Examples of Stereotypes Teachers Use to Relate to Students

This research uses two different measurement operations to examine contemporary stereotypes of Asians, Blacks, and Whites held by an ethnically diverse sample of teachers. Data were drawn from a sample of 188 teachers representing over 160 schools in Southern California. Consistent with previous research, participants endorsed a "model minority" stereotype of Asians with regard to intelligence, academic striving, introversion, and rule compliance. Contrary to expectation, there was substantial congruence in the degree of uniformity and favorableness of the stereotypic traits associated with Blacks and Whites, with participants' revealing both strong positive and negative trait associations. The use of both open-ended and fixed-format measurement strategies revealed some method variation in the assessment of participants racial beliefs, with the open-ended format suggesting more complex and heterogeneous racial representations. Results are discussed in terms of methodological issues in stereotype assessment and implications for reducing the impact of racial biases in psychoeducational evaluations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

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Teachers' Stereotypes of Asian, Black, and White

Students

Doris F. Chang

New School for Social Research

Amy Demyan

Ohio University

This research uses two different measurement operations to examine con-

temporary stereotypes of Asians, Blacks, and Whites held by an ethnically

diverse sample of teachers. Data were drawn from a sample of 188 teachers

representing over 160 schools in Southern California. Consistent with pre-

vious research, participants endorsed a "model minority" stereotype of

Asians with regard to intelligence, academic striving, introversion, and rule

compliance. Contrary to expectation, there was substantial congruence in the

degree of uniformity and favorableness of the stereotypic traits associated

with Blacks and Whites, with participants' revealing both strong positive and

negative trait associations. The use of both open-ended and fixed-format

measurement strategies revealed some method variation in the assessment of

participants racial beliefs, with the open-ended format suggesting more

complex and heterogeneous racial representations. Results are discussed in

terms of methodological issues in stereotype assessment and implications for

reducing the impact of racial biases in psychoeducational evaluations.

Keywords: racial stereotypes, Asian, Black, teacher attitudes, methodology

Doris F. Chang, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the New School for

Social Research. Grounded in an interdisciplinary framework, her research and clinical

interests include diversity issues in diagnosis and intervention, ethnic minority mental health,

and mental health care in the People's Republic of China. Recent projects have focused on

Asian immigrant and ethnic minority communities in the United States, as well as urban and

rural areas of China. Dr. Chang received her PhD in clinical psychology from the University

of California, Los Angeles, and completed postdoctoral training at the Department of Social

Medicine, Harvard Medical School, in clinically relevant medical anthropology.

Amy L. Demyan, MA, MS, is a clinical psychology PhD candidate at Ohio University.

Her clinical and research interests focus on the issues confronted by international students in

need of university counseling services. Her dissertation topic incorporates telecommunica-

tions and psychotherapy common factors research and is rooted in a psychotherapy expect-

ancies framework via pro-psychotherapy public service announcements. Ms. Demyan earned

her MA in counseling psychology from Santa Clara University and her MS in clinical

psychology from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio.

School Psychology Quarterly Copyright 2007 by the American Psychological Association

2007, Vol. 22, No. 2, 91–114 1045-3830/07/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/1045-3830.22.2.91

91

Although the biological concept of race has been disputed in scientific

circles, its sociopolitical importance has been established in studies of the

educational and life experiences of minority youth (Charles & Massey,

2003). Racial stereotypes are thought to undermine minority students

because such stereotypes may influence the manner in which they are

judged or treated by others, especially teachers (Guttmann & Bar-Tal,

1982; Wineburg, 1987). A number of studies have demonstrated that

teacher expectations of student achievement and behavior may lead to

self-fulfilling prophesies as the result of differential treatment (Brophy &

Good, 1974; Jussim & Eccles, 1995; Rosenthal & Jacobson, 1968). In

addition, student awareness of stereotypes of one's group may create

internal barriers to success and achievement by raising feelings of anxiety

and self-doubt (Steele, 1997; Steele & Aronson, 1995).

An extensive body of literature reveals that teachers hold lower ex-

pectations of Black students' academic ability and performance, rate them

higher on disruptive behavior problems, provide higher rates of negative

verbal feedback, and disproportionately refer them for disciplinary action

and special education services compared to their White peers (Adams,

1978; Andrews, Wisniewski, & Mulick, 1997; Bennett, 1976; McFadden,

Marsh, Price, & Hwang, 1992; Plewis, 1997; Ross & Jackson, 1991; Shaw &

Braden, 1990; Zimmerman, Khoury, Vega, Gill, & Warheit, 1995). Al-

though some studies showed that teacher perceptions regarding academic

achievement and motivation differences between White and ethnic minor-

ity students were mostly accurate (Ashton & Esses, 1999; Madon et al.,

1998, Rubovits and Maehr (1973) found that African American students

were given comparatively less attention and ignored more often, regardless

of their academic performance or "gifted" label.

In contrast, the available research suggests that teachers view Asians as

more typically cooperative, self-controlled, eager to please, perfectionistic,

academically successful, and having fewer overall behavior problems when

compared to their White peers (Chang, Morrissey, & Koplewicz, 1995;

Chang & Sue, 2003; Feng & Cartledge, 1996; Loo & Rappaport, 1998;

Spring, Blunden, Greenberg, & Yellin, 1977; Tettegah, 1996). Together,

these traits exemplify the "model minority" stereotype of Asian Americans

Funding for this study was provided by a grant from the UCLA Institute for American

Cultures. Additional support was provided by the National Research Center on Asian

American Mental Health, which receives funding from the National Institutes of Mental

Health (RO1-47460, RO1-44331, P50 MH54623). Our thanks go to Shobha Srinivasan for

providing statistical consultation, Carol Shapiro for facilitating data collection, and Stacy

Dauster for assisting in data coding and analysis.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Doris F. Chang, Depart-

ment of Psychology, New School for Social Research, New York, NY 10003. E-mail:

changd@newschool.edu

92 Chang and Demyan

as hardworking and high achieving, a stereotype that has been used both to

praise Asian Americans and to criticize other racial minorities, especially

Blacks (Cho, 1994; Lee, 1994). The flipside of this image is that Asian

Americans are also perceived as less assertive, less expressive, and less

interpersonally effective compared to White and Black students (Bannai &

Cohen, 1985; Feng & Cartledge, 1996; Kim, 1983; Sung, 1987). These

stereotypes may explain why teachers have been found to call on Asian

American students less often than their classmates (Schneider & Lee, 1990)

and to perceive anxious and overcontrolled Asian students as normal for

their group (Chang & Sue, 2003).

Beyond the general impact that stereotypes can have on teachers'

expectations of and behavior toward minority youth, stereotypes can also

directly influence the intellectual functioning and identity development of

individual group members (Lee, 1994; Steele & Aronson, 1995). Implicit

knowledge and activation of negative racial stereotypes have been shown

to adversely affect students' performance on stereotype-relevant tasks, a

phenomenon known as stereotype threat. In a well-publicized series of

studies, Steele and Aronson (1995) examined the stereotype vulnerability

of Black students with regard to intellectual performance and academic

ability. Results showed that priming racial identity caused Black students

to underperform on a difficult standardized test relative to Whites, even

when the test was not presented as diagnostic of intellectual ability. Similar

studies have demonstrated that even positive stereotypes of a group can

constitute a threat to academic performance. Priming positive stereotypes

about Asians' mathematical skills resulted in a diminished ability to con-

centrate, which translated into significantly impaired performance on a

challenging quantitative skills test (Cheryan & Bodenhausen, 2000).

Studies such as these illustrate that the educational setting is an im-

portant arena in which to examine the impact of social stereotypes on

ethnic minority individuals (Reyna, 2000), particularly given immigration

trends and projections for minority population growth in the next decade.

One key limitation of the current research is that in the absence of

"objective" criteria, racial differences in teachers' expectations and behav-

iors of White and ethnic minority children are frequently assumed to be

indicative of prejudice stemming in part from racial stereotypes. Our

review of the literature identified only one study that directly assessed the

extent to which practicing teachers endorsed negative cultural stereotypes

of African Americans (Pigott & Cowen, 2000); a second study examined

preservice teachers' perceptions of the degree of social distance between

themselves and members of 31 different racial/ethnic groups (Martin &

Williams-Dixon, 1994).

Much of our knowledge base regarding the content of racial stereo-

types comes from predominantly White college student samples, typified

93Teachers' Racial Stereotypes

by the classic Princeton trilogy studies (Devine & Elliot, 1995; Dovidio &

Gaertner, 1986; Gilbert, 1951; Karlins, Coffman, & Walters, 1969; Katz &

Braly, 1933). Although prejudice is just as common among teacher popu-

lations as it is in the general population (King, 1991; Sleeter, 1992), sys-

tematic research is needed to test our assumptions regarding teachers'

perceptions—positive, as well as negative— of minority children and the

specific beliefs that govern their expectancies of academic potential and

other classroom competencies.

