The Hidden Academic Curriculum and Inequality in Early Education: How Class, Race, Teacher Interactions, and Friendship Influence Student Success

This book explores how class, race, teacher interactions, and friendships influence student success in the earliest years of schooling, based on an ethnographic study in US first grade classrooms. It highlights the need for improved understanding of how in- and out-of-school factors impact child behaviors and offers recommendations to prevent racial and socioeconomic inequalities.

Format: Hardback
Length: 212 pages
Publication date: 29 December 2021
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Drawing on a comprehensive ethnographic study conducted in first-grade classrooms across the United States, this book unveils the potentially unseen yet profound ways in which race and social class shape student success in the early stages of their educational journey. The Hidden Academic Curriculum and Inequality in Early Education: How Class, Race, Teacher Interactions, and Friendship Influence Student Success delves into critical disparities observed between the classroom interactions and academic behaviors of students from diverse racial, socioeconomic, and ethnic backgrounds. Through in-depth analysis, the chapters shed light on the ways in which classed and racialized coaching by families, differentiated teacher-student interactions, and racially segregated friendships unfold within the school environment, ultimately impacting a child's ability to decode the academic hidden curriculum. This, in turn, shapes a child's understanding and proficiency in the specific skills associated with academic success. Ultimately, the text underscores the urgent need for enhanced understanding of how in- and out-of-school factors influence child behaviors, while offering valuable recommendations to prevent the perpetuation of racial and socioeconomic inequalities in schools and classrooms.

This insightful volume holds particular appeal to postgraduate students, researchers, and academics specializing in Early Childhood Education and the Sociology of Education. Those with a broader interest in racial, ethnic, and social inequalities will also find this book of interest.

Weight: 446g
Dimension: 159 x 235 x 19 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367226824