Unconscious Bias: Invisible influences of Unseen Barriers

Unconscious bias, commonly called Implicit bias, in the school ecosystem, happens when we unintentionally judge or make decisions quickly about a student, groups of students, or situations based on our pre-existing information, ingrained beliefs, and presumptions. It is often manifested as the immediate feelings or thoughts the educators experience upon meeting their students. Humans possess an inherent propensity to delineate individuals into social classifications based on their outward appearance, gender, ethnicity, body size, familial heritage, socio-economic status, etc.

As a cat silently enters a room, so does unconscious bias creep unnoticed into the classroom, subtly shaping interactions and decisions. Teacher’s unconscious biases include assumptions, opinions, or attitudes toward certain groups creating judgements that are far from the facts, resulting in varying and inconsistent treatment of students. For instance, when a new teacher steps into a classroom carrying preconceived notions borrowed from co-teachers about certain students, these biases can sometimes result in favouritism or neglect in their interactions and assessments. 

SCIENTIFIC FACTOR

Stress and unconscious bias both work automatically in the brain. When stress occurs, the body activates the HPA axis and releases cortisol to prepare for action. Similarly, unconscious bias acts as a mental shortcut, allowing quick judgments about people and situations, without conscious thought. Both are automatic and deeply ingrained in our neural pathways..

Stress can increase unconscious bias by affecting the prefrontal cortex, which controls rational thinking, and boosting the amygdala, which handles emotions and quick reactions. Both stress and bias have evolutionary origins: stress helped humans respond to immediate threats, and bias helped assess danger quickly. However, in today's world, these instincts can lead to overgeneralization and bias.

In high-pressure scenarios, elevated cortisol levels and unconscious bias can combine to produce less equitable decisions, as individuals resort to instinctive reactions over deliberate, thoughtful evaluations.

Ingroup and Outgroup

As social animals, we tend to have groups in the school’s ecosystem based on similar values, or experiences; a phenomenon known as social categorization. This creates two distinct groups: the ingroup and outgroup, which play a crucial role in shaping unconscious biases.

An ingroup consists of individuals sharing similar actions, dispositions, and ethnocentrism. In schools, ingroups may form based on factors like teachers' age, ethnicity, religion, cultural or political views, or the subjects they teach. Ingrouping often leads to preferential behaviour towards members of the same group and microaggression towards outgroups.

Outgroup in schools refers to contingents who do not identify with a specific group or feel disconnected from it. They are viewed as "outsiders" by in-group students or teachers, either due to differences in interests, backgrounds, or lack of shared identity. This division can have social, emotional, and psychological implications for all three major stakeholders in the educational environment: the teachers, the students, and the parents of the school.

Outgroup students are perceived as homogeneous, and as having more negative qualities. This is referred to as the homogeneity bias. This more often than not may be seen in the case of children with special needs who are likely to be ignored by their peers.

Implications of Unconscious bias

A profound negative effect can be seen in the students who experience these biases. Common stereotyped comments by the teachers like “Indisciplined students like you will not be promoted to the next class”, “Your elder sibling is quite intelligent and sincere, why can’t you be more like him/her”, “Don’t ask silly questions”, etc. These types of biased and demeaning comments can have deep psychological effects on a student. They harm students' learning by creating a negative dynamic, which affects both the student's and the teacher's performance and contribution. The educators may be narrow-minded towards a single trait of the students and ignore the uniqueness that each individual can bring to the educational framework. Thus, unconscious bias consciously results in preferential treatment and non-uniform disciplinary actions.

