Removing bias in the classroom is essential for all students to feel welcome. Over the years, I have seen many different forms of bias, and I have been taught certain biases, and sadly I had a few biases in class when I started teaching. I have slowly worked on ways to remove bias in my classroom, and I am going to list and explain some of the biases here. But these are by no means all biases or all scenarios, but it is important to recognize and remove as many as possible. I probably still have some biases, but am just unaware of them hence why they are my biases, and I will work to recognize them and remove them from my practice. Again though these are some that I make sure to not do, and if you have more concerns about these, then I have some recommended books here.
I talk more about including Race and Cultural aspects in the classroom more, as well as decolonizing science education. Racial bias can come in many forms and from all races. This is not to say that other races are or are not racist in America, but to say that any race can have biases on other races. Obvious ones include out write name calling or stereotyping, but not so obvious ones can include having specific behavioral expectations out of students, or thinking a student should or shouldn't have specific personal traits without verbalizing these expectations.
Teachers may send more students of specific races to the office more often; because they are louder, speak out of turn, use different than acceptable language, are social in times when this is not acceptable, or have improper dress.
Teachers also may structure curriculum around only specific races, and struggle to show students people of color as role models. The lessons may be structured around only the teacher and large group lectures and talks, but many cultures are more social and use each other as resources; therefore, they need social communication to help process their information.
Teachers who allow other students to say racially biased without addressing and correcting them can make students think that the teacher also believes these statements. Teachers need to establish that the classroom is a safe place for all students, regardless of the other student's personal beliefs. Address how these things are untrue and ensure to tell students that it is not acceptable.
Some teachers believe that if they have a positive bias, then it is not harmful. I have heard teachers say students from specific countries were good at this or that, which sounds harmless. Classifying students in this way leads to higher expectations of that student, and stress felt by that student. It could lead them to certain life paths that would not have been chosen otherwise or can make students feel isolated and different when they are not an example of this type of stereotype.
I also know of teachers who are color-blind, and say they just see people. This has a whole list of its own issues. For starters, not seeing different cultures and how important they are to people. Not seeing how different people have struggled to make it to where they are now. Not seeing how these different perspectives are important and can have a major impact on the classroom environment and learning as a whole. We don't all have the same experiences, but being color blind assumes that we do, and sweeps all aspects of others away to be hidden. All students' lives are important and they should feel welcome to express who they are in the classroom.
One real story from a teacher:
"My daughter was 8 years old and went to the nurse's office, and the nurse helped her. Then another boy came in, and the nurse says "Where are you from?" daughter says "New Jersey" Nurse says, "Where are your mom and dad from?" Reply. "Mom is Korean and Dad is Jewish." The nurse said "Wow both of you are mutts!" I reported this to the Principal, but the Principal tried to say that she didn't mean it and that it was not a big deal. "
The list of examples of Gender Bias below are real experiences that young women in schools face constantly. These are not unique to any one person, and when the bias is expressed in this way, it not only affects the people who are interacting but also those observing.
Assuming women have a more caring sensitive nature than men, men won't understand but women you will.
Typically only men are geeky science people, and women aren't inclined to science because of caring about how women are perceived there is not a binary of geeky and can't look good.
Men are unorganized women are organized.
Telling women to "quite caring what you look like" because it's not against social rules for boys to fix their hair, but it is for women to fix makeup even though it can be distracting and painful.
Limited bathroom breaks, women have to disclose personal information.
You need to bring something to put your hair up for a class lesson, but a girl who forgot was excluded because she didn't have anything.
Not knowing how gender differences affect the presentation of different mental health issues.
Allowing boys to pop or play with girls' bra straps.
Allowing boys to bully or pick on girls or take their stuff, because "that's how they flirt" and "she is smiling about it"
Fostering crushes or relationships of students and teasing or embarrassing students about it.
Enforcement of dress code without reason and accommodation. Male teachers measured my pants with holes in it, even though had on another pair of pants. Reasons for enforcement should not be that it is distracting other students.
Generally touching students, so much more common to touch female students.
In elementary school boys were allowed to sit cross-legged, and girls were only allowed if they had on pants, not shorts or dress.
Girls vs boys teams to promote gender differences.
Male teachers sexualizing students looking down shirts or saying inappropriate sexual things
Different culpability assumptions girls want to talk and boys are rowdy
Teacher teaching sex ed being 60-year-old white male, teaching abstinence and sexual guilt
Bullying about different physical attributes, ie too big or too small parts
Bullying girls about sexual desire and being a prude.
Bullying girls about wearing or not wearing makeup and not just the right amount.
