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  • Wellesley Public Schools: Seven Forms of Bias in Instructional Materials

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    Mary Margaret Olohan
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    This document outlines seven forms of bias that may be present in instructional materials: invisibility, stereotyping, imbalance and selectivity, unreality, fragmentation and isolation, linguistic bias, and cosmetic bias. For each form of bias, examples are provided. The document provides questions for teachers to consider to identify potential biases in their instructional materials and how they will address any biases found with students. Teachers are expected to review materials for generalizations lacking intellectual merit based on protected attributes and address identified biases with students.

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    Wellesley Public Schools: Seven Forms of Bias in Instructional Materials

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    This document outlines seven forms of bias that may be present in instructional materials: invisibility, stereotyping, imbalance and selectivity, unreality, fragmentation and isolation, linguistic bias, and cosmetic bias. For each form of bias, examples are provided. The document provides questions for teachers to consider to identify potential biases in their instructional materials and how they will address any biases found with students. Teachers are expected to review materials for generalizations lacking intellectual merit based on protected attributes and address identified biases with students.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    618 views4 pages

    Wellesley Public Schools: Seven Forms of Bias in Instructional Materials

    Uploaded by

    Mary Margaret Olohan
    This document outlines seven forms of bias that may be present in instructional materials: invisibility, stereotyping, imbalance and selectivity, unreality, fragmentation and isolation, linguistic bias, and cosmetic bias. For each form of bias, examples are provided. The document provides questions for teachers to consider to identify potential biases in their instructional materials and how they will address any biases found with students. Teachers are expected to review materials for generalizations lacking intellectual merit based on protected attributes and address identified biases with students.

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    of 4

    DIRECTIONS: Read the Seven Forms of Bias* described below and use the “Questions to Consider” and “BIAS”

    prompts that follow to screen the instructional material(s) you plan to use in your teaching. If/when any form of bias is
    present in the instructional material(s), please provide how you will address this issue in your teaching.

    1 INVISIBILITY - What You Don’t See Makes a Lasting Impression


    The most fundamental and oldest form of bias in instructional materials is the complete or relative exclusion of a
    group. Textbooks published prior to the 1960s largely omitted African Americans, Latinos, and Asian Americans from
    both the narrative and illustrations. Many of today’s textbooks and teacher created materials are improved, but far
    from perfect. When groups are excluded from materials, students’ knowledge is left to general knowledge, chance,
    and stereotypes. For example, people from the following groups are often missing:
    ➤ Women
    ➤ Individuals with disabilities
    ➤ People from the LGBTQ+ community
    ➤ Members of Native American communities
    ➤ People from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds

    Questions to Who is represented in these materials?


    Consider: Who is missing?

    BIAS: If yes, how will you address this bias in your teaching?
    Yes or No? How will you address this bias with students?

    2 STEREOTYPING - Shortcuts to Bigotry


    Perhaps the most familiar form of bias is the stereotype, which assigns a rigid set of characteristics to all members of a
    group, at the cost of individual attributes and differences. Stereotypes are often negative, and even when they seem
    positive, they can be problematic and harmful. Some typical stereotypes include, but are not limited to:
    ➤ Men portrayed as assertive and successful in their professions, but rarely discussed as husbands or
    fathers
    ➤ Women as caregivers
    ➤ Jewish persons as wealthy
    ➤ Asian American students as doing well in Math and Science
    ➤ Most, if not all, students of color as socioeconomically disadvantaged

    Questions to
    Are stereotypes present in these materials?
    Consider:

    BIAS: If yes, how will you address this bias in your teaching?
    Yes or No? How will you address this bias with students?
    TEACHER CHECKLIST: SEVEN FORMS OF BIAS TO CONSIDER 2

    3 IMBALANCE & SELECTIVITY - A Tale Half Told


    Curriculum may perpetuate bias by presenting only one interpretation of an issue, situation, or group of people. Such
    accounts simplify and distort complex issues by omitting other key pieces of information/perspectives. For example:
    ➤ A text reports that women were "given" the vote, but does not discuss the work, sacrifices, and even
    physical abuse suffered by the leaders of the suffrage movement that "won" the vote
    ➤ Literature is drawn primarily from western, male authors
    ➤ Math and science courses typically reference European discoveries and formulas
    ➤ Assessment questions that depend on a student’s familiarity with a specific culture or tradition

    Are multiple perspectives or multiple sides of an issue included in these materials?


    Questions to
    If not, which group(s) perspectives are presented in these materials?
    Consider:
    Which group(s) perspectives are missing?

    If yes, how will you address this bias in your teaching?


    BIAS:
    Yes or No? How will you address this bias with students?