Existing research has been characterized by two methodological limita-

tions. First, studies of the nature and content of stereotypes have commonly

relied upon adjective checklist procedures that restrict the expression of

respondents' individual beliefs regarding the target group. In their critique of

the Princeton trilogy studies, Devine and Elliot (1995) further note that the

failure to update original adjective lists to reflect changes in contemporary

stereotype content may artificially inflate estimates of stereotype consistency

over time. Second, although a few recent studies have examined racial stereo-

types held by minority individuals (i.e., Bass, Tomkiewicz, Adeyemi-Bello, &

Vaicys, 2001; Rosenthal, Wong, Blalock, & Delambo, 2004), the majority of

the research continues to focus on racial stereotypes held by Whites (Hudson

& Hines-Hudson, 1999). Furthermore, the bulk of the research emphasizes

White participants' knowledge, endorsement, and influence of the Black ste-

reotype to the relative exclusion of other minority groups (i.e., Blair,

Chapleau, & Judd, 2005; Givens & Monahan, 2005; Jussim, Coleman, &

Lerch, 1987; Krueger, 1996; Levine, Carmines, & Sniderman, 1999; Plous &

Williams, 1995; Wyer, Sherman, & Stroessner, 1998).

The proposed study represents a preliminary step toward addressing

some of these shortcomings by assessing a more ethnically diverse sample

of teachers' individual beliefs and endorsement of popular cultural stereo-

types of Asian, White, and Black students.

STEREOTYPES AND THE IMPLICATIONS OF

MEASUREMENT STRATEGY

Researchers continue to disagree about the proper definition of a

stereotype. One central question is whether stereotypes are best defined as

a set of overgeneralized beliefs about a target group held by individuals, or

group consensus regarding a set of traits that are thought to be character-

istic of the target group (Gardner, Lalonde, Nero, & Young, 1988). The

bulk of stereotyping research has addressed the latter, also known as

consensual stereotypes, although strategies for assessing the extent to

which subjects subscribe to the stereotype (individual-difference measures)

94 Chang and Demyan

have also been adapted. Four key measurement approaches are commonly

cited in the literature—the checklist method (Katz & Braly, 1933), the

percentage technique (Brigham, 1971), the stereotype differential tech-

nique (Gardner, 1973), and the diagnostic ratio technique (McCauley &

Stitt, 1978).

Racial stereotypes have most often been assessed by variations of the

Katz and Braly (1933) checklist procedure, which asks respondents to

select from a predetermined list of traits, those that they feel are "typical"

of the target group. Although high levels of consistency have been found

among the adjectives commonly selected to describe Blacks, this method is

considered by contemporary psychologists to be an assessment of subjects'

knowledge of an ethnic stereotype (Devine & Elliot, 1995; Gardner, 1973).

In contrast, Gardner (1973) conceptualized stereotypes as consensual be-

liefs about the characteristics of a particular group. His stereotype differ-

ential technique, first implemented by Gardner, Wonnacott, and Taylor

(1968), requires subjects to rate ethnic groups on a series of semantic

differential scales (e.g., unambitious—ambitious, courteous—rude). Polar-

ity of ratings is assessed by using the t statistic to test for significant

difference of mean ratings from a neutral (midpoint) value. Stereotypes are

defined in terms of those attributes for there is the greatest polarization

(i.e., consensus that the attribute associated with an extreme end of the

scale is characteristic of the group).

Similarly, Brigham's (1971) percentage technique was seen as an im-

provement on the checklist strategy because it enabled researchers to

gauge the intensity of the stereotype, something that was not possible with

the checklist method. However, he disagreed with Gardner's (1973) prop-

osition that consensus was an essential component of the definition of a

stereotype. Instead, he proposed that stereotypes are overgeneralizations

made about the presence of a trait in a particular ethnic group. Using his

measurement technique, respondents are asked to consider each ethnic or

racial group and to estimate the percentage of members who possess each

of the provided stereotypical traits. According to Brigham, any extreme

percentage assigned to a trait (i.e., over 80% or under 20%) was considered

to be indicative of a stereotype, defined as an unjustified generalization

made about a social group. Those attributes for which subjects make the

most "unjustified generalizations" were thought to comprise the consen-

sual stereotype of the target group.

McCauley and Stitt (1978) argued that a ratio measure—computed by

dividing a subject's estimate of the prevalence (%) of a trait within a given

social group by his or her estimate of the trait's prevalence (%) in the

general population—was a more accurate individual difference measure of

stereotypes than the simple percentage technique. Using the diagnostic

ratio approach, a trait is considered to be stereotypic of a group if it is

95Teachers' Racial Stereotypes

perceived to be more or less common in that group compared to the

general population, regardless of the overall level of the traits perceived

occurrence in either the group or the population. In mathematical terms, a

stereotype is said to occur when the diagnostic ratio is significantly greater

or less than 1.0, with the distance from 1.0 reflecting the direction and

strength of the stereotype. An advantage of the diagnostic-ratio technique

is that any respondent can mark that the group in question does not differ

from the population in general by rating the percentage of individuals who

possess that characteristic similarly. A diagnostic ratio of 1.0 reflects no

stereotype or distinction made between a group and the general popula-

tion.

These fixed-format strategies for measuring stereotypes have histori-

cally been preferred by researchers because they are easier to implement

and analyze than open-ended or "free-response" strategies that allow

respondents to evaluate a group in their own words. However, free-

response measures provide useful information about an individual's per-

ceptions and attitudes that cannot always be inferred from fixed-format

procedures (Haddock & Zanna, 1998). Indeed, one of the most important

benefits of free-response strategies is their ability to assess whether judg-

ments assumed by the researcher to be consensual are in fact represented

among those features respondents spontaneously associate with a specific

social group. Modern-day stereotypes may differ significantly from those in

the past because of increasing exposure to ethnic and racial diversity in the

media and in daily life. Free-response measures allow for the emergence of

idiosyncratic responses that are essential for capturing the overall favor-

ability, negativity, or neutrality of respondents' evaluations of a target

group. (Like the diagnostic ratio, free-response measures do not force

stereotyping, because the same adjectives can be cited for all groups being

examined.) Subjects' responses can then be content-analyzed to determine

the attitudinal components of racial stereotypes, such as the favorability of

the trait associated with the group (Dumas, Johnson, and Lynch, 2002).

The present study examined the specific content and valence of teach-

ers' race-related stereotypes, which are believed to contribute to racial

disparities in educational outcomes. Contemporary stereotypes of Asian,

Black, and White students held by a diverse sample of teachers were

assessed using procedures designed to address methodological shortcom-

ings of prior research. Two different approaches to stereotype assessment

were applied: the diagnostic ratio approach (McCauley & Stitt, 1978) and

a free-response measure of personal beliefs. The diagnostic ratio provides

an individual-difference measure of subjects' endorsement of popular cul-

tural stereotypes (both positive and negative) of Asian, Black, and White

group members. In contrast, the free-response task provides an estimate of

group consensus regarding the traits most commonly associated with the

96 Chang and Demyan

target group. These two approaches were selected because unlike popular

checklist methods (i.e., Katz & Braley, 1933), they do not inadvertently

force subjects to stereotype target groups, nor do they confuse the mea-

surement of stereotype knowledge with stereotypic beliefs. Finally, the role

of teacher race and the interaction between teacher race and student race

on endorsement of racial stereotypes was examined.

METHOD

Participants

Data for the present study were collected following a larger vignette

study examining referral practices, perceptions of severity, and causal

attributions of various behavior problems in a diverse set of schoolchildren

(Chang & Sue, 2003). The sample consisted of 188 teachers (153 women, 33

men) recruited from three continuing education courses offered through

the University of California. With permission from the instructor, the first

author made an announcement about the study at the end of a class

meeting. Interested students were invited to stay after class and complete

the questionnaires. Participants were assured of the anonymity of their

responses and were compensated with small lunch subsidies (value $3) and

extra credit on their final exams. Individuals who did not wish to participate

were given an alternative opportunity to obtain extra credit. Of the 201

teachers who were invited, 13 declined to participate in the present study

(nine of whom did participate in the vignette study), resulting in a final

response rate of 93.5%.

Participants' mean age was 33.2 years (SD ⫽ 8.6) with ages ranging

from 21 to 60 years old. The majority of participants reported their race/

ethnicity as White or Euro American (n ⫽ 139, 73.9%); 20 (10.6%)

identified themselves as Hispanic or Latino, seven (3.7%) as African

American, five (2.7%) as Asian/Pacific Islander, 13 (6.9%) as mixed race/

multiethnic, and four (2.1%) as Other. The modal level of education was a

college degree (n ⫽ 163; 86.7%); one subject (0.5%) achieved an associ-

ate's degree and 24 (12.8%) received an advanced graduate degree. The

teachers in the sample had an average of 4.3 (SD ⫽ 5.0) years of teaching

experience; the range was from 1 to 30 years. Over half of the sample

(53.5%) was currently teaching grades K through 5, 25.7% grades 6

through 8, 15.7% grades 9 through 12, and 2.9% were substitute teaching.

97Teachers' Racial Stereotypes

Measures

Demographic Information

The following demographic information was obtained from each par-

ticipant: gender, age, ethnicity, grades taught, number of years of teaching

experience, school where currently employed, highest educational degree,

and frequency of interaction with individuals of the same and different

cultural backgrounds.

Free Response Survey of Individual Beliefs

For each racial group, individual beliefs about Asian, Black, and White

children were assessed using a free-response strategy. To assure partici-

pants of anonymity, participants were told not to put any identifying

information on their survey. The task was introduced with the following

text: "We would like to know your thoughts about [Black, Asian, White]

schoolchildren in general. Please list up to six traits that come to mind to

describe [Black, Asian, White] children." This general measurement strat-

egy has been used to assess individual, personal beliefs through the acti-

vation of cognitive representations about specific target groups (Devine,

1989).

