Communicative Functions of African American Head Start Children

Abstract

Children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds are more often over- and underreferred for special education services than children from the mainstream culture. In fact, African American children, particularly boys, are more likely to be expelled from preschool programs. Differences in African American communication styles may be misinterpreted and consequently lead to frustration and conflict. Yet, little research had documented typical pragmatic development in African American preschool children. In this study, 12 African American Head Start children were videotaped during play, and their pragmatic communicative functions were analyzed. Significant differences were found in the types of communicative functions used by African American boys as compared to girls.