CONVERGENCE OF VIEWS: SELF-PERCEPTIONS OF AFRICAN AMERICAN AND WHITE KINDERGARTNERS william strein, tracy simonson, and lindsay vail

As the second in a series of studies concerning the development of kindergartners’ self-perceptions, this study examined the effects of the kindergarten experience on self-perceptions of African American and White students as they progressed through their kindergarten year. Using a countywide sample of 209 children in 31 classrooms, the study incorporated in vivo observations of teachers’ verbal behavior and self-perception data from the Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance for Young Children. Results indicate that the kindergarten experience had an equalizing effect on the self-perceptions of African American and White children, although self-perceptions of cognitive competence were initially lower for African American children than for their White counterparts. Teachers’ verbal interactions with children were not affected by the child’s race, at least when different achievement levels were taken into account. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.