Intervention (Hidden)
*Pilots*
The first pilot study was carried out by Marina Della Giusta with a team of educationalists and psychologists with a sample of primary UK teachers in 2016/17. The initial training sessions were developed with the idea of stimulating the knowledge of unconscious bias and prejudices and how they operate. Evidence from this pilot suggested that the initial intervention improved the classroom environment, teaching materials, and teachers’ awareness of the impact of UB. In 2017/18, Marina Della Giusta in collaboration with Pearson developed the training into a programme of three labs. These labs, not only stimulated awareness of unconscious bias and prejudices, but also aimed at providing concrete methods to avoid them both in communication and in evaluation. This new pilot took place in Italy and was carried out by specialist trainers. The training labs lasted 2-3 hours and happened at several weeks intervals from each other to allow time for reflection and for embedding the proposed activates in elements of the teaching syllabus. We presented the training as an opportunity to increase teaching effectiveness and enjoyment, and explained that it would help address biases that naturally occur in the environment, in the practice, and in the behaviours of all those involved in education (from the producers of materials all the way to pupils themselves).
*Background*
Discrimination stereotyping and unconscious bias affect educational outcomes through many channels (Banks et al. 2008; Campbell, 2015; Blank et al, 2016; Gilliam et al. 2016; Alesina et al 2018). Teachers' actions and beliefs can influence children’s cognitive (attainment) and socio-emotional (behaviour, character, engagement) development as well as their expectations. Research has shown that teachers’ diminished expectations of children with names associated with low socioeconomic status affect student’s cognitive performance (Figlio, 2005), that essays designated with either German or Turkish names were differently graded in schools in Germany (Sprietsma, 2009), and that the assessment of African American children’s behaviour was rated as more disruptive and inattentive by teachers from a different ethnic group (Dee, 2005). Conversely, optimistic teachers’ expectations have been found to particularly benefit the achievement of students from minorities in the US (Jussim and Harber, 2005), more gender-egalitarian teachers have been found to increase the performance and uptake of STEM by girls (Alan et al., 2018; Carlana, 2019), and generally to be able to increase the performance of pupils through positive expectations of them (Figlio, 2005; Sprietsma, 2009; Campbell, 2015; Hannah and Linden, 2012).
Teachers’ influence is both direct—through teaching, feedback, and monitoring—and indirect—through their mediating role in learning environments (Gorard, 2016; EEF, 2013; Morris and Perry, 2017). Bias has been documented in teaching materials (Blumberg, 2015) and school environments in which teachers can intervene, as well as of course in the pupils themselves. It is important to tackle stereotypes early as they emerge in early childhood (Bian et al, 2017) and exposure to bias toward one’s group affects effort, self-confidence, productivity, pupils’ performance, and field choices (Carlana, 2019; Carlana and Corno, 2021; Atewologun et al, 2018; Perry, 2017; Gilliam et al, 2016; Campbell, 2015; Devine et al, 2013; Schmader, 2010; Johns et al. 2005). Unconscious bias training (UBT) shows potential to be a very useful and relatively inexpensive tool to reduce involuntary sources of discrimination: there is evidence that UBT works for doctors (Teal et al, 2012) and that debiasing can have significant impacts (Bohnet, 2015). Yet, UBT is little used in education, despite evidence that it can affect pupil’s outcomes (Atewologun et al, 2018; Perry, 2017; Gilliam et al, 2016; Campbell, 2015; Devine et al, 2013).
*Hypotheses*
Does training teachers to detect and deal with unconscious bias lead to a better learning environment for both teachers and pupils?