Girls who don't do makeup or hair are teased about being bullied.
When a girl gets angry she is hysterical/dramatic, but normal if a boy expresses anger or other emotions.
Girls are seen as g while expressing emotions and ignored but boys' emotions are labeled and given space.
Gender roles play out in school functions.
The curriculum is based largely on male historical figures in all subjects.
Gender Bias can present in many ways, and these are just some of the real stories that women have experienced.
In my experience this bias manifests in ways similar to Gender Bias, and Racial Bias. In classrooms, there is negative language, stereotyping, a lack of role models, and misunderstandings from media and other important figures in the student's life, which lead to students having problematic opinions in the classroom and the need to voice those opinions. Many students can feel a sense of shame around themselves or family members if this is not addressed as wrong and stopped.
Over the years of teaching, and being in school as a child, I have seen changes in how students police themselves. In many schools in large cities, if a student says a LGBTQ kind of negative remark then many students will stand up to them and tell them that its is not ok to say, although the bias can still present in other ways as mentioned before. In many smaller towns though students who are LGBTQ are ridiculed and ostracized regularly. Growing up in small towns, and doing some teaching there, I have heard this discrimination approved and/or spoken by teachers. This can only lead to students feeling withdrawn and not accepted in your classroom, and without this, those students will not be able to have meaningful learning.
An extremely common occurrence I have had is as follows:
Two teenage boys are sitting near each other and one does or says something to the other. Then the student replies "EWW, your gay" and the other boy says no or your gay back. Then the two boys laugh and go on doing whatever they were doing.
I always respond and tell them, that is not ok to say. If the boys respond, which they usually do, I drop it and talk to them after class. After class, I talk to them without the other students, and I tell them that I know they are joking and this is not a bullying situation(which is student's typical response). I tell them that it may not seem like an issue to them, but to a student who is in class and might be or is LGBTQ, it might seem to them that your are saying they are wrong for how they live or want to live. That EWW to each other is heard and felt by others. What is a harmless joke to each other, can be unintentional bullying to someone else in class. Students usually understand and respond well to this, and at least stop in my class.
LGBTQ students are a large part of our student population and consist of almost 1/3 of all high school dropouts. Teachers need to address this bias in themselves, the classroom, and the school. Schools should have specific bullying policies for these issues, and groups that reinforce that they are welcome in our schools and classrooms. All students are important and should feel welcome.
Even if the children are not LGTBQ, their parents may be. Many students have complicated parental relationships. Some students have one mother and one father, but others have two moms and two dads, or two moms and no dads, or one dad and five moms, or no parents. Whatever the students' parents' relationships are, it is out of the student's control. That does not mean they do not have feelings about the things that other people say to them or around them about these kinds of relationships.
I have heard students say, "gay or trans people should be locked up or put on an island." Students or parents should not be subjected to this kind of discrimination and hate, and it is the role of the teacher to make sure that your classroom is inclusive to all people. I have heard similar kinds of hate about transgender people. Students often ask me my thoughts, I make it clear to students that all are welcome, and I have no problem saying a different pronoun. I think that a person should be treated however they wish to identify. And again if the student is not, their parent may be, and we do not want students to feel negatively about it, just because other students do not understand how their words are impacting other people.
Young people especially have difficulty understanding the nuances of life. They ask loaded questions and are seemingly combative or defensive. It is important that the adults do not stop the conversation, but use it as a moment to clarify misunderstandings and offer a point of view that the student may have never heard before. Students often say the same things that they have heard from others, and will believe these things if left unchecked. Other students form their own ideas and are scared of ideas that challenge their way of thinking. It is important for the whole class to understand that every student is welcome.
Socio-Economic Bias happens too often in the classroom, and it is one that many struggle to understand in their practice or in the school policy. Here are some examples of how it plays out in the classroom.
Tracking: Placing students in different academic tracks based on their perceived ability or socioeconomic status. This can lead to students from lower-income families being placed in less challenging classes and having fewer opportunities to succeed. People do not think this happens, but then a look at who is in advanced classes and who is in remedial classes will show a clear example if your school is doing this.
Stereotyping: Making assumptions about students' abilities or behavior based on their socioeconomic status. This can lead to teachers having lower expectations for students from lower-income families and providing them with less support. Teachers talk and if they are a D student, then maybe that's all they are going to get and so teachers will not offer them more help or try to make connections in ways they can understand.