Diagnostic Ratio Measure of Cultural Stereotypes

In order to examine participants' endorsement of popular cultural

stereotypes, they were then asked to rate the percentage of Asians, Blacks,

and Whites who possessed each of 15 stereotypic traits. The 15 traits were

drawn from Stangor, Sullivan, and Ford's (1991) study of social stereotypes

and largely corresponded to the three positive and three negative traits that

were most commonly associated with these three ethnic groups. The pos-

itive and negative cultural stereotypes evaluated in the present study were

as follows: for Whites (Industrious, Intelligent, Friendly, Stubborn, Mate-

rialistic, Selfish); for Asians (Intelligent, Industrious, Gentle, Selfish, Na-

tionalistic, Passive); and for Blacks (Athletic, Rhythmic, Sociable, Aggres-

sive, Lazy, Unintelligent). The present study replaced the original trait

"inferior" (Stangor et al., 1991) with "unintelligent" as a negative stereo-

type of Blacks because pretesting suggested that individuals were resistant

to applying the former trait to any group. Moreover, previous studies have

reported that lack of intelligence has historically been a common negative

98 Chang and Demyan

stereotype of Blacks (Devine & Elliot, 1995; Katz & Braly, 1933; cf. Steele

& Aronson, 1995). Because of the overlap in traits associated with Whites

and Asians (Industrious, Intelligent, and Selfish), a total of 15 unique traits

were presented.

The instructions for the task were as follows: "Now you will see a list

of adjectives often used to describe people or groups of people. For each

trait, you will see a scale that goes from 0% to 100%. Your task is to judge

the percentage of [Blacks, Asians, Whites] that possess each trait. Al-

though this is not a task that you will find easy to do, we urge you to

respond as best as you can. To make each judgment, circle the number on

the scale that you believe best describes the percentage of [Blacks, Asians,

Whites] that possess each trait. Please answer honestly and do not take too

long over any item." The 15 traits were then presented accompanied by a

10-point ratio scale ranging from 0% to 100%.

The final component of the survey asked individuals to judge the

percentage of people in the entire world that possess each of the 15 traits.

The inclusion of these global ratings enabled the computation of the

diagnostic ratio as the primary measure of consensual stereotyping

(McCauley & Stitt, 1978).

Procedure

Data collection for the present study occurred after participants com-

pleted a set of questionnaires in which they were asked to provide personal

demographic information and assess the severity, referability, and cause of

three different classroom behavior profiles. Each profile was represented

by a brief vignette paired with a photo of an Asian, Black, or White child.

Afterward, participants completed a four-part questionnaire for the

present study in which they were asked to consider traits that describe

Asian, Black, and White students, as well as the population in general.

Similar to the methodology used by Stangor et al. (1991), participants were

asked to consider each group one at a time in completing two descriptive

tasks. The written introduction to the task was as follows:

"We would like to know your thoughts about different groups of

schoolchildren. We will be asking you to list traits that come to mind to

describe children of different groups. You will also see a list of adjectives

often used to describe people or groups of people. We are interested in

your judgment of what percentage of a particular group may be described

using these adjectives. We are not interested in your judgment of yourself

or your friends. We would like you to base your judgment on your

knowledge of the particular group. Also we are not interested in your

99Teachers' Racial Stereotypes

judgment of what ought to be the case (i.e., whether this group ought to be

more or less hardworking). We are simply interested in your judgment

about the strength of the relationship between these personality attributes

and these different groups as you believe them to exist."

Four rating sets followed, three pertaining to Asian, Black, and White

individuals, and one pertaining to "people in the entire world." For each

reference group, participants were asked to complete the Free Response

Survey of Individual Beliefs as well as the Diagnostic Ratio Measure of

Cultural Stereotypes. The order of the rating sets was counterbalanced by

racial group; however, all participants completed the global ratings last.

Coding of Individual Beliefs

Participants listed a total of 2,612 responses and 645 unique responses in

the free-response task. Deductive, or a priori, coding of participants' descrip-

tions of Asian, Black, and White children proceeded in three stages (Weber,

1990). First, the authors compared the responses to the list of 15 cultural

stereotypes (Stangor et al., 1991) examined in the present study to evaluate

concurrent validity. Responses that corresponded to those 15 traits, including

synonyms listed in Roget's II: The New Thesaurus (Houghton Mifflin, 1995),

were grouped together. At this stage, the traits Sociable and Friendly were

combined because of their semantic overlap. When a trait listed by a partici-

pant did not correspond to an existing trait category, a new category was

created. This procedure resulted in the creation of 30 additional trait catego-

ries, for a total of 44. (The trait categories are listed in Table 1.) In the second

stage of coding, two raters (one graduate student and one undergraduate

student in psychology) independently assigned each of the 2,612 original

responses to one of the 44 categories. The coders agreed on 84.8% of the

category judgments. In the third stage of the coding process, disagreements

were resolved through group discussion with final decisions made by the first

author. Nine responses (0.3%) were ultimately omitted from the analysis due

to lack of clarity, resulting in the retention of 2603 responses.

Coding Valence of Individual Beliefs

To assess attitudinal components of individual beliefs about each racial

group, the descriptors listed by the participants were assigned valences by

using ratings reported by Dumas et al. (2002). In their study of the

"likeableness" of 884 "person-descriptive words", three groups of subjects

(N ⫽ 581, 586, and 593, respectively) were asked to rate how positively they

100 Chang and Demyan

Table 1. Frequency and Percentage of Descriptors Cited in the Free-Response Task by

Child Race

Trait category

Total N

responses

Asian

(N ⫽ 912)

Black

(N ⫽ 878)

White

(N ⫽ 822)

n (% race) n (% race) n (% race) n (% race)

Sociable/friendly

a

376 (14.4%) 56 (6.1%) 166 (18.9%) 154 (18.7%)

Industrious

a

345 (13.2%) 229 (25.1%) 40 (4.6%) 76 (9.2%)

Intelligent

a

211 (8.1%) 92 (10.1%) 55 (6.3%) 64 (7.8%)

Compliant 147 (5.6%) 92 (10.1%) 16 (1.8%) 39 (4.7%)

Introverted 137 (5.2%) 110 (12.1%) 13 (1.5%) 14 (1.7%)

Athletic

a

106 (4.1%) 2 (0.2%) 71 (8.1%) 33 (4.0%)

Disobedient 98 (3.8%) 6 (0.7%) 63 (7.2%) 29 (3.5%)

Reliable 96 (3.7%) 80 (8.8%) 9 (1.0%) 7 (0.9%)

Courteous 75 (2.9%) 39 (4.3%) 15 (1.7%) 21 (2.6%)

Active 75 (2.9%) 5 (0.5%) 47 (5.4%) 23 (2.8%)

Aggressive

a

72 (2.8%) 8 (0.9%) 44 (5.0%) 20 (2.4%)

Expressive 59 (2.3%) 4 (0.4%) 35 (4.0%) 20 (2.4%)

Academically successful 50 (1.9%) 34 (3.7%) 5 (0.6%) 11 (1.3%)

Moral 47 (1.8%) 20 (2.3%) 15 (1.7%) 12 (1.5%)

Materialistic

a

47 (1.8%) 5 (0.5%) 3 (0.3%) 39 (4.7%)

Lazy

a

45 (1.7%) 1 (0.1%) 18 (2.1%) 26 (3.2%)

Privileged 43 (1.6%) 5 (0.5%) 2 (0.2%) 36 (4.4%)

Loyal to family ties 40 (1.5%) 23 (2.5%) 12 (1.4%) 5 (0.6%)

Inquisitive 39 (1.5%) 8 (0.9%) 14 (1.6%) 17 (2.1%)

Confident 37 (1.4%) 6 (0.7%) 13 (1.5%) 18 (2.2%)

Stubborn

a

33 (1.3%) 5 (0.5%) 19 (2.2%) 9 (1.1%)

Independent 32 (1.2%) 7 (0.8%) 9 (1.0%) 16 (1.9%)

Selfish

a

31 (1.2%) 3 (0.3%) 5 (0.6%) 23 (2.8%)

Normal/average 30 (1.1%) 1 (0.1%) 7 (0.8%) 22 (2.7%)

Oppressed 30 (1.1%) 3 (0.3%) 22 (2.5%) 5 (0.6%)

Rhythmic

a

29 (1.1%) 3 (0.3%) 26 (3.0%) -

Troubled 29 (1.1%) 10 (1.1%) 16 (1.8%) 3 (0.4%)

Happy 27 (1.0%) 5 (0.5%) 9 (1.0%) 13 (1.6%)

Diverse 26 (1.0%) 4 (0.4%) 8 (0.9%) 14 (1.7%)

Appearance descriptors 23 (1.0%) 11 (1.2%) 7 (0.8%) 5 (0.6%)

Arrogant 21 (0.8%) 5 (0.5%) 9 (1.0%) 7 (0.9%)

Dysfunctional family 21 (0.8%) 5 (0.5%) 11 (1.3%) 5 (0.6%)

Ethnically identified 19 (0.7%) 6 (0.7%) 10 (1.1%) 3 (0.4%)

Nationalistic

a

16 (0.6%) 2 (0.2%) 7 (0.8%) 7 (0.9%)

Insecure 15 (0.6%) 3 (0.3%) 8 (0.9%) 4 (0.5%)

Low SES/poor 14 (0.5%) - 13 (1.5%) 1 (0.1%)

Low-Achieving 13 (0.5%) - 12 (1.4%) 1 (0.1%)

Naı¨ve 10 (0.4%) 1 (0.1%) 2 (0.2%) 7 (0.9%)

Religious 9 (0.3%) 3 (0.3%) 4 (0.5%) 2 (0.2%)

Racist 8 (0.3%) 2 (0.2%) 4 (0.5%) 2 (0.2%)

Unintelligent

a

7 (0.3%) - 5 (0.6%) 2 (0.2%)

Suspicious 6 (0.2%) 3 (0.3%) 3 (0.3%) -

Courageous 5 (0.2%) - 1 (0.1%) 4 (0.5%)

Uncoordinated 4 (0.2%) 1 (0.1%) - 3 (0.4%)

Note. Traits in bold are the fewest number required to account for 50% of the total number

of trait responses for each target group. Zero responses for a given trait category are indicated

with a dash.

a

Stereotypic traits reported in Stangor et al. (1991) assessed in the present study.