Countering Unconscious Bias 

Daniel Harris says ‘The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.’ The school is the perfect vehicle that will help students traverse this journey from mirrors to windows.

a)  Accept and acknowledge the bias -

i) Be self-aware -"Unconscious bias is not a character flaw; it’s a human trait”. Awareness and acceptance about our biases is the first step toward change."

ii) Admit mistakes to yourself: Mistakes are precious life lessons that we learn the hard way. So be honest with yourself and resort to self-monitoring to identify prejudices.

ii) Take responsibility for the pre-existing bias: Taking responsibility gives you the power to transform your life. Make conscious effort to mitigate thought processes and self-monitor biases.

iv) Press reset - Roy Bennet has advised ‘Change begins at the end of your comfort zone’. Hence be ready to press an emotional reset that will release all the negative emotions stored in your body giving you the ability to surrender our biases.

b) Extend your comfort zone 

i) Make an effort to know more about people around you: Each person is unique and special. The only hindrance is our inability to capture their true essence. Take the time to get to know everybody around you including colleagues and students.

ii) Develop empathy: It is said that “The highest form of knowledge is Empathy”. Just the way knowledge can be developed over a period of time so is the case with Empathy. It is the emotion that is most important for civilization.

iii) Motivate open empathetic dialogue- Educators need to follow the principle of openness which will help them create an environment where diverse perspectives are valued. This openness allows students who see the world differently to share their unique insights, fostering understanding and collaboration.

iv)  Little change - Big result: Small changes are easiest to maintain to create momentum in the right direction. Consciously do at least one thing differently every day and add one more each day till the positive change that you have made becomes a habit. 

c) Changes in learning environment:

The highly dynamic and ever changing learning environment demands constant and consistent recalibrations. To minimize the effect of the unconscious bias the following steps can be followed:

i) Recalibrate the curriculum especially for the smaller classes: The concept of unconscious bias can be indirectly introduced to the children through day-to-day learning experiences through which young minds can be moulded to be more open and empathetic. Example: Various cross-group activities can be conducted in class which highlight inclusive education. 

ii) Create experiences that celebrate diversity and all-round inclusion: Inculcating an understanding of diversity and inclusion in the students will help them understand cultural differences to create well-rounded global citizens who can eventually contribute to a positive and accepting society.

d) Peer support and Peer learning:

Peer learning is a collaborative learning method where peers act as facilitators to improve the teaching learning experiences.

i) Seek feedback from colleagues and superiors- Feedback can help uncover personal biases that might go unnoticed. Colleagues and superiors can provide insights into behaviours or decisions that may be influenced by unconscious bias.

ii) Give honest feedback- Honest and constructive feedback helps peers recognize how their biases may be influencing their actions, ensuring more equitable practices in the classroom and school.

iii) Collaborate with others- Collaboration among staff exposes educators to diverse perspectives and practices, helping them recognize and overcome biases.

Steps to be taken by leaders to guard against Unconscious bias

In response to the demands of the hour, we have to redefine ourselves as inclusive leaders

i) Prospective candidates should take the Implicit Association test during the interview process. This is a bias testing tool used to assess various sub conscious associations of a person involving gender, sexuality, religion, political, racial etc.

ii) Create a standardised interview process to ensure a fair and objective hiring process which helps to reduce unconscious bias in the interviewer as well as the interviewee. It will also help to identify the strongest candidate instead of the most familiar one. 

iii) Auditing the interview process helps to recognise and address any issues with the hiring process in the schools. This return will help understand the strengths and weaknesses of the hiring process and make data driven decisions instead of decisions affected by unconscious bias.

iv) Frequent check-ins and regular ongoing feedback may reduce the impact of a single biased evaluation and offer a fair and thorough assessment over the stipulated period of time. 

v) Regular and constant training for teachers will help them understand students' stories, struggles, and perspectives fosters a deeper connection and enhances the learning environment. 

To scrutinise the effects of unconscious bias on teacher’s selection process, a unique approach was used in our school wherein interviewer and interviewee were separated by curtain to mitigate the visual biases. The findings were surprisingly different from traditional interview formats.

“If we’re really trying to use education as a force for positive change, then we have to be constantly shifting and challenging ourselves to see the things we do that exclude or marginalize or devalue other.”- David Wick

Unconscious bias is deeply ingrained in our perceptions and decision-making, operating subtly within the school system. From teacher expectations and student interactions to discipline practices and access to resources, these biases can create inequalities. Tracking unconscious bias requires a diversified perspective, including teacher training, critical self-reflection, and the implementation of equitable policies and practices. By fostering awareness and promoting inclusive values, we can strive to create schools where every student has the opportunity to thrive.