Washington, Mar 17 (EFE).- Young children taught by a teacher from their same ethnic group develop better learning and problem-solving skills, and this effect is more pronounced with Latinos and African-Americans, according to a study published this Friday.
A team led by Michael Gottfried, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Education, analyzed the development of more than 18,000 students across the country and published their results in the journal Early Education and Development.
A first conclusion of the study is that if children share the ethnic group with that of their teachers, they are more likely to develop better working memory, that is, the ability to retain and process information, an essential skill in learning.
The study was based on a representative sample of children from the US population who were in kindergarten -that is, between the ages of three and six- in 2011, and analyzed their information up to the end of first grade, that is, six years of age. to seven years of age.
The researchers looked at the effect of matching Asian, black, Latino, and white teachers and students on working memory and so-called cognitive flexibility, the ability to shift our attention and perspectives.
Additionally, they compared the results of all these children with a control group instructed by teachers of different ethnic and racial backgrounds.
The analysis indicates that when students had a teacher of their ethnic/racial group, their reading scores and math achievement were higher, something that had a greater impact with African American and Latino scholars.
“Working memory also improved in African American and Latino children taught by a teacher of the same race or ethnicity,” the article added.
However, the ethnic-racial mix does not seem to have had any effect on cognitive flexibility.
The authors suggested that perhaps what is happening is that Latino and African American teachers are better equipped to support the development of their students, in which case promoting the ethnic/racial mix of students and teachers could help reverse inequities in education. executive function of children.
“For example, what a teacher believes about certain groups of students can alter how she delivers instruction, how she relates to parents, what grades she gives on homework,” Gottfried said.
“This perspective could result in a teacher of a different ethnic/racial group not accurately recognizing the skills or developmental level of a student of color, and therefore not providing the appropriate levels of instruction, which is linked to improvements in functional executive, in addition to academic achievement,” added the researcher.
