Identity Development
Bias is a natural part of how we navigate the
world. Building awareness of our own identities
and biases will help make practices more
equitable. This session will discuss identity
development at the staff, student, family, school,
and community level; and examine practices to
build awareness of implicit bias.
Milaney Leverson
Regional Technical Assistance Coordinator
WI RtI Center
Agenda
• School and Community Identity Development
– identity development specific to practitioners and the
impact of practitioners’ cultures and experiences on
the school and classroom
• Student and Family Identity Development
– strategies to gain knowledge of the cultures and
experiences of families, students, and communities
served by the school.
• Practitioner Identity Development
• Implicit Bias
Identity Development
• Identity development work must be systemic
• This work will not occur or sustain unless staff
are provided support regarding when and how
it can best happen
School and Community Identity
• People of the community; their beliefs, values, and
expectations
• Shared experiences that shape the behaviors of
community members
• The school’s place in the community:
– Source of pride? Source of conflict?
• Connections between the school and community
agencies/organizations
• Visibility of the school at community events
Student and Family Identity
• Practitioners learning about student and family
backgrounds, cultures, and values
• Students understanding their own identity
I
n
c
r
e
a
s
e
d
Awareness of own cultural
background
+
development of self-worth =
D
e
c
r
e
a
s
e
d
4th
and
Problem behavior in
grade
African American students.
I
n
c
r
e
a
s
e
d
Academic and
behavioral outcomes
during middle school.
Smith et al., 2009;
Thomas, Townsend,
& Belgrave, 2003;
Hughes et al., 2009
A note about labels…
• When discussing national or state data, we generally use categories
defined by the Office of Management and Budget (1997)
– Ethnicity:
• Hispanic or Latino or
• Not Hispanic or Latino
– And one or more races that apply:
•
•
•
•
•
American Indian or Alaska Native
Asian
Black or African American
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
White
• These describe groups to which individuals belong, identify with, or
belong in the eyes of the community. The categories do not denote
scientific definitions of anthropological origins.
http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/reic/definitions.asp
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/fedreg_1997standards
Practitioner Identity
“Awareness of the dimensions of one’s own culture
is a prerequisite to understanding the culture of
others.”
McAllister & Irvine, 2000
“To establish meaningful connections with students
from different cultural backgrounds, research
recommends acknowledging the cultural identity of
students instead of being ‘colorblind.’”
Cartledge & Milburn, 1996;
Delpit, 1992; Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995;
Singleton & Linton, 2006; Weinstein et al., 2004
Practitioner Identity
Practitioners must examine and understand:
•
•
•
•
How and why they perceive the world the way they do
Their own comfort level with issues of race, ethnicity, and
educational and social disparities
The background from which they develop and apply their
expectations, procedures, routines, and practices
The purpose of their expectations, procedures, and practices
It is imperative that staff examine their beliefs
about what is “normal,” “appropriate,” or
“acceptable” behavior.
These notions are culturally defined and can
vary greatly from person to person, thus
providing the basis for disproportionate
correction.
Research indicates that subjective behaviors more
often result in disproportionate discipline for
students of color (e.g., defiance, disrespect).
(McIntosh, Girvan, Horner, & Smolkowski, 2014; Skiba et al., 2011)
What is implicit bias?
•
•
•
•
Unconscious, automatic
Based on stereotypes
We all have it (even those affected by it)
Generally not an indication of our beliefs and
values
• More likely to influence:
– Snap decisions
– Decisions that are ambiguous
Implicit Bias predicts the extent to
which…
• Police Officers use force when arresting African
American children as opposed to White children (Goff et
al., 2014)
• Arbitrators decide labor grievances in favor of men
over women (Girvan, Deason, & Borgida, 2014)
• Pediatricians recommend less pain medication for
African American children than White children with
identical symptoms (Sabin & Greenwald, 2012)
Implicit Bias at Work
• Attractiveness
– Real estate agents rated as more attractive sell
homes for significantly higher prices (Salter,
Mixon, & King, 2012)
• Height
– One inch of height is worth $789 per year in salary
(Judge & Cable, 2004)
Implicit Bias and Race
“the challenge is not a small number of twisted
white supremacists but something infinitely more
subtle and complex: People who believe in equality
but who act in ways that perpetuate bias and
inequality.”
