Implicit Bias Awareness and Intervention Influence on In-service Classroom Teachers Promoting Equity in School Discipline: A Mixed Methods Study
Loading...
Authors
Chastain, Nicholas Robert
Issue Date
2021-03-22
Type
Dissertation
Language
en_US
Keywords
Dissertations, Academic--United States , Cultural awareness , Discrimination , Equity , School discipline , Self-efficacy , Teachers
Alternative Title
Abstract
Discipline disproportionality is a topic studied and discussed extensively in the United States. Schools and districts across the nation have long sought pragmatic solutions to this long festering problem. Inequity in school discipline is considered by many as the main cause of the achievement gap and a host of other negative student outcomes. Scholars have studied the construct of implicit bias for decades, yet many still consider the topic controversial. The purpose of this study was to examine how teacher perception of the topic (equity in school discipline) changed over time by participating in the study.
This study used the sequential explanatory mixed method design. A total of 60 in-service classroom teachers completed the pretest and posttest Teacher Multicultural Attitudes Survey (TMAS). Teacher scores on the (TMAS) and the Race Implicit Association Test (IAT) were examined and analyzed. The qualitative portion of the study examined the responses of nine teachers who completed the quantitative portion of the study.
Results from the quantitative portion of the study were statistically nonsignificant. Several issues of practical significance were identified. Teacher repeated measure scores on the IAT indicated a slight change in preference from White to Black skin. In contrast, teacher pretest and posttest scores on the TMAS indicated teachers had less awareness of and sensitivity to multicultural issues in their classroom. Teacher interview data, however, indicated teachers seeking to improve their efficacy are willing to discuss and address this problem.
Keywords: equity; discipline disproportionality; cultural awareness; implicit bias; implicit association test; teacher efficacy;
Description
Citation
Publisher
License
This dissertation is protected by the Copyright Laws of the United States (Public Law 94-553, revised in 1976). Consistent with fair use as defined in the Copyright Laws, brief quotations from this material are allowed with proper acknowledgement. Use of the materials for financial gain with the author's expressed written permissions is not allowed.