Interactive Program to Reduce Racial Bias: K-3

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DESCRIPTION (provided by investigator): This project will develop a comprehensive, interactive CD-ROM and Internet program to reduce racial bias among children in grades K-3. The development of racial bias occurs in early childhood and, if left unaddressed, has serious implications for the social development of children. Because biased racial attitudes are not yet firmly established in young children, elementary schools and parents still have an opportunity to correct these biases. Unfortunately, there is a lack of instructional programs designed to reduce racial bias that are based on empirically proven strategies. A Phase II comprehensive program for children in grades K-3 will be developed to address three factors that underpin racial bias: color bias, perceptual discrimination inadequacies, and inchoate knowledge of skin color difference. The program will combine empirically proven instructional design principles with interactive multimedia technology to create a personalized learning experience that will reduce basic color bias, teach perceptual discrimination skills, and improve knowledge of the origins and meaning of skin color difference. The program will incorporate computer-based assessment with tailored remediation to ensure content mastery. Furthermore, a manual for teachers and parents will be developed. The efficacy of the program will be evaluated in a randomized trial.