Nicholas Kristof, The New York Times
What Would You Do Bike Thief Video
• Hidden cameras highlight how people respond
when different actors pretend to steal a bike
– https://youtu.be/NJEvw0bV8Ow
Misperceptions of Aggression
(Hugenberg & Bodenhausen, 2003)
• Participants were shown a series of computer
generated White and Black faces from
scowling to smiling
Misperceptions of Aggression
(Hugenberg & Bodenhausen, 2003)
– Implicit bias was not related to perceptions of
White faces
– Those with higher implicit bias perceived Black
faces as more angry
The Essence of Innocence (Phil Goff)
• Black boys as young as 10 years old were:
– More likely to be mistaken to be older than their
White peers (average overestimation: 4.5 years)
– Less likely to be perceived as innocent and more
likely to be perceived as responsible for their
actions than their White peers of the same age
Phillip Abita Goff et al., The Essence of Innocence:
Consequences of Dehumanizing Black Children, 106 Journal
of Personality and Social Psychology 526 (2014).
The Essence of Innocence: Police Interviews
• 176 police officers, mostly white males, tested on two
types of bias:
– Prejudice questionnaire (“It is likely that blacks will bring
violence to neighborhoods when they move in.”)
– Dehumanization: pairing blacks and whites with large cats,
such as lions, and with apes.
• In reviewing these officers conduct records, those who
dehumanized Blacks were more likely to have used force
against a Black child in custody.
• Only dehumanization, and not police officers’ prejudice
against Blacks, was linked to violent encounters with
Black children.
The Essence of Innocence: College Students
• 264 mostly White, female undergraduate students from
large public U.S. universities
• Rating the innocence of people (infants to age 25):
–
–
Children up to 9 years old judged equally innocent
Black children were considered significantly less innocent
than other children at every age group beginning at age 10
• Shown photographs alongside descriptions of crimes and
asked to assess age and innocence
– Overestimated age of Blacks by an average of 4.5 years
– Found them to be more culpable than same-aged Whites
• Dehumanization and prejudice tests:
– Similar results to police interviewed
Automatic Associations
• Our brains are wired to look for patterns
• When we are forced to make quick decisions,
we use our automatic associations to respond
• Implicit stereotypes are automatic
associations that are out of conscious control
Addressing the Issue
Conditions Necessary to Neutralize
Implicit Bias
1. We must be aware of our biases
2. We must be concerned about the
consequences of our biases
3. We must know when biased responses are
most likely
4. We must have replacement behaviors to
respond in ways consistent with our values
(Devine et al., 2012)
What is a Vulnerable Decision Point?
• A specific decision that is more vulnerable to
effects of implicit bias
• Two parts:
– The person’s decision state (internal state)
– The situation
Decision States:
Resource Depletion
(Girvan et al., 2014)
• As we become fatigued, our filters for
appropriate behavior can be affected
• Effects of hunger (Gailliot et al., 2009)
• Decreases in willpower later in day
– “The Morning Morality Effect” (Kouchaki & Smith, 2014)
– Examples…
Situations:
Options for Identifying VDPs
• Levels of specificity:
1. All ODR/suspension decisions
(general
self-instruction routine)
2. Identify VDPs through national data
3. Use school or district data
National SWIS Data
(2011-12)
3,026,367 ODRs
6,269 schools
47 states, plus DC
Office Referrals by Problem Behavior
White
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
15
14
10
6
5
4
2
3
1
6
4
2
1
2
1
Black
25
21
20
15
5
0
11
9
10
5
7
5
1
3
1
1
2
3
3
3
1
Office Referrals by Location
70
56
60
50
40
30
Black
20
White
5
5
1
0
9
7
10
2
0
1
0
3
1
0
1
1
3
2
0
0
0
1
0
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VDPs from national ODR data
• Subjective problem behavior
– Disruption, defiance, major vs. minor
• Non-classroom areas
– Hallways
• Afternoons
Behavioral Expectations
Behavior Definitions
• Research indicates that subjective behaviors
more often result in disproportionate
discipline for students of color (e.g., defiance,
disrespect)
McIntosh, Girvan, Horner, & Smolkowski, 2014 Skiba
et al., 2011
Problem Behavior Definitions
A Unidimensional View of Bias
Racial Bias
Disproportionate
Discipline
Multidimensional View of Bias
Disproportionate
Discipline
Racial Bias
Situation
Vulnerable Decision Points
Subjective Behavior
Hunger
Vague Discipline System
Fatigue
Common Areas
Unfamiliar with Student
Addressing Common Questions
“Isn't it all really about
poverty?”