101Teachers' Racial Stereotypes

would rate someone with each personality trait using a six-point scale,

where high numbers indicated a more favorable rating. The 884 character-

istics were amassed from shorter published word lists, key synonyms and

antonyms of those words, and personality or behavior descriptors derived

from widely used personality questionnaires and behavior rating scales.

To minimize interpretive errors, only those traits in the present study

that precisely matched those in Dumas et al.'s (2002) list were retained for

this portion of the analysis (N ⫽ 1574; 60.8%). Likeableness ratings asso-

ciated with each descriptor were recorded each time that descriptor was

listed. Therefore, mean likeableness ratings reflect both the favorability of

the descriptors associated with each group, as well as the frequency with

which those descriptors were used by the sample.

Endorsement of Cultural Stereotypes: The Diagnostic Ratio

Following the procedures outlined by McCauley and Stitt (1978), the

diagnostic ratio was obtained by dividing participants' ratings of the prev-

alence of each trait within each ethnic group by the estimated prevalence

of the trait among "people in general." A stereotype is said to be present

when a diagnostic ratio is greater than or less than 1.0, and the size of the

deviation suggests the strength of the stereotype. (Because a value of 0 in

the denominator of a ratio would produce an indeterminate number, a

constant of 1.0 was added to all values before a ratio was computed.) Two

participants were dropped from these analyses because of missing data;

therefore, results are reported for a final sample of N ⫽ 186.

Analyses

A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to examine

the effects of student race on mean likeableness rating. The Bonferroni

adjustment was applied to post hoc tests, using an error rate of p ⬍ .16 (p

⫽ .05 divided by three, roughly). A one-sample t test was used to determine

whether the mean diagnostic ratios computed separately by child race for

each trait differed significantly from 1.0, applying an error rate of p ⬍ .01.

Separate 3 (child race) ⫻ 2 (teacher minority status) ANOVAs were

performed on the mean diagnostic ratios for the 15 traits. Because the

numbers of African American and Asian teachers were too small to permit

separate race comparisons, teacher race was dichotomized as White (n ⫽

139) and Ethnic Minority (n ⫽ 49). To minimize the risk of chance findings,

the Bonferroni adjustment for multiple comparisons was applied, setting

102 Chang and Demyan

the threshold for the significance of the initial tests of main effects and

interactions at p ⬍ .003 (p ⫽ .05 divided by 15). When significant main

effects or interactions were found, the Bonferroni adjustment was also

applied to post hoc tests, using an error rate of p ⬍ .001 (p ⫽ .003 divided

by 3, roughly).

RESULTS

Individual Beliefs

In the free-response task, participants listed an average of 4.85 descrip-

tive traits for Asians, 4.67 traits for Blacks, and 4.37 traits for Whites.

Responses were coded into 44 trait categories, which are presented in

Table 1. As shown, the five largest categories were Sociable (accounting for

14.4% of the total responses), Industrious/ Achievement-Oriented

(13.2%), Intelligent (8.1%), Compliant (5.6%), and Introverted (5.2%).

These five categories accounted for 46.5% of the total number of re-

sponses, suggesting high consistency in participants' responses.

Stereotype consistency may be represented by a stereotype uniformity

index, which is the smallest number of traits required to account for 50%

of the total number of trait responses (Devine & Elliot, 1995). As shown in

Table 1, four trait categories comprised 57.4% of the total number of traits

listed for Asians: Industrious (25.1%), Introverted (12.1%), Intelligent

(10.1%), and Compliant (10.1%). With regard to Blacks, 50.9% of re-

sponses were captured by six trait categories: Sociable/Friendly (18.9%),

Athletic (8.1%), Disobedient (7.2%), Intelligent (6.3%), Active (5.4%),

and Aggressive (5.0%). For Whites, seven trait categories were needed to

account for 53.5% of the traits named for the group: Sociable/Friendly

(18.7%), Industrious (9.2%), Intelligent (7.8%), Compliant (4.7%), Mate-

rialistic (4.7%), Privileged (4.4%), and Athletic (4.0%).

Valence of Individual Beliefs

Likeableness ratings were available for 579 (63.5%) of the total

descriptors listed for Asians, 447 (50.1%) of those listed for Blacks, and

441 (53.6%) of those listed for Whites. Results from the ANOVA

revealed a significant main effect of race, F(2, 1466) ⫽ 11.16, p ⬍ .0001,

for the overall favorableness of the traits cited in the free-response task

(see Table 2). Post hoc tests indicated that the traits attributed to Asians

were significantly more favorable than those attributed to Blacks or

103Teachers' Racial Stereotypes

Whites (p ⬍ .005, M ⫽ 4.49 vs. 4.24 and 4.15, respectively). There were

no significant differences in the likeableness of traits used to describe

Blacks and Whites.

Endorsement of Cultural Stereotypes: Diagnostic Ratios

Mean diagnostic ratios for each of the 15 stereotypic traits are pre-

sented by child race in Table 3. Ratios greater than 1.0 indicate that the

trait was rated as more prevalent in the target group compared to the

general population. Ratios less than 1.0 indicate that the trait was thought

to be less prevalent in the target group. When Asians were designated as

the target group, 10 traits yielded a mean diagnostic ratio significantly

different from 1.0 (all p ⬍ .01), indicating that Asians were perceived as

Table 2. Analysis of Variance for Likeableness Ratings of Traits (N ⫽ 1467) Listed by

Child Race

Source SS df MS F

Child race 31.93 2 15.97 11.16

*

Within groups 2093.81 1464 1.43

Total 2125.74 1466

*

p ⫽ .000.

Table 3. Mean Diagnostic Ratio Ratings and Main Effects of Child Race for 15 Stereotype

Traits

Trait

Asian

(n ⫽ 186)

Black

(n ⫽ 186)

White

(n ⫽ 186) F

Post-hoc tests

(p ⬍ .001)

Gentle

a

1.57

⫾

1.07 1.18

⫾

15.21

***

A⬎W, B

Intelligent

a,w

1.31

⫾

1.07

⫾

1.13

⫾

20.89

***

A⬎W, B

Industrious

a,w

1.31

⫾

0.91

⫾

1.05 37.85

***

A⬎W, B

Selfish

a,w

0.88

⫾

0.95 1.21

⫾

15.83

***

W⬎B, A

Nationalistic

a

1.41 1.35 1.23 0.03

Passive

a

1.34

⫾

0.92 1.06 17.80

***

A⬎W, B

Athletic

b

0.91

⫾

1.60

⫾

1.31

⫾

52.71

***

B⬎W⬎A

Rhythmic

b

0.93 1.54

⫾

1.03 40.16

***

B⬎W, A

Sociable

b

0.88

⫾

1.16

⫾

1.14

⫾

37.03

***

B, W⬎A

Aggressive

b

0.89

⫾

1.31

⫾

1.17

⫾

19.95

***

B, W⬎A

Lazy

b

0.69

⫾

1.16

⫾

1.21

⫾

35.09

***

B, W⬎A

Unintelligent

b

0.77

⫾

1.11

⫾

1.00 14.54

***

B, W⬎A

Friendly

w

1.06 1.14

⫾

1.13

⫾

1.80

Stubborn

w

1.04 1.23

⫾

1.18

⫾

6.76

**

B⬎A

Materialistic

w

0.98 1.00 1.23

⫾

12.59

***

W⬎A, B

Note. Mean diagnostic ratios with subscript ⫾ are significantly different from 1.0 (p ⬍ .01,

two-tailed; df ⫽ n-1). A ⫽ Asian; W ⫽ White; B ⫽ Black.

a

Stereotypic traits associated with Asians.

b

Stereotypic traits associated with Blacks.

w

Stereotypic traits associated with Whites (Stangor et al., 1991; Devine & Elliot, 1995).

**

p ⬍ .001.

***

p ⬍ .0001.

104 Chang and Demyan

differing from the general population on these dimensions. For example,

Asians were perceived as 57% more gentle, 34% more passive, and 31%

more intelligent and industrious compared to the general population. Ten

significant diagnostic ratios were also produced for the White group, indi-

cating perceptions of the group as 31% more athletic, 23% more materi-

alistic, and 21% more lazy and selfish compared to the general population,

for example. For the Black group, nine traits yielded significant diagnostic

ratios. Most notably, Blacks were viewed as 60% more athletic, 65% more

rhythmic, 31% more aggressive, and 23% more stubborn than other

groups.

