Smaller classes can cut Pre-K expulsions: report

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Preschoolers are three times more likely to be expelled for being naughty in class than older children but cutting class size and long days could help to reduce expulsions rates, according to new report.

It showed that if classes have less than eight students per teacher fewer children are asked to leave and stress levels are lower.

"We're not simply saying don't expel children, we're saying do something differently," said Walter Gilliam, the director of the Edward Zigler Center at Yale University in Connecticut and the author of the report.

"Either provide the supports necessary to help that child succeed in the classroom or transition that child to a more appropriate setting where that child's needs can be met," he added in a teleconference call.

The report entitled "Implementing Policies to Reduce the Likelihood of Preschool Expulsion" is based on data from the National Prekindergarten Survey of nearly 4,000 state-funded preschool classes in the United States.

It said that 7.7 percent of prekindergarten teachers with fewer than eight children in a class reported an expulsion in the past year, compared to 12.7 percent with 12 or more children.

Ten percent of prekindergarten teachers reported at least one student expelled in the past 12 months. There were 7.6 expulsions per 1,000 preschoolers nationally with rates highest for older preschoolers, African Americans and boys in general.

Gilliam also called for adequate breaks for teachers, particularly those in programs that are eight hours or longer.

"Being a preschool or child-care teacher can be a very stressful job. Anyone who takes care of 20 or more preschoolers for six to eight to 10 hours straight every day with no break away from the children has my respect and admiration," he said.

Just over 14 percent of teachers reporting a high level of work-related stress expelled students within the past 12 months, compared to 9.3 percent of teachers with an average amount of stress and 4.9 percent of teachers with a low level stress.

"Teachers who received the support of an early childhood behavioral or mental health consultant report far fewer expulsions than teachers who do not have such support," Gilliam added.

(Reporting by Natalie Armstrong; Editing by Patricia Reaney)