Bias in the Science Classroom

Abstract

The average citizen views science as being basically free from bias. Science has an image of objectivity and is presumed to be clear of the subjective values of other fields such as literature or the arts. One study of academic attitudes toward bias in teaching of non-natural science areas such as history or economics revealed that, although bias was present and recognized in many classrooms, there was a general feeling among the faculty that it was up to the student to sort out his own feelings and to seek other ideas to balance those of the biased classroom (Parsons 1980). We believe that the objective image which people hold concerning natural science may be a misleading one and the unbiased classroom experiences are as difficult to achieve and unlikely to occur in natural science as in other academic fields. In this essay we are using the term bias to mean an inclination of the scientist's temperament or outlook which colors the way the world is viewed. A part of this bias of outlook may be due to the limitations of knowledge of science -both personal limitations and limitations imposed by general human lack of knowledge in certain areas. In dealing with bias in the natural science classroom, we perceive the following questions to be of major interest: 1. Is there bias in the view of reality that is generated by the natural sciences? 2. Natural science exists within a societal context. Can this create bias in the development of new scientific knowledge? 3. Do scientists and teachers of natural science bring bias to their work? 4. Should a scientific theory such as evolution be asked to share equal time with other, non-scientific explanations such as those generated within the fields of art, literature, and religion?