How race and gender affect mathematics teachers’ perceptions of student performance

Teachers report that they think that if girls do better in math than boys, it may be because of their innate ability and effort. But they also report that when boys do well in math, it is more likely due to parental support and high societal expectations for their success.

That’s what we found out from the elementary and middle school math teachers we surveyed across the country for our new study. The purpose of the study was to learn more about how teachers explain the success and failure of students in mathematics.

We found that the difference in opinions between teachers is not limited to the gender of the students. Teachers also have different views about math performance when it comes to students’ race and ethnicity, our research found.

Specifically, we found that when Black and Hispanic students perform better than Asian and White students, teachers are more likely to attribute it to effort and differences in their cognitive abilities. In contrast, when Asian and white students do better than others, teachers attribute this to the support and expectations of others, such as parents and the community, as well as cultural differences that value learning mathematics.

To reach these conclusions, we conducted an experiment. In the test, the teachers were first asked to help us by reviewing the students’ answers to the items in the math test we were conducting. After measuring the students’ responses, we randomly assigned teachers to situations that told them that one group—either boys or girls, Blacks and Hispanics or Asians and whites—does better on the test. We then asked the teachers to rate their agreement on a set of possible explanations for the differences. These possible explanations included statements such as “Boys tend to pay more attention and follow directions in class compared to girls.”

After teachers rated their agreement with these definitions, we asked them about their personal beliefs and experiences about gender and racial discrimination in math classrooms. We analyzed how these beliefs relate to their explanations of performance differences.

We found that teachers are more likely to attribute the success of girls and Black and Hispanic students to internal factors, such as ability and effort, while they are more likely to attribute the success of boys and Asian and white students to external factors, such as parental involvement and cultural differences.

We also observed that teachers who reported experiencing racial discrimination in math classrooms as students were more likely to agree that ability was responsible for the higher performance of black and Hispanic students.

Why is it important

The way teachers describe student performance can influence what they expect from students. It may also affect the way they teach and how they respond emotionally to students’ needs.

For example, research has shown that when teachers attribute student failure to a lack of effort, they tend to maintain higher expectations of students and encourage them to use more effort in the future. When they attribute student failure to a lack of ability, however, evidence shows that teachers are more likely to lower their expectations and show greater compassion. Lowering expectations and feelings of pity can be internalized by students. This may make them think that they have low ability and expect to fail more often in the future.

The findings of our study show that teachers often interpret students’ failures and successes differently based on which social group performed better than another. At times, these qualities were associated with stereotypes, such as the higher performance of white and Asian students in their parents and cultures.

What is still unknown

Our research, and that of others, shows that implicit bias exists in math classrooms. This bias affects the way teachers view students’ abilities and describe their performance. However, many existing anti-bias interventions are ineffective.

Researchers need to develop new types of training to combat this bias in math classrooms, which can help improve teaching and reduce the mental and emotional burdens students face.

Yasemin Copur-Gencturk is an associate professor of education at the University of Southern California..

Ian Thacker is an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Joseph Cimpian is a professor of economic policy and education at New York University.

This article has been republished from The conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the first article.