As shown in Table 3, the ANOVAs revealed a significant main effect

of child race for 13 of the 15 traits. Post hoc tests provided strong evidence

that Asians, Blacks, and Whites are associated with distinct trait profiles

that are largely consistent with cultural stereotypes of these groups. A

comparison of diagnostic ratios for this group revealed that Asians were

rated as significantly different from both Blacks and Whites for 9 of the 15

traits, suggesting an overall positive stereotype of this group. Of the three

ethnic groups, Asians were considered to be the most industrious, intelli-

gent, and gentle, and the least aggressive, unintelligent, and lazy, after

controlling for participants' global ratings. However, on the negative side,

participants also rated Asians as the least athletic and sociable and the

most passive of the three races. Asians were also rated as significantly less

stubborn than Blacks and significantly less selfish and materialistic than

Whites (all p values ⬍.001).

Comparisons of diagnostic ratios for Blacks revealed significant differ-

ences from the other two races for only 2 of the 15 traits. Specifically,

Blacks were viewed as the most athletic and rhythmic compared to both

Asians and Whites. They were also seen as significantly more stubborn

than Asians, but less selfish and materialistic than Whites. It is also impor-

tant to note that Blacks were rated no different from Whites on 8 traits

(Intelligent, Gentle, Passive, Sociable, Aggressive, Lazy, Unintelligent, and

Stubborn), and no different from Asians on two traits (Selfish and Mate-

rialistic).

Mean diagnostic ratios for Whites were significantly different from the

other two groups for only two traits, both of which were negative. As

mentioned, Whites were rated as the most selfish and materialistic of the

three races (all p values ⬍.001).

A main effect of teacher race was found only for Gentle, F(1, 556) ⫽

10.65, p ⬍ .001, with minority teachers rating all children higher on this

trait compared to White teachers (M ⫽ 1.47 vs. 1.20). There were no

significant child race by teacher race interactions for any of the 15 traits.

105Teachers' Racial Stereotypes

DISCUSSION

The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate contemporary racial

stereotypes expressed by a diverse sample of teachers using two different

measurement operations. Four key findings emerged from the analysis.

First, consistent with previous research, the data suggests the existence of

a uniform and generally positive Asian stereotype that corresponds with

the model minority image of this group. Second, contrary to expectation,

there was substantial congruence in the degree of uniformity and favor-

ableness of the stereotypic traits associated with Blacks and Whites, with

participants' revealing both strong positive and negative trait associations.

Third, the collateral use of both open-ended and fixed-format measure-

ment strategies revealed some method variation in the assessment of

participants' racial beliefs, with the open-ended format suggesting more

complex and heterogeneous racial representations. Lastly, with one excep-

tion, endorsement of popular racial stereotypes did not vary by teacher

minority status.

In the free-response task, teachers expressed higher social agreement

on the characteristics associated with Asians compared to Blacks and

Whites, as evidenced by a tighter clustering of responses around a fewer

number of traits. In contrast to the range of traits associated with Blacks

and Whites, the traits most consistently associated with Asians—industri-

ous, introverted, intelligent, compliant, and reliable—suggest a largely

positive appraisal of this group. This positive appraisal was supported by

significantly higher mean likeableness ratings and the size and direction of

the diagnostic ratios. Compared to Whites and Blacks, Asians were seen as

significantly more industrious, more intelligent, gentler, more passive, less

athletic, less aggressive, less lazy, less sociable, and less unintelligent. This

pattern of ratings suggests that the teachers in this study strongly endorse

the popular stereotype of Asians as a model minority, one that is academ-

ically successful and well behaved in the classroom (Yee, 1992). However,

that Asians are also viewed as being more passive, less sociable, and less

athletic suggest that they are also perceived as being less interpersonally

effective and less physically developed then their Black and White peers.

In contrast, participants' beliefs about Blacks and Whites encompassed

a wider range of both positive and negative traits. Although many teachers

expressed a view of Blacks as disobedient, aggressive, and active (traits

which may be viewed as disruptive to the classroom environment), many

more described them as sociable/friendly, intelligent, and athletic. Both the

mean likeableness ratings and the measure of cultural stereotypes provide

further support that teachers in this sample had a more balanced percep-

tion of Blacks than the predominantly negative stereotype suggested in

106 Chang and Demyan

previous studies of college student populations (e.g., Devine & Elliot,

1995). On the one hand, the diagnostic ratios indicated that when com-

pared to Asians and Whites, Blacks were distinguished only by their

perceived athleticism and rhythmic gifts, a finding reminiscent of the

enduring stereotype of Blacks as primarily physical and intuitive, rather

than intellectual, beings. However, the lack of differentiation between

Blacks and Whites in the frequency of positive traits such as intelligence

and industriousness, as well as negative traits such as laziness, aggressive-

ness, and stubbornness, suggest an unexpected convergence in perceptions

of the two groups.

This apparent convergence in perceptions of Blacks and Whites in the

present study appears to be explained primarily by a higher endorsement

of positive traits for Blacks rather than a higher endorsement of negative

traits associated with Whites. Consistent with previous research findings

(Stangor et al., 1991), the diagnostic ratio and the free-response procedures

indicated that compared to the other two groups, Whites were perceived as

more materialistic, privileged, and selfish compared to the other two

groups. Although Whites were also described by a variety of positive traits,

those traits overlapped substantially with those used to describe other

racial groups in the study. In fact, out of 15 traits included in the cultural

stereotype measure, Whites were rated no different from Blacks on eight

traits, no different from Asians on two traits, and no different than both

groups on two traits. If Whites were considered by the participants to be

the "norm" (as mean ratings suggest), one may conclude that teachers

endorsed fewer stereotypic beliefs about Blacks than Asians, in that Blacks

were rated as no different from Whites for 66.7% of the assessed traits

(compared to 26.7% for Asians). It is difficult to determine whether this

pattern of results is because of social desirability concerns (which may be

more prominent when negative vs. positive stereotypes are under consid-

eration), an acknowledgment of the diversity within the Black population,

or greater integration of Blacks into mainstream society. A conservative

interpretation of the findings across measurement approaches is that

among teachers in this study, the Black stereotype was less consistent and

less favorable than the Asian stereotype but like the White stereotype,

reflected a more heterogeneous selection of traits that might be expected

across a sample of individual group members.

Athough there was general convergence in the pattern of results across

assessment methods, the diagnostic ratio procedure provided stronger

evidence of racial stereotyping than did the free-response procedure. This

finding raises a question about whether these two measurement ap-

proaches are capturing different dimensions of teachers' racial beliefs.

Although both approaches assessed participants' personal beliefs about

group characteristics, the diagnostic ratio approach conceptualizes stereo-

107Teachers' Racial Stereotypes

types as probabilistic predictions of the presence of a trait based on group

membership information (McCauley & Stitt, 1978). Within this framework,

perceptions of atypicality suggest a strong attitudinal and evaluative com-

ponent (Gardner et al., 1988). In comparing the individual diagnostic ratios

between racial groups, we were able to estimate participants' perceptions

of the target group's distinctiveness relative to the distinctiveness of the

other target groups on the list of stereotypic traits. This relative approach

to stereotype measurement may have allowed the emergence of stereotypic

associations that were inhibited by more direct approaches. Alternately,

exposing participants to a list of stereotypic traits may have stimulated

participants' to respond in stereotypic ways. Finally, it is important to note

that significant diagnostic ratios may not indicate the prominence of a

stereotype. For example, despite the large significant diagnostic ratio for

Blacks on the trait rhythmic, it only accounted for 3.0% of the total traits

used to describe Blacks in the free-response task.

Although the diagnostic ratio may have been more revealing of par-

ticipants' stereotypic associations and more likely to accentuate group

differences, the free-response task may be a measure of individuals' con-

scious cognitive representations of the three target groups. Thus, it is

important to first acknowledge that the free responses are more likely to

have been influenced by social desirability concerns, the stereotypic asso-

ciations resulting from the diagnostic ratio measure, and the experimental

manipulation that occurred before the present study (i.e., Chang & Sue,

2003). Although the randomization of the stimulus presentation in the both

the experimental study and the present assessment likely eliminated sys-

tematic bias in participants' race-trait associations, the simple activation of

participants' racial associations may have increased participants' motiva-

tion to counteract any negative cultural stereotypes in the free-response

task. These demands may have been exacerbated by the social context (an

academic setting) in which the data were collected and the role expecta-

tions (that of an educator) invoked by the study itself. Along these lines,

Devine (1989) has shown that low-prejudice subjects report beliefs that

deliberately contradict negative cultural stereotypes because of what their

responses imply about their prejudice-relevant self-concepts.

Thus, it is not surprising that results of the free-response task offer an

alternative image of participants' racial attitudes, one that both acknowl-

edges popular racial stereotypes while also resisting them. Although the

most frequent responses did support the endurance of certain cultural

stereotypes, a variety of nonstereotypic responses were also represented in

the data. For example, the trait "intelligent" emerged as a major descriptor

for all three groups, capturing 10.1%, 6.3%, and 7.8% of the responses for

Asian, Black, and White students, respectively. Second, some respondents

revealed an awareness of race as socially constructed and mediated by

108 Chang and Demyan

social and economic institutions that serve to maintain racial inequality.

For instance, a number of responses described Whites as privileged (4.4%),

while the corresponding figure was 0.2% for Blacks. On the other hand

2.5% of Black descriptors characterized the group as oppressed, compared

to 0.6% of the White descriptors. Third, the pattern of responses revealed

an effort on the part of some participants to resist the stereotypic impli-

cations of the task itself. Evidence of this is seen in respondents' use of

appearance descriptors (i.e., "almond eyes," "beautiful," and "light skin")

and characterizations of the groups as diverse (i.e., "all different," "plural-

istic," "variable").

