Date of Conferral

6-13-2024

Date of Award

June 2024

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Psychology

Advisor

JoAnn McAllister

Abstract

Disruptive classroom behaviors are on the rise in U.S. classrooms. Children with early behavior difficulties are at an increased risk of school dropout, incarceration, and mental illness. A review of the literature indicates gender is a significant variable that can influence students’ behaviors, social skills, and academics. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine teachers’ perceptions of gender differences in externalizing behaviors and internalizing behaviors and the role of inhibitory control in a sample of neurotypical and neurodiverse kindergarten students. Bem’s gender schema theory was the structural framework used in this non-experimental study. The research question explored the extent to which female and male neurotypical and neurodiverse kindergarten students differed in externalizing and internalizing behaviors after controlling for inhibitory control as measured by teacher-reported Social Skills Rating System and Child Behavior Questionnaire Short-Form. Secondary data were gathered from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2011. Results from the one-way multivariate analysis of covariance found a statistically significant adjusted mean difference in the combined dependent variables of externalizing problem behaviors and internalizing problem behaviors between female and male neurotypical and neurodiverse kindergarten students after controlling for inhibitory control according to teachers’ perceptions. This study has the potential to contribute to positive social change in early education through the dissemination of information to stakeholders and the advocacy of gender-specific interventions that match kindergarten students’ externalizing and internalizing behaviors while attending to the role of inhibitory control.

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