranging from absenteeism (Gottfried et al.,
2021; Tran & Gershenson, 2021) to student attitudes, including happiness and motivation
(Egalite & Kisida, 2017). The analysis from Tran and Gershenson (2021), for example, found
that when Black students were randomly assigned to Black teachers, the probability of the
student being chronically absent was reduced by 26 percent. Gottfried and colleagues (2021)
found that Latinx students with Latinx teachers had fewer missed school days in high school.
Hence, evidence is certainly being amassed that ethnoracial matching matters for different
student groups across non-testing outcomes. However, limiting our search to studies focused in
the early grades, there is far less research in this area.
For example, a study from Wright et al. (2017) examined ethnoracial matching in
kindergarten and found only limited evidence of benefits on a range of social-emotional
outcomes. These results corroborated a study by Jennings and DiPrete (2010) that found limited
evidence of benefits of ethnoracial match on similar outcomes. With speculation, the limited
findings here might have arisen given that social-emotional outcomes rely on subjective teacher-
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rated ratings of children and thus may differ as such. A key benefit of the present study is that we
rely on direct-assessment measures of EF, which overcomes this limitation associated with
teacher-reported measures of non-testing skills.
Prior to elementary school, we are aware of only two studies focused on ethnoracial
matching in early childhood settings, such as prekindergarten. Drawing on Head Start FACES
data, Markowitz and colleagues (2020) found that student-teacher ethnoracial match in Head
Start was associated with higher levels of parental engagement and fewer absences, particularly
among Latinx families. In another study, Downer and colleagues (2016) used a dataset that
included data from Pre-K programs in 11 different states and found benefits of student-teacher
ethnoracial matching on assessment measures of academic skills for Latinx children, but not for
Black children.
To summarize, the literature on student-teacher ethnoracial matching is robust in terms of
academic outcomes and in the tested grades (third grade and beyond). In the present study we
sought to understand the outcomes of ethnoracial matching in the early grades, particularly in the
context of non-academic outcomes. The literature in this area is sparse and indicates the
necessity of studies like the present one. Although others have examined non-academic skills in
the early grades, the outcomes examined were limited by being teacher-reported. Yet, what this
limited literature does suggest is that student-teacher ethnoracial matching can matter in the early
grades, but there is nuance based on outcomes that needs to be more thoroughly unpacked.
Importance of Executive Function Skills
Missing from the student-teacher ethnoracial matching conversation is a focus on
children’s EF skills. These EF skills, which help children engage in goal-directed behavior, have
become a prominent area of scholarly interest in recent years (Little, 2016, 2021; Diamond &
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Lee, 2011). EF skills are comprised of three components: (1) working memory, which is the
ability to hold and process information in our mind; (2) cognitive flexibility, which is the ability
to change your attention and perspectives; and (3) inhibitory control, which is the ability to stay
focused on tasks when distracted.
Part of the growing interest in these skills is due to the consistent finding that higher EF
skills predict academic success (Best et al., 2011, Ursache et al., 2012). Yet, like academic
outcomes, there are stark differences in EF skills based on race/ethnicity and socioeconomic
status. For example, Little (2017) found that Black and Latinx students entered kindergarten
approximately 0.5 standard deviations behind their white peers on the two measures of EF, which
we include in the present study. It is in this context that efforts to promote EF skills and address
inequalities therein have expanded. Research has shown that EF skills are malleable, particularly
during early childhood and the early grades, and school-based interventions and experiences can
shape EF developmental trajectories (Little, 2016; Diamond & Lee, 2011; Morrison et al., 2009).
All of these factors suggest that EF skills may be an outcome particularly susceptible to change
in the context of student-teacher ethnoracial matches.
Conceptual Framework
Our review of the literature thus far has focused on the effects of ethnoracial matching on
student outcomes, but not on potential explanations for how and why matches may be beneficial
for student outcomes, particularly for EF skills. There are three primary schools of thought on
how and why ethnoracially-similar teachers matter for student outcomes (Gershenson et al.,
2021). The first focuses on the beliefs, expectations, and biases of teachers. In this perspective,
what a teacher believes about certain groups of students can alter how they deliver instruction,
interact with parents, and grade papers, for example. This perspective could play out with a non-
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matched teacher not accurately recognizing the skill or developmental level of a student of color
and thus not providing appropriate levels of scaffolded instruction, which has been linked to
improvements in EFs in addition to academic achievement, for example (Meltzer, 2010).
The second perspective focuses on the specific teaching practices and approaches that
teachers of color are more likely to exhibit that benefit students of color. Researchers have found
that when teachers of color provide culturally relevant pedagogy, they are able to better connect
with students whose culture and experiences are often not reflected in standard school curricula
and approaches (e.g., Ladson-Billings, 1995). For example, recent scholarship has found that EF
skills develop differentially based on cultural experiences, which opens the door for student-
teacher match to optimize EF development via culturally relevant instructional practices (e.g.,
Legare et al., 2018). Alternatively, matches may generate increased parental engagement with the
teacher that, in turn, supports parental practices that enhance EFs (Wilson & Gross, 2018;
Vinopal, 2018).
The last perspective is about teachers of color serving as role models for students of
color. Such a “role model effect” operates when students of color perform differently when they
have a teacher of color at the head of the classroom, even if they do not employ any different
teaching practices than white teachers. Such a mechanism may boost the engagement levels of
students experiencing an ethnoraical match via a combination of fewer absences, more time
spent on task, and fewer problem behaviors. Higher levels of engagement due to role modeling
would increase the likelihood that students benefit from instructional practices and curricula that
promote EF skills. Note that these three explanatory perspectives for matching effects are not
mutually exclusive. For example, students of color may benefit from role model teachers who are
also engaging in more culturally relevant pedagogical practices
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Because our study is designed to examine the link between student-teacher ethnoracial
match and EF skills, we cannot specifically test which of these mechanisms may yield observed
associations. However, merging these theoretical explanations with insights from the EF
literature suggests that these mechanisms may plausibly generate improved EF skills for students
in the context of ethnoracial matches with teachers.
Method
Dataset
We used data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study – Kindergarten Class of
2010-11 (ECLS-K:2011), which was compiled by the National Center for Education Statistics
(NCES) at the U.S. Department of Education. The ECLS-K:2011 was created to follow a
nationally representative cohort of kindergartners in the 2010-11 school year through elementary
school. Information was collected about this cohort of children and their families through direct
assessments as well as through surveys of families, teachers, and school administrators. Details
about the creation and compilation of this dataset as well as survey instruments are publicly
available on the U.S. Department of Education website (https://nces.ed.gov/ecls/).
EF measures were only available in the identical format in kindergarten and first grade.
Hence, our sample is restricted to these first two years, and consequently our analysis plan
follows the work of Cho (2012) who also used kindergarten and first grade ECLS-K samples.
The sample in kindergarten included 18,170 children. We arrived at this final analytic sample
with multiple imputation (Royston, 2004). Specifically, we imputed 20 datasets for the child
observations for which there were nonzero weights. Sample weights were provided in the dataset
by NCES. The weights were employed in both the imputation and in all analyses.
Measures