A further look into ethnicity: The impact of stereotypical expectations on teachers’ judgments of female ethnic minority students

Abstract

Teachers’ stereotypes may be one factor that contributes to the disadvantages ethnic minority students experience in school. According to dual-process theories, teachers have two strategies that they can apply to derive judgments of students. Teachers’ judgments are based on stereotypes when the information they have about students is consistent with teachers’ expectations, whereas teachers make judgments on a more individualized basis when their expectations are not supported by student information. We experimentally investigated this hypothesis with regard to teachers’ judgments of female ethnic minority and majority students. Teachers were presented with one of four different descriptions of a female student. The below average student was described as low performing, and the above average student represented an easy-to-teach student with high academic achievement. The two student descriptions were compiled for both an ethnic minority student and an ethnic majority student. Results showed that teachers judged the ethnic minority female student less favorably but only when comparing the below average students. The above average female ethnic minority student was judged more favorably than the above average ethnic majority student. Results are discussed with respect to the conditions that might result in advantages or in disadvantages for female ethnic minority students and their implications for future research.