These findings suggest that racial representations are exceedingly com-

plex, making their assessment especially sensitive to method variation.

Although the diagnostic ratio results indicated that the teachers in this

study distinguished between racial groups along stereotypic lines, the free-

response task revealed less consistency in their racial representations, even

as their most common responses generally conformed to popular cultural

stereotypes. Additional research is needed to determine whether the slight

positive bias in the free-response results reflects teachers' efforts to inhibit

automatically activated stereotypic congruent thoughts or whether they

reflect actual low-prejudice racial beliefs (Plant & Devine, 1998).

Nevertheless, these discrepancies suggest that subjects' cognitive rep-

resentations of Black, White, and Asian children include both automatic

stereotypic (positive and negative) associations and consciously acquired

beliefs about race that may reflect the increasing emphasis being placed on

multicultural education in teacher training curricula (Zeichner & Hoeft,

1996). Indeed, a recent survey of state teacher licensure requirements

found that 67% of respondents in the 50 states and the District of Colum-

bia required some level of diversity training in their teacher preparation

programs (Miller, Strosnider, & Dooley, 2000). For example, Middleton

(2002) described a course for preservice teachers that incorporated a

variety of classroom activities to bring unconscious diversity-related values

and beliefs into conscious awareness. Although these courses have been

shown to change teachers' racial attitudes (e.g., Tran, Young, & DiLella,

1994), systematic studies are needed to determine the effects of diversity

courses on reducing racial stereotyping and prejudice in the treatment of

diverse students.

In the present study, ethnic minority teachers did not differ from White

teachers in their endorsement of popular racial stereotypes as assessed by

the diagnostic ratio procedures. This general finding is echoed by other

studies that have also found that some ethnic minorities perceive members

of their group in equally, or more strongly stereotypic terms than do

Whites (Hudson & Hines-Hudson, 1999; Pigott & Cowen, 2000).

109Teachers' Racial Stereotypes

LIMITATIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH AND

PRACTICE

There are a number of limitations of the present study. First, the small

sample size did not permit a full design in which Asian, Black, and White

teachers indicate their racial beliefs of Asian, Black, and White children.

Second, the present study did not assess other individual difference vari-

ables that have been linked to racial beliefs and interactions with minority

group members, such as racial identity (Carter, 1990, 1995; Helms, 1990)

and racial consciousness attitudes (Rowe, Behrens, & Leach, 1995). Third,

participants were recruited using convenience sampling from continuing

education courses in Southern California, which limits the generalizability

of these findings. Fourth, the study's reliance on self-reported racial beliefs,

rather than implicit measures of racial associations (i.e., Greenwald,

McGee, & Schwartz, 1998) increases the likelihood that social desirability

influenced the results as discussed earlier. Although these concerns may

account for the slight positive bias in the racial descriptors generated in the

free-response task, they also accentuate the stereotype congruent racial

beliefs found in the present study. If teachers in the study were consciously

suppressing some of their more negative racial beliefs, the present findings

are likely to be an underestimate of their actual stereotypes of Asian,

Black, and White students. However, the ultimate indicator of stereotyping

lies in the extent to which teachers' racial beliefs result in different behav-

iors as a function of child race or ethnicity. Consistent with the racial

stereotypes expressed by the participants, the initial analogue study that

preceded the present investigation found that internalizing behaviors were

normalized when attributed to an Asian student but pathologized when

attributed to a Black or a White student (Chang & Sue, 2003). However, a

significant shortcoming of both studies is the absence of observational data

regarding participants' actual behavior toward diverse students. Future

studies should examine the extent to which teachers' personal racial beliefs

predict actual behaviors toward members of various stereotyped groups.

Despite these shortcomings, the present study is significant in that it is

one of the first to systematically assess explicit racial beliefs held by a

sample of teachers, demonstrating significant differences in the attributes

associated with Asian, Black, and White children. That racial stereotypes

exist and are associated with differing expectations for achievement and

behavior suggest that school psychologists should consider the extent to

which stereotypic beliefs are influencing teachers' referral practices and

educational evaluations. Stereotypes may contribute to achievement dis-

crepancies if they convey attributional information that impacts the way

stereotyped individuals are treated by others as well as the way that those

110 Chang and Demyan

being stereotyped perceive themselves (Reyna, 2000). Alternatively, school

psychologists may help to minimize the effects of racial biases suggested by

the present study by assessing the quality of the learning environment for

children of different social groups (Chavous, Harris, Rivas, Helaire, &

Green, 2004). Classroom observations should be incorporated as routine

part of psychoeducational evaluations in order to consider institutional, as

well as social, psychological, and biological causes of child behavior and

learning problems. Finally, raising awareness of how teachers' academic

expectancies and judgments may be influenced by popular racial stereo-

types may be an important step in dismantling the negative effects of racial

bias in educational settings (Ladson-Billings, 1995; Neito, 1992).

Beyond these implications for educational practice, the findings of this

study point to the importance of including multiple minority groups in

studies of ethnic differences in stereotypes and race-based expectancies

relevant to educational settings. The striking differences between the Asian

and Black stereotypes presented in this study call for the development of

race-specific models that take into consideration our country's complex

history of race relations and contextualize research findings in particular

life domains (i.e., educational, employment, community settings). That

positive academic stereotypes of Asians coexist with the negative political

stereotype of Asians as "perpetual foreigners" (Wu, 2002) suggest that

studies examining the consequences of racial stereotypes on social judg-

ment would benefit from an assessment of situation-specific stereotypes

that are relevant to the particular judgment task.

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... Both Kim's (1999) and Fiske and colleagues' (2002) models and subsequent works in both lineages found empirical support for the positioning of Black and Asian racial groups in their hypothesized quadrants. In regard to Kim's (1999) theory, empirical support has primarily relied on mean comparison of stereotype endorsements that generally align with the original theory (Chang & Demyan, 2007;Xu & Lee, 2013;Zou & Cheryan, 2017); for example, Xu and Lee (2013) reported on percentages of respondents from a large national survey who rated Asian racial group members as relatively high in traits such as "work ethic" and low on traits such as "patriotism," loosely supporting notions of the comparative racial valorization and civic ostracism. Recently, Zou and Cheryan (2017) empirically tested Kim's (1999) racial positioning model, describing the dimensions as inferiority (i.e., racial valorization) and foreignness (i.e., civic ostracism). ...

... In Fiske and colleagues' (2002) original paper, in addition to finding that Asian racial group members tended to be perceived as falling within the cold/competent (i.e., envied) quadrant, elderly people and housewives, as examples, were social groups that were found to be perceived as falling within the warm/incompetent (i.e., paternalistic) quadrant. A number of additional studies have supported the cold/competent characterization of Asian racial group members (Chang & Demyan, 2007;Lin et al., 2005;Zhang, 2015). ...

... While checklist approaches lend themselves to providing descriptions of social perceptions of racialized groups and the frequency of endorsement of these descriptions (Chang & Demyan, 2007;Monteith & Spicer, 2000;Neimann et al., 1994Neimann et al., , 1998, these approaches do not take into account the ways in which stereotype endorsement is continuous rather than categorical and the extent to which stereotypes are constructed in relation to multiple referent groups simultaneously. A continuous approach to stereotype endorsement recognizes that rather than categorically assigning stereotypes to racial groups, people may endorse specific stereotypes to a greater or lesser extent (Fiske et al., 2002;Gardner, 1973;Gardner et al., 1968;Gardner et al., 1988;Kervyn et al., 2013;Kruger, 1996). ...

• John Tawa

A new stereotype metric is proposed, computed as the geometric area of a triangle determined by stereotype endorsement in reference to three racialized groups (i.e., Asian, Black, and White) mapped onto a three-dimensional (i.e., body, mind, and self-interest) field. Conceptually, this measure determines the extent to which these racial groups are triangulated in relation to one another; operationally, this is represented by greater distances between vertices in the three-dimensional field. Among a sample of Asian (n = 64), Black (n = 73), and White (n = 165) adults, regression analyses partially supported predictions that the triangulation-based metric would be a stronger predictor of prejudice than single-group referenced stereotypes. Mediation analyses supported the theoretical perspective that triangulation relates to prejudice because people who simultaneously endorse stereotypes of Black and Asian people at extreme ends of bipolar continuums have relatively fixed views about the nature of race (i.e., racial essentialism).

... Moreover, teachers' interpretations of and responses to behaviors from students tend to differ as a function of student race. For example, teachers tend to describe behaviors of African American students as more aggressive, defiant, and problematic than similar behaviors of Asian and White students (Bates & Glick, 2013;Chang & Demyan, 2007;Yates & Marcelo, 2014). Although the research suggests consistent patterns in how teachers interpret the behaviors of their relationships with students from different racial backgrounds, there is also literature that demonstrates that misalignment in the racial backgrounds of students and teachers can negatively impact those reports (Hughes & Kwok, 2007;Murray, Murray, & Waas, 2008;Saft & Pianta, 2001). ...

