A Bridge to Abolition? Navigating the Waters of a District-Wide Implicit Bias Training Initiative

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Wednesday 12:40 pm Four Seasons Ballroom 1
  In Roundtable Session: Critical Analysis of Policy and School Reform: Reimagining More Just Futures (Table 5)

Abstract

This study works to analyze the New York City Department of Education’s implicit bias initiative aimed at training 130,000 employees to reflect on and counter their biases. Data included news articles, implicit bias documents and materials, and interview transcripts with four school leaders and four racial justice facilitators who all had long-term racial justice commitments. Qualitative thematic analysis revealed that these educators viewed the implicit bias trainings as ineffective and watered-down. However, they were simultaneously optimistic about what a massive undertaking it was by the largest school district in the country and saw it as a potential bridge to more radical antiracist and abolitionist work.

Author

• Abby C. Emerson, Touro University