Discipline: Students from lower-income families are more likely to be suspended or expelled from school than students from higher-income families, even for the same offenses. This is often due to implicit bias on the part of school administrators and teachers. Every "Rough School" I have worked at was in a low-income area, and most of the students were from low-income families. These schools often have students who are regularly suspended and will get suspensions for even minor infractions. At the same school, students who are from higher-income families and who have been given advantages to be successful in school, may not receive the same amount of suspension or even a suspension at all. This is because they are seen as a "good kid" and just messed up this time.
Access to resources: Students from lower-income families often have less access to resources such as books, computers, and tutors. This can make it difficult for them to keep up with their peers in school. It can be difficult to buy a poster board for a project, or pencils or a new backpack. Schools have extremely long school supply lists that can be difficult for many to afford. The school should be supplying all things necessary for school at no cost. No buy a pencil for 25 cents machine and no science or tech supply fees. Some schools charge thousands of dollars and withhold diplomas and transcripts. If you expect a student to do any work in your class, from pencil and paper to any crazy project the school should supply it all. Requiring students to buy their supplies or being angry about not buying their supplies should be an obvious red flag of socio-economic bias.
Family involvement: Parents from lower-income families are often less involved in their children's education than parents from higher-income families. Parental involvement can make such a huge difference in a child's education. However, not all parents can be as involved as others. Some parents make enough money that one parent can stay home and work with their child all of the time, but others are not so lucky, and get to spend precious few hours with their children, between work and school, or work and bedtime or many many other situations. Expecting all parents to come for a two-hour window on a Wednesday night for parent-teacher conference, or back to school block parties shows a lack of understanding of what the students and their families are going through.
School funding: Schools in low-income areas often receive less funding than schools in high-income areas. This can lead to larger class sizes, fewer resources, and less experienced teachers. So many factors lead to school funding, and so many more factors lead to student success, using student success to measure school funding is intentionally discriminating as well as using local property tax rates. It makes no sense to cut funding in schools that have communities with less money, lower test scores or lower graduation rates.
Religious bias can be a difficult topic to address in the classroom, but it's an important one. As a teacher, you have a responsibility to be aware of your own biases, as well as the biases of your students, to create a classroom environment that is welcoming to all. Here are some common mistakes that teachers make when it comes to religious bias:
Assuming that all students share the same religious beliefs.
Making generalizations about religious groups.
Allowing your own religious beliefs to influence your teaching.
These three things pervade in all kinds of ways. As a student, I heard God created things in science class, and it was regular for teachers to attribute things to god or ask for blessings. We prayed at sports games because the coach made us. As a teacher, I was told to talk about the Christian version of Creationism as a viable alternative every time I mentioned evolution in class. Certain states now allow teachers to talk about these topics in class, which undermines the viability and trust in science or other fields. I have heard stereotypes from teachers that can lead students to have warped views of whole groups of people. I have also heard so much Islamaphobia from teachers and students that goes unchecked. Make sure you are welcoming and cognizant that not all people have the same religious views. Be willing to learn about other religions and religious practices without expecting the student to give you all of the information, as it can make them feel isolated and different in negative ways.
Attribution Bias is the most common bias I see that teachers have. Attribution bias occurs when we attribute the causes of a person's behavior to their internal dispositions, such as personality traits, while underestimating the impact of external factors, such as the situation or environment.
Examples in the Classroom:
Attributing a student's poor test performance to their laziness, rather than considering factors such as lack of sleep or a difficult home life.
Praising a student for their exceptional work, assuming it reflects their innate ability, instead of acknowledging the effort they put in or the support they received.
Assuming poor behavior because they are "a bad kid" or "are horrible", and not because of circumstances they are facing in their lives.
Assuming sleeping in class, is due to playing games all night or talking with friends, and not due to stressful events in their lives or as a symptom of something more.
Saying that kids are lazy or defiant, because they do not participate in class, instead of years of misunderstandings, or undiagnosed learning disorder, or lack of confidence due to interactions in the classroom they have had previously or many other reasons.
The bully in school likes to hurt people or make them angry, instead of they are exhibiting the behavior they experience somewhere in their lives.
Poor grades and lack of understanding may not come from intellectual ability or forgetfulness but may come from students who change schools, or have long-term absences and may not have heard the expected information.
Schools that are low performing are just bad schools or have bad teachers and deserve less funding. Instead of recognizing the immense amount of issues those children face daily.
Behavior is directly related to emotions. Regardless of student's behavior, their success is multifaceted and can not be attributed to any one thing. Some students may react completely differently to the same stressors. It is important to realize that very little is in their control. Students will behave in ways they are shown to behave. Students who have parents who can spend more resources on them, and show the importance of learning to their children will see those benefits, but that does not mean that students who do not have these resources available are not capable or that they deserve any less of an education.
