Four preschool teachers were asked to watch a video of four kids playing for a 2016 study. They were asked to press the enter key every time they saw a behavior that could become a potential challenge. However, the video did not contain any misbehavior - the kids were actors and the researchers were using eye tracking software to observe when teachers expected misbehavior.
The study found that both white and black teachers spent more time gazing at black boys than other children. Although black boys make up less than a quarter of the nation’s preschoolers, they make up more than 40% of preschool suspensions. The study’s lead researcher told The Washington Post that “Implicit biases don’t begin with black men and police. They begin with black preschoolers and their teachers, if not earlier.”