Potential bias in teacher referrals to the school nurse

Education literature suggests gender, race, and socioeconomic status of students influence the quality and quantity of interactions with their teachers. Studies show that teachers favor White, male, and upper-income children. This preliminary study was conducted to determine if bias was evident in teacher referrals to the school nurse. Referrals from seven elementary schools were studied. The 117 children referred for nonroutine nursing intervention during the nine-week period were compared with 3,787 children not referred. Results showed no differences by gender, but significant differences occurred by socioeconomic status and race (p < .001). When controlling for gender and race, no differences existed between White males and African American males. However, significantly (p < .001) more African American females were referred than White females.