A window into racial and socioeconomic status disparities in preschool disciplinary action using developmental methodology

There are large differences in expulsions and suspensions on the basis of race starting in preschool and divergent explanations for their cause. The current study explores how developmental methodology can shed light on this vexing issue. We leverage two measures: (1) childcare provider complaints about children's behavior and their recommended disciplinary action (measured by parent report); and (2) observed disruptive behavior measured by a laboratory‐based standardized observation tool, the Disruptive Behavior Diagnostic Observation Schedule (DB‐DOS), among a large, sociodemographically diverse sample of children (n =$\text{=}$ 430; mean age =$\text{=}$ 4.79 years). We identified three latent class profiles on the basis of race/socioeconomic status (SES) and found disparities in childcare provider complaints based on profile membership. More specifically, children classified in the Black/Hispanic, poor and Black, nonpoor profiles both had significantly higher childcare provider complaints compared with children in the White/Hispanic, nonpoor profile. By contrast, there were no differences in observed disruptive behavior based on race/SES profiles. Finally, childcare provider complaints in preschool were associated with lower cognitive performance in elementary school, above and beyond observed disruptive behavior in preschool and race/SES profiles. Implications for classroom practice and contributions to the national debate on school disciplinary policies are discussed. There are large differences in expulsions and suspensions on the basis of race starting in preschool and divergent explanations for their cause. Overall, we find disparities in childcare providers’ complaints about children's behavior and recommended disciplinary action, which, in turn, are related to children's educational opportunities. There is much more to explore to better understand school discipline processes in preschool settings and opportunities for intervention to redress race‐based disparities. Our goal was to take the first step in highlighting how developmental approaches may allow us to better understand discipline disparities for our youngest learners.