Teachers' Racial Inequity Beliefs as Predictors of Perceptions of Students' Behavior

• In Event: Acknowledging and Addressing Culture, Race, and Bias Within Schools

Abstract

Purpose: Racial disparities in teachers’ interpretations of students’ behaviors likely lead to the racial disparities found in discipline across all education levels (Skiba et al., 2011). Understanding the mechanisms that contribute to teachers’ racialized interpretations of behavior are important for reducing discipline disparities. Thus, this study explores how three types of teachers’ racial inequity beliefs (i.e systemic racism awareness, cultural deficit, American Dream) are associated with teachers’ interpretation of Black and White boys’ behaviors (i.e. hostile, emotionality, behavioral stability, and seriousness). Additionally, given the positive implications of teachers’ efficacy on student outcomes, we also explored whether race-related efficacy shaped associations between teachers’ beliefs and their interpretations of boys’ behaviors.

Theoretical Framework: This study is guided by both ecological systems of human development and social cognitive theories. Ecological systems theory suggests that humans are embedded within multiple and overlapping systems that affect human interaction and behavior (Bronfenbrenner, 1998; Spencer et al., 1997). Social-cognitive theories suggest that the categorization of races and racial beliefs learned over the course of childhood development work in adulthood to create implicit bias towards others (Bandura, 1986; Devine, 1989; Halberstadt, 2020). The beliefs and values of the macrosystem serve as the culture of power influencing how people think about race and racial beings (Delpit, 1988). Given colorblind ideology is a prominent American belief (Bonilla-Silva, 2010) adults’ interpretations of others’ behaviors can be activated by the presence of race and their learned racial beliefs (Devine, 1989; Fazio, 1990). Given that beliefs shape interpretations of behaviors, and implicit racial beliefs are activated when there is less time to make decisions (Fazio, 1990), teachers’ racial inequity beliefs might serve as an important mechanism shaping their behavior interpretations.

Method: 228 teachers (78% female) recruited from five school districts in North Carolina completed a 45-minute online survey discussing their racial beliefs and classroom practices. Teachers represented all levels; elementary 31%, middle 27%, and high school 42%. The sample was 82% White American, 10% Black American, 4% Latinx American, and 4% Asian American, with 43% reporting a Master’s level education.

Findings: Teachers holding cultural deficit beliefs interpreted Black boys’ behaviors as more hostile, more representative of a behavioral pattern, and more serious compared to White boys’ behaviors. Additionally, teachers’ systemic racism awareness associated differentially with their racialized interpretations of behaviors based on their race-related efficacy. Teachers who were confident of their abilities but had lower systemic racism awareness were significantly harsher in their judgments of students’ behavior, attributing greater emotionality to the student, stability in their behavior over time, and seriousness of the infraction, compared to teachers who were also confident in their abilities but had higher systemic racism awareness.

Significance: Our findings highlight some of the numerous problems associated with cultural deficit thinking. Education programs, schools, and teachers need to engage in deep consideration of how macrosystem messages infiltrate teachers’ basic perceptual judgments of students’ behavior. Helping teachers to become aware of their unconscious assumption is a critical feature of teaching the teacher.

Authors

• Kamilah B. Legette, University of Denver

• Amber Majors Ladipo, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill

• Amy Halberstadt, North Carolina State University