ABSTRACT
The project was conducted at a predominately black, inner-city elementary school (three-year old kindergarten through fifth grade) serving approximately 425 children (71 percent AfricanAmerican, 13 percent Asian American, 8 percent Latin American, and 8 percent Anglo-American) from predominately lower income backgrounds (70 percent). I observed and interacted with the children during classroom instruction, lunch, restroom breaks, recess, and special events such as assemblies and field trips for four-month periods during the children’s first, second, and third grade years. Observations were conducted three to four days per week during the first grade year, and one to two days per week during the second and third grade years. Observations commenced at the start of each school day and ended each afternoon as the children boarded buses to return home.
