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IN THIS ISSUE

Front Page

Letter from the President

Notes on the Right: The Real “Unmentionable Secret”

Poll Shows Californians Think Race Discrimination Still a Problem

Unique Collaboration with Teachers’ Union Addresses Unconscious Bias in the Classroom

Dismantling the Intent Doctrine: an International View

Inequality in the Gene Age

Two New Books Focus on Rights Won and Lost

EJS Welcomes New Members; Motley Fellowship Launch

Staff/Board News & Notes

Newsletter Editors:
Elaine Elinson
Miguel Gavaldon

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Unique Collaboration with Teachers' Union Addresses Unconscious Bias in the Classroom

By David Salniker and Kimberly Thomas Rapp

"People truly opened up to a level of authentic dialogue that is not the norm among groups talking about such sensitive issues," said Dr. Shakti Butler of World Trust Educational Services, Inc. Butler, a member of the EJS-California Teachers Association planning team responsible for the groundbreaking phase of the Unconscious Bias Pilot Project, was describing the initial phase of the project that launched in Davis, Calif., last year.

The Davis Collaborative Inquiry Group (CIG) is comprised of 25 teachers, administrators, union leaders and EJS staff jointly exploring subconscious bias and its impact on the achievement gap among students of color. The ultimate goal of the project is to contribute to closing the achievement gap between Latino, Black, Asian and white students by creating equal learning opportunities, conditions and outcomes.

Dr. Butler noted that 100 percent of participants in the group said that the process has been worthwhile. As CIG facilitators, Butler and her colleague Dr. Laura Luster, noted that such unanimous positive feedback is particularly outstanding since several participants had previously worked in diversity programs and even as diversity trainers themselves. "Something happened that was positive and unique in the CIG process. There were radical shifts in understanding and healing of old wounds caused by racial disparities," observed Dr. Butler.

The first phase of this collaborative project, initiated with EJS by the California Teachers Association and supported by additional funding and technical assistance from the National Education Association [see previous story] was completed in January 2006 when the CIG met for a large group learning session.

"We met on the second floor of an indoor sports facility in Davis, while an ice hockey youth league was in full sway below us," recalled Butler. "Our group watched a series of highly provocative films capturing the introspective work of multiethnic groups. We then held an experimental set of discussions to examine our own bias, conscious and unconscious, that might impact the school environment," she added. Two NEA staff members, Lynn Malarz and Luis Martinez, flew in from Washington, DC to join the group for the day.

"This project would have been impossible without the participation and cooperation of teachers and administrators in the Davis Joint Unified School District," noted EJS President Eva Paterson. "The patient, thoughtful and soul-searching participation of this core group of 20 people engaged in the classrooms at Davis allowed the creation of this pilot project. We are very appreciative and grateful to all of them!"

The EJS-CTA team will now compile a comprehensive report on the project. This work is essential to EJS efforts to launch a broader, research-based attack on a legal doctrine known as the "intent doctrine." In Washington v. Davis, issued several decades ago, conservatives launched one of the first effective counter-attacks on civil rights gains of the '60s and '70s. The Supreme Court held that "intent" was a required ingredient in the plaintiff's burden of proof to show disparate treatment under the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. As a result of this precedent, it has become increasingly difficult to prove discrimination based on the use of statistical disparities alone, which has contributed to the calculated undermining of anti-discrimination laws and equal opportunity policies by conservatives during the past twenty years. [See information from our 2004 national conference on dismantling the intent doctrine.]

"While EJS' involvement in this project stems from our commitment to return to real and practical redress for unfair treatment in our society, the impetus for the project for the CTA stems from research finding that many educators, in California and across the nation, believe that poor African American and Latino students are incapable of achieving academically as well as their white and Asian American counterparts," explained Paterson

The CTA approached EJS to partner on this important project to explore these often "unconscious" attitudes about students and develop practical research to counter these racial attitudes and improve student learning. The CTA is the largest teachers union in the state, and one of the largest in the country.

"Implicit (unconscious) bias and stereotyping are gaining increasing attention as a possible explanation of unequal treatment in a number of settings including education, employment, health care and law," explained Dr. James Outtz, an industrial and organizational psychologist, who leads the research team on behalf of EJS and CTA. Outtz explained that scientists define unconscious bias as implicit attitudes, actions or judgments that are controlled by automatic evaluation without a person's awareness. Existing research shows that we all engage in a cognitive process called "categorization" to simplify and streamline how we perceive others (e.g. sex, race, or age). This process can lead to stereotype application that influences our thoughts and behaviors towards members of certain groups.

Notably, there are a number of social power relationships in our society in which the application of stereotypes may be particularly detrimental to members of racial and ethnic minority groups, the teacher-student relationship being one significant example. Existing literature indicates that teacher expectations influence teacher behavior, which in turn significantly influences student learning and achievement. Thus, in the classroom, teacher unconscious biases may negatively impact student achievement.

"While research is far from complete in this arena, the EJS-CTA team is pleased that available research also indicates that unconscious bias may be reversed once brought to a person's attention," said Paterson. During the next phase of the project, additional research will be pursued in real world contexts to inform the development of interventions to reduce or eliminate this sort of bias in the classroom and beyond."