... It is theorized that the manner in which teachers relate to and treat their students may reflect broader socialization patterns and stereotypes, where girls are expected to be model students and demonstrate more compliant and desirable classroom-based behaviors (e.g., following directions, paying attention; Ewing & Taylor, 2009;Koch, 2003;McCormick & O'Connor, 2015), and White and Asian students are expected to be more compliant and less aggressive than their African American peers (Bates & Glick, 2013;Chang & Demyan, 2007;Yates & Marcelo, 2014). Stereotypes about groups of individuals commonly guides teachers' responses to students from these groups, which may in turn reinforce those stereotypes and ultimately lead to self-fulfilling prophecies (Aronson, 2002;Osborne, Tillman, & Holland, 2010;Reyna, 2000). ...

... Similarly, racial and ethnic socialization occurs when teachers maintain race-oriented expectations for their students' behaviors that then influence how teachers interpret and react to behaviors of students from different racial backgrounds (Neal, McCray, Webb-Johnson, & Bridgest, 2003;Spencer, 1999;Thomas, Coard, Stevenson, Bentley, & Zamel, 2009). Whereas some researchers have brought attention to the stereotypes that teachers maintain about students from different racial groups (e.g., Chang & Demyan, 2007), others have highlighted the impacts that these race-oriented behavioral expectations have had on teachers' perceptions of relationship quality with students. For example, expressive and argumentative behaviors are often considered more conflictual and oppositional when coming from African American students as compared to Asian and White students (Bates & Glick, 2013;Yates & Marcelo, 2014). ...

Prior literature has suggested that teachers who are confident in their abilities to teach, assess, and manage classroom behavior may be more likely to engage in practices that lead to supportive and secure relationships with students. The current study investigated the trajectories of teacher-student relationships, examining the extent that teacher self-efficacy beliefs predicted ratings of conflict and closeness for 885 students from second to sixth grade. The trends of teacher-student closeness and conflict were modeled using a parallel curve of factors approach, controlling for student demographics and teacher-student racial and gender alignment prior to examining the extent that teacher self-efficacy beliefs influenced closeness and conflict across grades. Results from the parallel trajectories suggested that teacher-student conflict was stable from second to sixth grade, whereas teacher-student closeness demonstrated a declining curvilinear trend. The relationship between teacher-student conflict and closeness suggests that students with relatively high levels of conflict in second grade were likely to exhibit sharper declines in closeness over time. Across grades, teachers rated closer and less conflictual relationships with females but after controlling for gender and race (β = .083 to .328 for closeness; β = -.118 to -.238 for conflict), teacher-student racial and gender alignment associations with teacher-student relationship quality were less consistent. Teachers who reported higher self-efficacy beliefs were more likely to report higher ratings of closeness and lower ratings of conflict with students across all grades (β = .195 to .280 for closeness; β = -.053 to -.097 for conflict). These findings contribute to the literature regarding the role of teacher self-efficacy in teacher-student relationships. We discuss how teacher self-efficacy beliefs can be developed and leveraged to improve relationship quality in the classroom from a social cognitive perspective.

... Students from diverse ethnic backgrounds may experience added complexity in making friends due to prejudice, discrimination, and stereotyping (Pettigrew 1998). In particular, Asian American youth experience a unique form of stereotyping: the "model minority" stereotype paints them as industrious, intelligent, compliant, and quiet (Chang and Demyan 2007). Exposure to model minority stereotyping has shown mixed associations with developmental outcomes, including academic (e.g., Thompson and Kiang 2010) and psychological adjustment (e.g., Atkin et al. 2018). ...

... While school staff are more likely to intervene in the instance of blunt discrimination (e.g., a racial slur), an instance of "joking" with an Asian American about being good at math has high potential to be dismissed as harmless. In fact, teachers, themselves, might be more likely to confirm or express positive stereotypes about Asian Americans (Chang and Demyan 2007), considering such comments less offensive. Thus, just as there are prevention programs in schools on the topics of bullying, substance abuse, or unsafe sex behavior, it may be beneficial to explicitly talk to students and staff about the dangers of all types of ethnic stereotyping in order to promote healthy peer networks and positive school environments. ...

• Taylor L. Thompson
• Lisa Kiang
• Melissa R. Witkow

Ethnic stereotyping can profoundly influence youth adjustment; however, little work has addressed how the model minority stereotype may affect adolescent social adjustment. This study examined Asian American adolescents' peer relationships over time and how perceived discrimination and model minority stereotyping are associated with positive (support) and negative (criticism) qualities in these relationships. Multi-wave survey data were collected from 175 Asian adolescents in the Southeast over three time points. Participants were 60% female (freshmen Mage = 14.42 years, SD = 0.64 and sophomores Mage = 15.56 years, SD = 0.74). They were 75% US-born and represented various heritage groups (e.g., Hmong, East/Southeast Asian, South Asian). Within-person, year-to-year associations between variables were explored. Criticism from White and other-ethnic peers decreased over time. Discrimination was associated with higher criticism over time, and links between model minority stereotyping and support were found. With White peers, when stereotyping experiences increased, both positive and negative relationship qualities increased. Experiences of stereotyping and discrimination interacted, exacerbating each other with regard to criticism. The discussion compares model minority stereotyping and discrimination, both likely to create strained relationships.

... One of the possible explanations for the discriminatory treatment of ethnic minority pupils could be collectively shared stereotypes, understood as "cognitive structures containing the recipient's knowledge, beliefs and expectations of a human social group" (Macrae et al. 1996, p. 42;Hamilton and Troiler 1986). In the US for instance, school and kindergarten teachers perceive African-American children as less capable, less socially competent, and more disruptive (Chang and Demyan 2007;Kumar and Hamer 2012;Minor 2014;Neal et al. 2003;Pigott and Cowen 2000). African-American pupils are also more likely to be rated as "troublemakers" than white pupils even if their behaviour is no different (Okonofua and Eberhardt 2015), and teachers expect more disruptive behaviour of this group in future even if current behaviour is the same as that of white pupils (Kunesh and Noltemeyer 2019). ...

Teacher judgments and the disciplinary sanctioning of pupils can be understood as a function of the ethnic match, which means whether or not teachers and pupils have the same ethnic background. According to social identity theory, teachers should be motivated to protect positive self-esteem and therefore favour pupils of their ethnic in-group over pupils of their ethnic out-group. Following system justification theory however, it must be assumed that teachers also base their judgments and their disciplinary behaviour on the acceptance of social hierarchies. According to this theory, ethnic minority teachers should therefore favour ethnic majority pupils over ethnic minority pupils. We test these hypotheses by conducting an experimental study among 196 preservice teachers. The results suggest that ethnic majority participants do not discriminate against ethnic minority pupils. However, although ethnic minority participants seem to explicitly favour their in-group, they also implicitly tend to have more negative stereotypes about them. Moreover, the more negative explicit and implicit stereotypes ethnic minority participants have against pupils of their in-group, the more severely they punish pupils of their out-group. This could suggest that ethnic minority participants felt the desire to compensate for a negative view of their in-group by treating their out-group more harshly.

... Furthermore, prior research shows differences in conflict and closeness with students from different ethnic and racial backgrounds, with varying teacher interpretations of and responses to behaviors from students with differing ethnic and racial backgrounds. For example, teachers have interpreted behaviors of African American students as more aggressive, defiant, and problematic than similar behaviors of Asian and White students (Bates & Glick, 2013;Chang & Demyan, 2007;Yates & Marcelo, 2014). Similarly, teachers have reported lower levels of teacher-reported closeness with African American kindergarten students relative to White and multiethnic peers (Wood et al., 2017). ...

Research suggests that the quality of interactions and relationships teachers share with students and students' social skills are interrelated, but it is less clear if this relationship is bidirectional or consistent across elementary school. The purpose of this research study was to estimate the possible longitudinal and reciprocal effects of teacher–student relationship quality (TSRQ) and social skills for kindergarten through third grade students. Longitudinal reciprocal relations between teacher-rated closeness and conflict, and student interpersonal and self-control skills were estimated to examine the strength and direction of associations in a large, nationally representative longitudinal sample (N = 12,507, ECLS-K:2011). Structural equation modeling was used to test a panel model of reciprocal, longitudinal effects of TSRQ and social skills. Main results suggest that the small to moderate effects of teacher–student closeness on student's interpersonal skills are bidirectional (β's = 0.07 to 0.15). Additionally, the moderate to large effects of teacher–student conflict on student's self-control skills are bidirectional (β's = −0.12 to −0.35). Prior teacher–student conflict also had large negative effects on subsequent interpersonal skills, but not vice versa (β's = −0.25 to −0.28). Implications of the findings and ways to improve relationship climate and student outcomes are discussed.

... Their own prior experiences can impact the formation of stereotypes (Dovidio et al., 2001). Teachers possess stereotypes about particular student characteristics such as gender (e.g., Tiedemann, 2002), race, and ethnicity (e.g., Chang & Demyan, 2007;Tenenbaum & Ruck, 2007) as well as about students' socioeconomic backgrounds (e.g., Diamond et al., 2004). Nevertheless, it is important to be aware that stereotypes are based on assumptions that are generalized and not necessarily all of them are wrong (Jussim & Harber, 2005). ...

Two experimental studies investigated the disadvantages faced by female ethnic minority students when they are judged by pre- and inservice teachers. The results suggest that (preservice) teachers' judgments were affected by the judgment dimension. Study 1 revealed that teachers apply gender stereotypes in their judgments on mathematical ability: Teachers perceived female students' mathematical ability as lower than male students' mathematical ability. Furthermore, in Study 1 (inservice teachers) and Study 2 (preservice teachers) students' ethnicity influenced judgments on language proficiency. Beyond that, in Study 2 even judgments on mathematical ability were influenced by the information on students' ethnicity. However, the interplay of the student characteristics is crucial for preservice teachers while it is not for inservice teachers.

