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This is one article discussing the impact of religion on child development.

Religious beliefs and practices can shape a child's behavior, morals, and values. Many religions provide a sense of community which is crucial for emotional support. However arrogant or strict practices can sometimes limit exposure to diverse viewpoints.

Being religious and having limited exposure to different perspectives could potentially harm a child's psych: they may not understand things they learn in history or in science class if it doesn’t align with what they’ve been taught in their religion.

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UTSA sociologists study the impact religion has on child development

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This atricle discusses the importance of sexual orientation and how ti affects youth.

Understanding and accepting one's sexual orientation is a key part of identity development. Supportive enviornments may foster self acceptance and confidence while negative environments may lead to emotional distress and can delay personal growth.

In the classroom a student might not be able to focus or they may feel disconnected from the rest of their peers if they expirence negative feedback about their own sexual orientation. If a student has experienced positive feedback about their sexual orientation, they may feel confident, focused and ready to learn.

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Sexual orientation and gender identity/expression are important aspects of a young person's identity. Understanding and expressing sexual orientation and gender and developing related identities are typical development tasks that vary across children and youth. For example, some youth may be unsure of their sexual orientation, whereas others have been clear about it since childhood and have expressed it since a young age. Expressing and exploring gender identity and roles is a part of normal development. The process of understanding and expressing one's sexual orientation and gender identity is unique to each individual. It is not a one-time event and personal, cultural, and social factors may influence how one expresses their sexual orientation and gender identity.

There is currently no universally-accepted acronym inclusive of all youth who are not heterosexual and/or express their gender in diverse ways. The commonly-used acronym - LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, or another diverse gender identity) - refers to the communities included in the "LGBTTTQQIAA" acronym (see Figure 1). This youth topic primarily uses "LGBTQ+" as an inclusive term for simplicity, except when describing research studies explicitly focused on more narrowly-specific communities. See Key Terms and Concepts to learn more about each of these communities.
Figure 1: Communities included in the "strong LGBTTTQQIAA" acronym
Resiliency and Protective Factors

Research on LGBTQ+ youth has focused on the risk factors and disparities these young people experience compared with youth who are not LGBTQ+. However, more recently there has been research on resiliency and protective factors, which offers a strength-based focus on LGBTQ+ youth well-being. For instance, LGBTQ+ youth who have access to spaces that affirm their sexual orientation and gender identity report lower rates of attempting suicide and experiencing supportive environments.

Several factors that can help improve outcomes for LGBTQ+ young people include:

Addressing LGBTQ+-related stigma, discrimination, and violence

Building on the strengths of LGBTQ+ youth

Fostering supports such as family acceptance and safe, affirming environments in schools and other settings

Federal and local policies and practices increasingly acknowledge and focus on the experiences and needs of LGBTQ+ youth. Numerous national advocacy and other organizations are also giving greater attention to LGBTQ+ youth in their work. Fostering safe, affirming communities and youth-serving settings such as schools for all youth requires efforts to address the challenges described here. At the same time, it is also important to acknowledge and build on the strengths, resilience, and factors that protect LGBTQ+ youth from risk, such as connection to caring adults and peers and family acceptance. Parental support of sexual orientation and gender expression provide uniquely strong benefits to positive well-being and mental health in young adulthood and are related to higher levels of self-esteem and lower levels of depression, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts.

Young people who identify as LGBTQ+ can experience various challenges because of how others respond to their sexual orientation or gender identity/expression. This is also true for youth who are questioning their sexual orientation or gender identity, or may be perceived as LGBTQ+ or gender variant by others. In a 2021 survey of nearly 35,000 LGBTQ+ youth, 75 percent reported having experienced discrimination based on their sexual orientation or gender identity at least once in their lifetime. These negative experiences include high rates of physical and emotional bias and violence; rejection by schools, employment, and communities because of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity/expression.

Research shows that due to these challenges and the associated stress, LGBTQ+ youth are at risk for negative health outcomes and are more likely to attempt suicide, experience homelessness, and use illegal drugs These issues may also contribute to anxiety, depressive symptoms, and feelings of isolation. Youth who express their gender in ways that vary from societal expectations for their perceived sex or gender are at risk for high levels of childhood physical, psychological, and sexual abuse. They are also at risk for school victimization. As a result, they may have poorer well-being than lesbian, gay, and bisexual peers whose gender expression is more closely aligned with societal expectations.

