Teachers’ Verbal and Nonverbal Communication Patterns as a Function of Teacher Race, Student Gender, and Student Race

Abstract

Teachers’ verbal and nonverbal behaviors were examined in the natural classroom setting to assess differences based on sex of child, race of child, and race of teacher. The subjects were 16 (8 black and 8 white) female first grade teachers in an urban public elementary school system. All teachers’ classrooms contained students of both races with at least a 1 to 3 ratio of one race to the other. Trained observers recorded verbal and nonverbal behavior for each instance of teacher behavior directed toward individual children in each classroom. The results indicated that white teachers directed more verbal praise and criticism and nonverbal praise toward males and more nonverbal criticism toward black males.