Examining Implicit Biases of Pre-Service Educators Within a Professional Development Context

Abstract

The opportunity gap, or conditions and barriers that impede the academic performance and school experience of minoritized students, may be exacerbated by educators' implicit biases. The aim of this qualitative study was to understand preservice educators' awareness of individual, structural, and systemic racism with regard to implicit bias. Our sample included 154 preservice educators, enrolled in an anti-bullying/harassment/discrimination training, which is required for any New York State (NYS) educator certification. Educators responded to questions about group generalizations, factors contributing to these biases, and how biases may affect their behavior toward students. Our content analysis revealed several themes, most notably that frequent biases existed toward Asian/Asian Americans, Black/African Americans, males, and people from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds. Although participant responses reflect an open-minded approach to discussing bias, many responses reflected no observable desire to change potentially biased interactions with students. Responses with racially held biases aligned with the tenets of critical race theory (CRT), particularly racism as permanent and racism as normalized. Implications for practice, with an emphasis on anti-bias training and professional development, are discussed. Keywords Anti-bias training · Content analysis · Critical race theory · Educational policy · Implicit bias · Preservice educators In the past decade, public school racially and ethnically minoritized student enrollments have increased while White student enrollments have decreased. From 2009 to 2018, Latino/a/x students increased from 22 to 27% and White students decreased from 54 to 47% (U.S. Department of Education [USDOE], 2021a). This demographic shift has continued; in Fall 2018, 47% of PreK to 12th grade students enrolled in public schools were White, 15.1% were Black, 27.2% were Latino/a/x, 5.7% were Asian or Pacific Islander, 1% American Indian/Alaska Native, and 4.1% were two or more races (USDOE, 2021a) Importantly, in contrast to increased student diversity, 79% of public educators identify as White and 80% of school psychologists identify as White (Goforth et al., 2021; USDOE, 2021b). Inequitable schools and classrooms are documented to persist for racial/ethnic minoritized students (Carter et al., 2017). Black and Latino/a/x students report poorer school safety, school connectedness, adult-student relationships, and fewer opportunities for meaningful participation than White students, and racial opportunity gaps in achievement are largest in schools with racial school climate gaps (La Salle et al., 2016; Schachner et al., 2016; Voight et al., 2015). The racial opportunity gap refers to unequal learning opportunities in education for minoritized students, such as fewer instructional and lower quality classroom resources, biased curricula, lowered teacher quality and expectations for students, and larger class sizes (Welner & Carter, 2013). Lack of culturally competent educational professionals can result in unwelcoming environments for students and their families (Puckett, 2020). Culturally responsive teaching practices that use cultural knowledge, learned experiences, antiracist approaches, and critical views of whiteness can demonstrate critical care for students and their home lives, while countering injustices in the school environment, policy, and curriculum (Gallo-way et. al.