What is Implicit Bias?
Attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner.
Activated involuntarily and without an individual’s awareness or intentional control.
Cause us to have feelings and attitudes about other people based on characteristics such as race, ethnicity, age, and appearance.
Associations develop over the course of a lifetime beginning at a very early age through exposure to direct and indirect messages. They can be reinforced through media and news programming.
What does implicit bias look like in schools?
Disproportionality In School Discipline with some groups receiving harsher punishments than others
Inequitable Tracking of Students reflecting that some students are perceived to be “college-bound” and some are tracked to into less challenging classes
Disproportionality in Special Education reflecting the disproportionate numbers of students who are multilingual and from a diverse racial background
Detrimental adult and staff mindsets and beliefs that are rooted in their own experiences and may impact how they view their students
Ways of talking about students and families that diminish, pathologize, or criminalize them by assuming that based on their racial or cultural background that they do not care as much about their student’s education.
Inequitable staff power dynamics reflecting the tendency for leadership positions to be held by people who reflect the dominant culture (e.g., white, male, heterosexual, cisgender, etc.)
We all have Implicit Bias even though we may not realize it. Implicit Bias is defined by multiple elements. It is attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner. Implicit Bias is activated involuntarily and without an individual’s awareness or intentional control. It will cause us to have feelings and attitudes about other people based on characteristics such as race, ethnicity, age, and appearance. The associations that create implicit bias develop over the course of a lifetime beginning at a very early age through exposure to direct and indirect messages. They can be reinforced through media and news programming.
Many educators believe that they are immune to implicit bias due to their dedication to teaching all of their students to the best of their ability. However, implicit bias is endemic in our schools although it might appear in different forms. One example is the disproportionate way that school discipline is handled with some groups receiving harsher punishments than others (e.g., black males). It can also be seen in the inequitable way that students are “tracked” in their education. Some students are perceived to be “college-bound” and some are tracked into less challenging classes. Too often implicit bias plays a role in this tracking.
Implicit bias is also seen in special education particularly when there is a disproportionate number of students who are multilingual and from a diverse racial background who are identified as having a disability impacting their learning. Detrimental adult and staff mindsets and beliefs that are rooted in their own experiences and impact how they view their students are also implicit biases. Additionally, ways of talking about students and families that diminish, pathologize, or criminalize them by assuming that based on their racial or cultural background they do not care as much about education. Furthermore, implicit bias can be seen in the inequitable staff power dynamics that reflect the tendency for leadership positions to be held by people who reflect the dominant culture (e.g., white, male, heterosexual, cisgender, etc.). Implicit bias is pervasive and not always easily seen. This is why receiving training on recognizing your own implicit biases is important to addressing these issues in the school setting.
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Manya R. Paul, MA, EdS
CLS Educational Consultant
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