Biases and Engagement with Diversity in Classroom Designs: the Effects of Prejudice on the Incorporation of Diversity into Learning Environments

Abstract

The present research aims to understand the racial educational achievement gap in the United States by examining a possible cause of the disparity and a mechanism through which it may be reduced. The research investigates how prejudice factors into teachers’ classroom designs. Participants indicated their feelings about various classrooms that range in the degree to which they celebrate diversity and then completed several measures of racial attitudes and biases. We found that people’s implicit bias, belief in a multicultural or colorblind ideology, and intergroup anxiety influence their preference for incorporating diversity into classrooms. Through understanding how teachers influence classroom environments, I suggest how they can become more inclusive, particularly for minority students, in order to reduce the achievement gap.