    4 UNREALITY - Rose Colored Glasses


    Many researchers have noted the tendency of instructional materials to gloss over unpleasant facts and events in our
    history. By ignoring prejudice, racism, discrimination, exploitation, oppression, sexism, and inter-group conflict, we
    deny students the information they need to recognize, understand, and perhaps some day conquer societal problems.
    Examples include:
    ➤ Because of affirmative action programs, people of color and women now enjoy economic and political
    equality with (or superiority over) white males
    ➤ Because of desegregation, all students have equal access to a quality public education
    ➤ Because of the legalization of same-sex marriage, the LGBTQ+ community no longer faces bias and
    discrimination

    How do these materials address unpleasant facts and events in our history?
    Questions to
    Are they recognized or “glossed over”?
    Consider:
    How do we factor authors’ imperfect personal lives into the discussion of their work?

    If yes, how will you address this bias in your teaching?


    BIAS:
    Yes or No? How will you address this bias with students?

    OFFICE OF TEACHING AND LEARNING UPDATED MAY 2019


    TEACHER CHECKLIST: SEVEN FORMS OF BIAS TO CONSIDER 3

    5 FRAGMENTATION & ISOLATION - The Parts Are Less than the Whole
    Did you ever notice a "special" chapter or insert appearing in a text? Fragmentation emerges when a group is
    physically or visually isolated in the text. Often, racial and ethnic group members are inaccurately depicted as
    interacting with persons like themselves, isolated from other cultural communities. Fragmentation and isolation
    present non-dominant groups as peripheral members of society. For example:
    ➤ A chapter on "Bootleggers, Suffragettes, and Other Diversions"
    ➤ A box describing "Ten Black Achievers in Science"
    ➤ When Black History Month is the only time/place when African American culture, history, achievements,
    etc. are taught or considered
    Are groups physically or visually isolated in these materials?

    Questions to Are racial or ethnic groups accurately or inaccurately depicted as interacting with persons like
    themselves?
    Consider:
    Are the achievements of certain groups treated in such a way that their value is undermined or their
    presence within the group is rare?

    If yes, how will you address this bias in your teaching?


    BIAS:
    Yes or No? How will you address this bias with students?

    6 LINGUISTIC BIAS - Words Count


    Language can be a powerful conveyor of bias, in both blatant and subtle forms. Linguistic bias can impact
    race/ethnicity, gender, accents, age, (dis)ability and sexual orientation. Examples include:
    ➤ Native Americans described as "roaming," "wandering," or "roving“ across the land. Such language
    implicitly justifies the seizure of Native lands by "more goal-directed" white Americans who "traveled" or
    "settled“ their way westward
    ➤ The use of such words as 'normal' and 'regular,' which when used to refer to one person or way of life as
    opposed to another perpetuates hegemony
    ➤ Such words as forefathers, mankind, and businessman serve to deny the contributions (even the
    existence) of females
    ➤ The use of idioms not commonly known to English Language Learners (EL students), such as “wearing
    your heart on your sleeve”

    Are there subtle or blatant forms of linguistic bias?


    Questions to
    Who is applying labels to groups?
    Consider:
    Does the text use labels that the group in question has embraced or has the text attributed a label?

    If yes, how will you address this bias in your teaching?


    BIAS:
    Yes or No? How will you address this bias with students?

    OFFICE OF TEACHING AND LEARNING UPDATED MAY 2019


    TEACHER CHECKLIST: SEVEN FORMS OF BIAS TO CONSIDER 4

    7 COSMETIC BIAS - “Shiny” Covers


    This bias is an "illusion of equity” that suggests that a text is bias free. Beyond the attractive covers, photos, or
    posters, bias persists. This is a marketing strategy to give a favorable impression to potential purchasers who only flip
    the pages of books. Examples include:
    ➤ A science textbook that features a glossy pullout of female scientists but includes very little narrative of
    the scientific contributions of women
    ➤ A music book with an eye-catching, multiethnic cover that projects a world of diverse songs and
    symphonies but in actuality contains largely traditional white male composers
    ➤ A work of literature that advertises diverse characters but in actuality presents individual characters who
    are each stereotypes of certain cultures

    Questions to Is there genuine equity within these materials?


    Consider: Is there an “illusion of equity”?

    BIAS: If yes, how will you address this bias in your teaching?
    Yes or No? How will you address this bias with students?

    *These forms of bias are taken from the work of the The Myra Sadker Foundation; “Seven Forms of
    Bias in Instructional Materials.”

    Wellesley Public Schools expects all teachers to review educational materials for simplistic and
    demeaning generalizations lacking intellectual merit on the basis of race, color, sex, gender identity,
    religion, national origin, and sexual orientation. If/when biases or stereotypes are depicted in
    educational materials, educators address these with students using age-appropriate activities and
    discussions to provide balance, context, and/or clarity.

    -Wellesley Public School Committee Policy - IGA


    - Legal Refs: M.G.L. 69:1E
    - 603 CMR 26.05 (Access to Educational Opportunity)

    OFFICE OF TEACHING AND LEARNING UPDATED MAY 2019

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