... While both Asians and African Americans may exhibit communication styles different than the Mainstream American culture (Park & Kim, 2008;Townsend, 2000), perhaps it is not necessarily the alignment with Mainstream American culture that may influence disciplinary decisions -perhaps it is a perceived nondisruption and historical context in relation to the Mainstream American culture that matters. Perhaps this helps explain in part teachers' perceptions of Asian students as a "model minority" (Chang & Demyan, 2007); while their communication style may be different, it is not perceived as disruptive and is tied to a different historical context within the United States. On this point, it is also worth noting here that it is difficult to separate out perceptions of behavior and communication style from broader forms of implicit bias and racism. ...

• Megan-Brette Hamilton
• Laura S DeThorne

Purpose Using a framework of culturally and linguistically responsive classroom management, this study employed both quantitative and qualitative analyses of ethnographic data to illustrate patterns of corrections/behavioral warnings in teacher–child interactions for an African American child in the classroom. Method Three child participants and their teacher were recruited for the study: MJ, an African American kindergartner, the focal child, and two same-sex Filipino classmates who spoke a nonmainstream dialect of English, Ben and Leo, for frame of reference. None of the three boys were diagnosed with language-learning difficulties. Data analyses included (a) categorical analyses of observational field notes taken across a 7-week period of classroom observation and (b) situated discourse analysis taken from video-recorded small group literacy lessons also in the classroom. Results Two key findings emerged. First, MJ, the focal participant, received a relatively high frequency of correction/behavioral warnings, both relative to the other forms of teacher-initiated interaction and also relative to his two classmates. Second, the majority of MJ's corrections/behavioral warnings were directed toward his volume and verve—features that have been associated with the communication style of many African American students. Conclusions We need to include teachers and administrators in our discussions about the communication style of African American students and broaden these discussions to explicitly consider the influence of nonverbal features, such as volume and verve, on patterns of teacher–student communication interactions. In particular, such communication features may be contributing to high-stakes outcomes for African American children, such as referrals, diagnoses, educational placements, and disciplinary actions.

The consequences of racial microaggressions are most often discussed at an interpersonal level. In this review, we contend that microaggressions play an important role in maintaining systems of racial oppression beyond the interpersonal context. Specifically, we illustrate how microaggressions establish White superiority in the U.S. by othering people of color (e.g., treating people of color as if they are not true citizens) and communicating that they are inferior (e.g., environmental exclusions and attacks, treating people of color as second-class citizens). We also present evidence that microaggressions play a role in protecting and reinforcing systemic racism. By obscuring systemic racism (e.g., false colorblindness, denial of individual racism) and promoting ideas that maintain existing systemic inequalities (e.g., the myth of meritocracy, reverse racism hostility), microaggressions provide cover and support for established systems of oppression. Overall, we find considerable evidence—from both empirical studies and real-world examples—that microaggressions contribute to the maintenance of systems of racial oppressions in the U.S. We conclude with a discussion of how we might begin to challenge this cycle by increasing awareness of systemic racism and the microaggressions that aid in its perpetuation.

• G. Sorna Lakshmi
• Dr.M.Leonard Ashok

Teacher attitude is simply defined as the views, opinions, ideas, feelings, fears, etc. of a teacher. The study aimed to examine the teachers' attitude towards teaching programme. The investigator adopted survey method to study the teachers' attitude towards teaching programme for this study a sample of 100 school teachers from five Govt and Private schools which are situated in and around Coimbatore district in Tamil Nadu were selected by the investigator using simple random sampling technique. The findings reveal that is inferred that there is no significant relationship between teacher's attitude towards teaching program and the academic achievement of their students.

• Adam Wright

African-American students are considerably more likely than their white peers to be rated as disruptive by their teacher and experience school discipline, but are also much less likely to have a teacher of the same race. This paper explores whether the racial or ethnic congruence of teachers and students affects teachers' perceptions of students' disruptive behavior and has larger consequences for student suspension rates. To identify the effect of racial interactions on teacher assessments, I estimate models that include both classroom and student fixed effects. I find that African-American students are rated as less disruptive when they have an African-American teacher, whereas perceptions of white and Hispanic students' disruptiveness are unaffected by having a teacher of the same race or ethnicity. I also find that African-American students with more African-American teachers are suspended less often, suggesting the underrepresentation of African-American teachers has important implications for black-white gaps in school discipline. JEL Codes: I21, I24, J15 Keywords: Student and teacher race and ethnicity matching, disruptive behavior, school suspension  I would like to thank Richard Startz, Kelly Bedard, Peter Kuhn, Michael Gottfried, Jenna Stearns, the UCSB labor lunch seminar participants, members of the UCSB human capital working group, and attendees of the 2015 AEFP annual conference for their helpful comments and suggestions. All remaining errors are my own. 2

According to traditional theories, prejudice toward national, racial, and ethnic groups was considered to consist largely of a negative affective response toward the group or toward members of the group. More recently, however, the general approach to the study of prejudice within social psychology has been to emphasize its cognitive determinants, particularly in terms of the formation and maintenance of social stereotypes. The present research compared the importance of stereotypical beliefs about and affective responses to national, ethnic, and religious groups as predictors of favorability and preferred social distance toward the groups. In two studies, emotional responses to the target groups were found to be a more consistent and stronger predictor of attitudes and social distance than were social stereotypes. This was true whether stereotypes were assessed in terms of percentage assignment, as a likelihood ratio, or as personal beliefs about group characteristics. It is suggested that future researc...

• Sharon Tettegah

A study was conducted to assess the influence of White prospective teachers' (N = 126) racial consciousness attitudes and identity on their perceptions of the teachability of students from various racial/ethnic backgrounds. Student teachers were administered a demographic questionnaire, the Oklahoma Racial Attitude Scale, and the Teachable Pupil Survey, the latter of which assesses three behavioral dimensions (cognitive-autonomous-motivational, institutionally appropriate, and personal-social). The findings reveal that the sampled teachers' perceptions of teachability varied according to the race/ethnicity of the students. The implications of the study and the effects of teachers' racial attitudes upon students are discussed. Recommendations are offered for teacher education programs that address racism and nullify the impact of racist attitudes on teacher-student relations.

• C.Z. Charles
• D.S. Massey

The views of Camille Z. Charles, chairman of the sociology department at the University of Pennsylvania, on stereotypes sabotage are discussed. A National Longitudinal survey of Freshmen was conducted to provide comprehensive data to test theoretical explanations for minority underachievement in higher education. The survey consists of face to face interviews that compiled detailed information about the neighbourhood, family and educational environments that the student experienced before entering college.

• Patricia G. Devine

Three studies tested basic assumptions derived from a theoretical model based on the dissociation of automatic and controlled processes involved in prejudice. Study 1 supported the model's assumption that high- and low-prejudice persons are equally knowledgeable of the cultural stereotype. The model suggests that the stereotype is automatically activated in the presence of a member (or some symbolic equivalent) of the stereotyped group and that low-prejudice responses require controlled inhibition of the automatically activated stereotype. Study 2, which examined the effects of automatic stereotype activation on the evaluation of ambiguous stereotype-relevant behaviors performed by a race-unspecified person, suggested that when subjects' ability to consciously monitor stereotype activation is precluded, both high- and low-prejudice subjects produce stereotype-congruent evaluations of ambiguous behaviors. Study 3 examined high- and low-prejudice subjects' responses in a consciously directed thought-listing task. Consistent with the model, only low-prejudice subjects inhibited the automatically activated stereotype-congruent thoughts and replaced them with thoughts reflecting equality and negations of the stereotype. The relation between stereotypes and prejudice and implications for prejudice reduction are discussed.

• MyLuong T. Tran
• Russell L. Young
• Joseph D. Di Lella

Students (n=55) in a required multicultural education course designed to reduce racism and stereotyping attitudes among preservice teacher education students completed pre- and posttests to determine attitudes toward African Americans, Europeans, and Mexican Americans. Results indicated that the course appears to have had a significant effect on changing student attitudes toward the three ethnic groups. (IAH)

Attempts to suppress social stereotypes often lead to an increase in the accessibility of those stereotypes, thereby increasing stereotypic influences on subsequent social judgments. The present research sought to determine whether such suppression effects occur in relatively naturalistic situations. Participants in Experiment 1 wrote a story about a typical day in the life of an African-American target person after receiving one of two sets of instructions. Participants in the control condition were simply told to write whatever they wanted. Participants in the spontaneous suppression condition were informed that the study was being conducted by an African-American political group. The results indicated that participants in the spontaneous suppression condition wrote less Stereotypie stories than did those in the control condition. Participants in Experiment 2 first rated their attitudes toward African Americans under one of three conditions: a directed suppression condition, a spontaneous suppression condition, and a no suppression-control condition. In a subsequent task, participants formed an impression of a target person who behaved in an ambiguously hostile manner. The results indicated that participants in both the directed suppression and the spontaneous suppression conditions judged the target person to be significantly more hostile (i.e., stereotypic of African Americans) than did participants in the control condition. These results indicate that there are situational factors which motivate spontaneous stereotype-suppression attempts, leading to later increases in stereotype use.

Examples of Stereotypes Teachers Use to Relate to Students

Source: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232574887_Teachers'_Stereotypes_of_Asian_Black_and_White_Students

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