Exploring Teachers' Perceptions of Academic Success: Where Does Racial Bias Fit?

• In Event: Sheraton Roundtable Session 9
  In Roundtable Session: Taking Risks and Challenging Racism: Going Beneath the Surface of Whiteness

Abstract

Extensive research has illustrated that teachers’ racial bias contributes to Black students’ academic difficulties. However, gaps in the literature exist regarding teachers’ understanding of the relation between racial bias and academic success. Utilizing in-depth interviews with 15 6th grade teachers in North Carolina, this study sought to examine how teachers perceive academic success and whether racial bias was observed as an important factor. Results reveal that teachers perceive academic success from an individualist and cultural deficit perspective. Additionally, teachers did not perceive racial bias as an important factor for students’ academic success, but as an experience encountered by Black students. Findings from this study are important for school interventions and cultural competence trainings.

Authors

• Kamilah Legette, Duke University

• Jennifer Lansford, Duke University