Empathy softens teachers' biases, reduces racial gap in student
suspensions
Large-scale intervention is found to combat inequities in school
discipline

Date:
March 23, 2022
Source:
University of California - Berkeley
Summary:
Interventions that seek to evoke empathy in teachers can sideline
biases and narrow the racial gap in suspensions of middle school
students, according to the results of a large-scale study to combat
race-based inequity in school discipline.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Interventions that seek to evoke empathy in teachers can sideline biases
and narrow the racial gap in suspensions of middle school students,
suggests new research from the University of California, Berkeley.


==========================================================================
In one of the most rigorous efforts to date to combat race-based inequity
in school suspensions, UC Berkeley social psychologist Jason Okonofua and fellow researchers recruited 66 middle school teachers who teach math
to more than 5,500 7th and 8th grade students in one of the nation's
largest school districts.

After the teachers completed two online empathy-evoking sessions over the course of a school year, their students -- especially those belonging to
racial minorities -- were less likely to get suspended, and the racial gap
in suspensions was reduced by 45%, according to findings to be published
in the journal Science Advances.

Moreover, the positive effects of the intervention persisted through
the following school year when students had new teachers who were not
involved in the empathy intervention. That second school year also saw
fewer suspensions of students of color, as well as other vulnerable
groups such as students who qualify for special education services.

"By virtue of having one class with a teacher who participated in the intervention, a student, especially a Black or Hispanic student, was less likely to get in trouble during any other teacher's class that entire
school year and also the next school year," said Okonofua, an assistant professor of psychology at UC Berkeley and the study's lead author.

The large-scale empathy intervention sought to narrow the suspension
gap between Black and Latinx/Hispanic middle school students and their
white peers.

Nationally, Black male middle and high school students are four times
as likely to be suspended as white students.



==========================================================================
The school district that partnered in the study is a diverse one and
spans more than a dozen cities in the southeastern United States. It
cannot be identified due to confidentiality protocols.

Okonofua credits a nonjudgmental approach for circumventing racial and
other biases in school disciplinary outcomes.

"Our intervention materials don't focus on bias, or racial disparities in outcomes. That approach can put teachers on the defensive and backfire,"
he said. "Instead, we reminded teachers of why they entered the profession
in the first place, which for almost everyone means helping children learn
and grow, even when they struggle sometimes or act out." The success of Okonofua's approach could play a key role in advancing former President
Barack Obama's stalled federal Every Student Succeeds Act, which sought
to curb disciplinary measures that pull students out of classrooms and
to find innovative alternatives to suspensions and expulsions.

"At a time when anti-bias training is not producing the improvements in outcomes we need to see, our empathy intervention was able to sideline teachers' biases to reduce a racial disparity in suspensions in schools
and do it in a sustainable way," said Okonofua, who studies the impact of stereotyping on school discipline and the relationship between education
and justice systems.



========================================================================== Previously, Okonofua and fellow researchers conducted a smaller-scale
empathy intervention in three school districts in California that yielded similar results.

Researchers focused on middle school because adolescence is a time in
which young people are learning to navigate relationships with multiple teachers, and peer relationships are in flux.

"Around this age, children become increasingly aware of racial stereotypes
and sensitive to disrespectful treatment," Okonofua said. "Meanwhile,
teachers can feel overwhelmed by the daily need to keep classroom learning
and behavior on track. Conflicts and disciplinary problems can spike and predict whether children will drop out of school." How they conducted
the study Over the 2017-18 school year, during two online sessions that
each lasted less than an hour, participating teachers read poignant testimonials from students from diverse backgrounds.

They also read testimonials from teachers who described how they made
efforts to listen to and understand students when they misbehave, and
sustain positive and trusting relationships with their students.

In addition to writing about their approaches to discipline, the teachers described their reasons for entering the profession, and what advice
they would share with new teachers.

"At the beginning of the year, I let (students) know that every day is
a new day. ... I won't give up on them. In my eyes, it is imperative
to say what you mean in the most 'real' way, and students will believe
you. Be honest and consistent," one teacher wrote.

Another teacher's approach was to "incorporate a slight sense of humor
in my lessons ... and make a story out of solving math problems. The
students typically laugh and understand the material better when I
include real-world examples." For Okonofua, this open-minded approach
to sidelining biases is promising for multiple professions where power differentials lead to conflict.

"We're looking at applying this type of approach in prisons, for police officers on the beat, and also in health care and the relationships
between health care providers and their patients," he said.

"Ultimately, we hope to help everyone double down on their professional
goals, and not let stereotypes shape our decision-making or how we treat others," he added.

In addition to Okonofua, researchers of the study are J. Parker Goyer
and Gregory Walton at Stanford University, Constance Lindsay at the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
University_of_California_-_Berkeley. Original written by Yasmin
Anwar. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Jason A. Okonofua, J. Parker Goyer, Constance A. Lindsay, Johnetta
Haugabrook, Gregory M. Walton. A scalable empathic-mindset
intervention reduces group disparities in school
suspensions. Science Advances, 2022; 8 (12) DOI:
10.1126/sciadv.abj0691 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/03/220323151645.htm

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