Bias Toward Boys?

12/30/2019

The sun, the earth, love, friends, our very breath are parts of the banquet.
Rebecca H. Davis

“Research from the Yale Child Study Center suggests that many preschool teachers look for disruptive behavior in much the same way: in just one place, waiting for it to appear,” writes Cory Turner on the National Public Radio website. “The problem with this strategy (besides it being inefficient), is that, because of implicit bias, teachers are spending too much time watching black boys and expecting the worst.

Lead researcher Walter Gilliam knew that to get an accurate measure of implicit bias among preschool teachers, he couldn’t be fully transparent with his subjects about what, exactly, he was trying to study….implicit biases.

‘We all have them,’ Gilliam says. ‘Implicit biases are a natural process by which we take information, and we judge people on the basis of generalizations regarding that information. We all do it.’

Even the most well-meaning teacher can harbor deep-seated biases, whether she knows it or not.”

Source: “Bias Isn’t Just a Police Problem, It’s a Preschool Problem,” by Cory Turner, npr.org September 28, 2016

For more information about Exchange's magazine, books, and other products pertaining to ECE, go to www.ccie.com.