Showcase of Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavors (SOURCE)

Implicit Bias: What We Can Do to Change the Narrative

Implicit biases are unconscious prejudices that we have about other groups of people and their experiences. Bias affects how we see the world and how we interact with those around us. This research focuses on implicit bias in the Pre-K through age 8 classroom, or infant classrooms through third grade. This topic is vital to our development as a country that wants to move toward peace, healing, and the understanding of multiple perspectives. The question at hand is, knowing that bias exists, how can classrooms be modified to be more inclusive, and how can we train teachers to recognize their own personal biases. The purpose of the research is to provide methods that have been proven to help reduce implicit bias. It also will take experts and scholars from more than one discipline to come together and form a potential solution. Implicit bias is an issue that is seen across the board in multiple disciplines, including education and social work, which are the two disciplines used to construct this paper. Scholars from both fields of study have written research that supports this. Social workers and educators arguably have the most interaction with and influence on young children in our schools. After conducting extensive research, it can be said that by ridding ourselves of the “savior complex,” using anti-bias curriculum and culturally responsive instruction and activities, and constantly reviewing our own personal biases through an accountability system, implicit bias can be reduced, and eventually eliminated in the classroom setting.