• Poverty plays a role, but racial
disproportionality remains, even when
controlling for poverty
– American Psychological Association, 2008
– Skiba et al., 2005
– Wallace et al., 2008
Addressing Common Questions
“Aren’t Black boys just
more violent?”
• No evidence of different base rates of
behavior for any subgroups
– Bradshaw et al., 2010
– Losen & Skiba, 2010
– Skiba et al., in press
Addressing Common Questions
“Are you saying that all
teachers are racist?”
• No! Our research indicates that
disproportionality comes from unconscious
bias – that we’re not even aware of.
– Banaji & Greenwald, 2013
– Greenwald & Pettigrew, 2014
– van den Bergh et al., 2010
Two-step Neutralizing Routine for
Staff:
When you see problem behavior, stop and ask
yourself:
1. Is this a VDP?
– Situation
– Decision state
2. If so, use an agreed-upon alternative
response
Neutralizing Routines for Reducing
Effects of Implicit Bias
Self-assessment
“Is this a vulnerable
decision point?”
Setting event
Lack of
positive
interactions
with student
Fatigue
Antecedent
Loud
complaints
about work
(subjective
behavior)
Behavior
Consequence
Send
student to
office
(ODR)
Student
leaves class
(Escape social
interaction)
Alternative
Response
“See me after class.”
What makes for a good neutralizing
routine?
•
•
•
•
Brief
If-then statements
Clear steps
Doable
What makes for a good alternative
response?
• Delay
– “See me after class”
• Pause
– Think it through before sending to office
• Use least exclusionary choice
– Delayed ODR
• Speak with student
– State your confidence in them
– Ask about their needs privately
Neutralizing Routine Examples
• “If this is a VDP, am I acting in line with my
values?”
• “If defiance, keep in class”
• “If I am tired, delay decision until I can think
clearly”
Neutralizing Routine Examples
• If this is a VDP…,
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
“See me after class/at the next break”
am I acting in line with my values?
take two deep breaths
recognize my upset feelings and let them go
picture this student as a future doctor/lawyer
model taking think time
delay decision until I can think clearly
ask the student to reflect on their feelings/behavior
know that’s Rock Head talking to me
“I love you, but that behavior is not ok”
Two-step Neutralizing Routine for
Staff:
Can also be used as pre-correction
1. Am I about to enter a VDP?
2. What are my values?
3. When I see problem behavior, I’ll use the
alternative response
Two-step Neutralizing Routine for
Administrators:
(Susan Barrett)
When you have to handle problem behavior, stop
and tell yourself:
1. Don’t just do something, stand there!
– Be sure you are ready to act in line with values
– Get information from student and staff
– Assess student-teacher relationship
2. Whenever possible, use an agreed-upon
instructional response
– Teaches missing skills
– Connects student to school and staff
The Restorative Chat
(Alton School District, Alton, IL)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Tell me what happened.
What you were thinking at the time?
What do you think about it now?
Who did this affect?
What do you need to do about it?
How can we make sure this doesn't happen
again?
7. What I can do to help you?
Validate – Affirm – Build – Bridge
Validate –
Build –
To make legitimate that
which the institution (academia)
and mainstream has made
illegitimate.
Making the connections
between the home culture and
language with the school culture
and language through instructional
strategy and activity.
Affirm –
Bridge –
To make positive that which
the institution (academia) and
mainstream media has made
negative.
Giving opportunities for
situational appropriateness or the
utilization of the appropriate
cultural or linguistic behavior.
VABB
Professional Development
1. Use data to identify:
– The extent of the problem
– Vulnerable Decision Points (VDPs)
2. Teach and practice:
– Implicit bias
– VDPs
– Neutralizing routines
3. Follow up:
– Ongoing coaching
– Monitor progress with data
Shooter Task: Experiment about Implicit Stereotypes
http://www.csun.edu/~dma/FPST/consent.html
• Implicit stereotypes are automatic associations
that are out of conscious control
• Shown pictures of Black and White men and
asked to indicate if armed or unarmed
• Research finds that the race of the person
influences performance on the task even though
race is not relevant to the task (Correll, Park,
Judd, & Wittenbrink, 2002).
– Researchers have found that people tend to be faster
to shoot an armed target (in the experiment) if he is
Black than if he is White
Implicit Association Test (IAT)
https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/
• Measures attitudes and beliefs that people may
be unwilling or unable to report
• May be especially interesting if it shows an
implicit attitude that the participant did not know
about
– For example, you may believe that women and men
should be equally associated with science, but your
automatic associations could show that you (like many
others) associate men with science more than you
associate women with science.
Questions or Comments