Toward Deeper Unconscious Racial Bias Work in Education

Area of Science:

• Education
• Sociology
• Psychology

Background:

• Unconscious racial bias (URB) is a significant concern in educational equity, yet research on its mitigation in Canadian schools is limited.
• Current approaches often fail to connect individual biases with systemic racism and white supremacy.
• There's a gap in engaging critical race theory (CRT) and anti-colonial scholarship with URB work in education.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of critical anti-racism texts on teachers' understanding of URB.
• To explore how these texts influence teachers' professional practices and ability to address racial injustice.
• To bridge the gap between social psychology's URB interventions and critical scholarship.

Main Methods:

• A 10-month study involving secondary teachers in Toronto, Canada.
• Participants engaged in URB mitigation strategies and read/reflected on selected critical anti-racism texts.
• Data collected through surveys, journaling, questionnaires, and interviews.

Main Results:

• Reading critical texts enhanced teachers' understanding of race and racism.
• Teachers showed increased inclination and ability to address race and anti-racism.
• Critical reflection extended to both professional and personal spheres, addressing ingrained biases.

Conclusions:

• Critical anti-racism texts are effective in deepening teachers' awareness and practice regarding racial justice.
• A combination of social psychology interventions and critical scholarship offers a powerful approach to anti-racism in education.
• This study highlights the complementarity of different approaches for meaningful change.