1.2. Bias Self-Reflection. Readings
Awareness of potential biases
Educational bias is something that all education professionals should be aware of. reflecting on and considering how to avoid bias in education can reduce its negative impact.
Bias usually refers to a predisposition or prejudice on a particular issue that can prevent one from being neutral in dealing with others. When attitudes are biased, whatever is implicit or explicit, they are often reflected in the language and way individuals interact with each other.
- Implicit bias refers to attitudes or stereotypes that unconsciously influence our perceptions, actions and decisions without our awareness.
- Explicit bias refers to unconscious attitudes towards a person or group of people.
In education, bias can take several forms, such as cognitive bias, cultural bias or institutional bias.
Cognitive biases often influence lecturer s' perceptions of their students based on stereotypes related to race, ethnicity, gender and socio-economic status. For example, lecturer s may unconsciously have lower expectations of students from marginalised backgrounds, which can lead to reduced support and opportunities. Such prejudices can have a significant impact on academic performance and self-esteem.
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E.g., lecturers may assume that students from certain backgrounds or social groups have different intellectual abilities and ambitions. That is, a lecturer may assume that a student from a certain background will be satisfied with a lower level of achievement. Lecturers may expect students who speak with certain accents to be poor writers, or students whose writing skills are substandard may be stereotyped as lacking intellectual ability.
Cultural biases arise from the cultural narratives that prevail in society. In many education systems, study programs are designed around the attitudes and values of the dominant culture without considering the history and contributions of other cultural groups. This neglect can lead to a lack of representation and recognition of students from different cultures, which fosters exclusion and feelings of alienation.
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E.g., students of certain groups may be expected to have certain participation styles (quiet, argumentative, agenda-oriented), but some groups are already seen in advance as problematic.
Institutional biases are embedded in the policy and practice of education systems. These can include standardised tests, disciplinary measures and resource allocation, which can disproportionately affect certain groups of students. For example, digital tools and resource policies can disadvantage students from third countries, reinforcing systemic inequalities. For e.g., Students associated with a particular identity group may be considered experts in digital competences, while others may be considered ignorant.
In addition to the types of biases listed above, a wide variety of other types of biases are discussed in the literature, such as:
- gender bias - the favouring of one gender over another.
- beauty bias - favourable treatment and positive stereotyping of individuals who are considered more attractive.
- perception bias - when lecturer treat others based on often inaccurate, overly simplistic stereotypes and assumptions about the group they belong.
- affinity bias - the tendency to favour people who share similar interests, backgrounds, and experiences; etc.
Various biases can marginalise students from different backgrounds and prevent them from succeeding in their studies. In an increasingly interconnected world, tackling bias is crucial to creating an inclusive learning environment that equitably prepares all students to work in a global, multicultural world.