Try not to make judgments about why a student is acting the way they are, instead try to consider alternative reasons for why they are acting this way. Talk to the student or parents and find out what their life is like. Students need to learn to take responsibility, but also recognize their emotions about situations, coping or regulating skills, and recognize things out of their control. While we as adults need to understand the limitations of children and make appropriate adjustments so that students can have equal opportunities to be successful.
We also need to recognize when things are out of our control. If a student who is experiencing stressful situations, starts yelling at people or you, then do not take it personally. This was just the tipping point and a way to let out some of those emotions they have had. Talk to them later, and they will probably apologize, and if not that's okay. People have bad days, and students are people. Students have very little ability to emotionally regulate, and as adults, we need to recognize this fact and not let outbursts, defiance or other behaviors influence our relationship with the student.
Intuition bias is relying too heavily on feelings and prior beliefs, rather than objective information. This can lead us to make poor choices and decisions, especially when the situation is complex or uncertain.
Grading: Teachers may be more likely to give higher grades to students they like or who seem more confident, even if their presentation is not as good.
Discipline: Teachers may be more likely to punish students who they perceive as being troublemakers, even if they did not commit the offense.
Student placement: Teachers may be more likely to place students in lower-level classes if they come from disadvantaged backgrounds, even if their academic performance is the same as their peers.
Lazy students: Teachers may identify students as being lazy and needing to focus more, but ignore the symptoms of other underlying issues.
Listening to other teachers: Listening to prior years teachers about a student's behavior, can lead you to believe you know how this student will act. You could classify the student as having certain characteristics and compare them to previous year students. Each student has specific circumstances in their life, and deals with those issues differently. Students can change from year to year depending on their circumstances.
Intellectual bias refers to the inclination or tendency to favor certain ideas, beliefs, or perspectives over others based on our own preconceived notions or preferences. As educators, it is crucial to recognize and address these biases to create an inclusive and unbiased learning environment for all students. Let's explore some examples of intellectual bias and tips to avoid them in the classroom.
Teachers may inadvertently give more attention to certain students who share similar personal ideals or political beliefs and give those students more grace when grading assignments. This means more time is spent talking about other topics, and the other student gets less attention or is not afforded that same kind of advantage.
Another example is groupthink, which is when groups of people go with the same idea or it is understood that the voice of a few speaks for many. This can be easily seen in class discussions and questions from the teacher. Teachers can not get a true measure of all the student's understanding in most of these types of situations. Some students are reliant on certain students to get the question correct, and then follow that student's answers. Other times students just agree with others. These things may discourage students from participating in the future.
This is also apparent in cultural representations in the curriculum. By minimizing the races or sexes that have made contributions to your field, then you prioritize the experiences, knowledge, and values of one cultural group over others. You limit students' perception to believing these are the only people who have the knowledge, or that making major contributions is not possible for them because they are not represented. Reflecting on your own curriculum is crucial to identify if you are doing this or not. Make sure to use diverse teaching materials that integrate multicultural and diverse perspectives, and encourage students to bring in their culture to the classroom.
Idiosyncratic bias refers to the personal beliefs, preferences, or judgments that individuals may hold, which can influence their decision-making and actions. In an educational setting, it is important for teachers to be aware of idiosyncratic biases they may unconsciously possess.
One common example of idiosyncratic bias is when a teacher inadvertently favors certain students based on personal interests or similarities. For instance, a teacher may give preferential treatment to students who participate in sports because they have a personal affinity for athletics. This can unintentionally marginalize students who do not participate in sports or have different interests, leading to feelings of exclusion or inequality in the classroom.
Another example is when teachers have a "favorite student." These are students that the teacher finds it easy to get along with, and the teacher likes the student. This can lead to preferential treatment of a student and more leeway given to behavioral issues or in grading assignments.
Similarity Attraction bias is a psychological term that refers to our tendency to be attracted to people who are similar to us. This bias can affect our judgments and decisions, and it is important for teachers to be aware of it in order to create a more inclusive and diverse classroom environment.
One example of Similarity Attraction bias is when teachers tend to favor students who have similar backgrounds, interests, or personalities to their own. They may unknowingly give these students more attention or opportunities, which can create unequal learning experiences for other students. This bias can hinder the overall academic and social growth of the classroom, as it limits exposure to different perspectives and ideas.
Another example is just the opposite. At times because teachers identify with students, then they can have higher expectations. The teacher may wish someone from their youth was more strict or just shown them the importance of something. In reality, this seems unfair to the student. They do not understand why they are getting into more trouble than others, or why the teacher is so hard on them specifically.