Resources

Health Considerations for LGBTQ Youth
This website provides information on protective factors and data related to health risks and sexual minority youth, as well as related resources.

Practice Brief 1: Providing Services and Supports for Youth Who Are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, Intersex, or Two-Spirit (LGBTQI2-S)(PDF, 8 pages)
This practice brief outlines key information for working with and providing culturally and linguistically competent services to LGBTQI2-S youth.

References
1 Poirier, Fisher, Hunt, & Bearse, 2014
² Poirier, Fisher, Hunt, & Bearse, 2014
³ Poirier, Fisher, Hunt, & Bearse, 2014
⁴ The National Trevor Project, 2021
⁵ Day, Ioverno, & Russell, 2019
⁶ American Association of School Administrators et al., n.d.; National Association of School Nurses, 2003; National Association of School Psychologists, 2006
⁷ Shilo & Savaya, 2011; Sheets & Moor, 2009; Ryann et al., 2010; Snapp et al., 2015; Russell & Fish, 2016
⁸ Gender variant youth are not necessarily LGBT. In fact, any youth who does not fit typical social expectations for his or her mannerisms, behavior, or choice of clothing based on birth-assigned gender, for example, can be considered "gender variant." This does not mean the youth is lesbian, gay, or bisexual - or identifies as a gender different from what he or she was assigned at birth (i.e., transgender).
⁹ The National Trevor Project, 2021 (45 percent of this sample were youth of color, and 38 percent were transgender or nonbinary.
¹⁰ Hunter & Schaecher, 1987; Reis, 1999; Reis & Saewyc, 1999; Ray, 2006; Ryan, Huebner, Diaz, & Sanchez, 2009; SAMHSA, 2014
¹¹ Roberts, Rosario, Corliss, Koenen, & Austin, 2012
¹² Toomey, Ryan, Diaz, & Russell, 2010
¹³ Rieger & Savin-Williams, 2012

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Sexual orientation and gender identity/expression are important aspects of a young person's identity. Understanding and expressing sexual orientation and gender and developing related identities are typical development tasks that vary across children and youth. For example, some youth may be unsure of their sexual orientation, whereas others have been clear about it since childhood and have expressed it since a young age.

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This website can help understand gender identity.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10276116/

In this article, it discusses bullying and mental health among children who may identify differently than others.

Gender Identity plays a crucial role in how children see themselves and how they are seen by others. Supportive enviornments that affirm a childs gender identity can enhance self esteem and well being. Unsupportive enviornments can lead to emotional distress and slow down personal growth.

In the classroom, being harassed, teased or bullied due to gender identity can make it very challenging to do well in school. If school is a supporive and safe place, a child can be comfotable and secure. They will also be more willing to learn and be present.

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Steps for supporting your child’s gender identity

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Learn how to talk to children about their internal sense of gender. Also find out how to support their gender expression and advocate for them.

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Culture background influences language, traditions, social norms and values. Culture can provide a sense of belonging and identity. Being exposed to multiple cultures can help students be more adaptable, and empathetic. Cultural differences might lead to stress, identity struggles and confusion. Culture greatly impacts the classroom environment through shaping how the students interact with each other and the teachers, the way they learn, engagement, and achievements; a favorable classroom culture creates belonging, stimulates taking risks to learn, and translates into enhanced accomplishment, while a poor one induces disengagement and diminishes learning ability.

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Cultural background gives children a sense of who they are. The unique cultural influences children respond to from birth, including customs and beliefs around food, artistic expression, language, and religion, affect the way they develop emotionally, socially, physically, and linguistically.

When a child's self-identity is at odds with the social environment due to cultural differences, it can hinder learning. Fortunately, culturally competent educators help children of all cultural backgrounds learn by showing an understanding and acceptance of diverse cultures and how they make each child uniquely valuable.

Because culture is such a powerful indicator of a child's future well-being, those who work with children, including social workers, counselors, and specialists, need to understand the cultural influences on child development and how they impact the way people grow and learn. A degree such as Maryville University's online Bachelor of Arts in Human Development and Family Studies can prepare future professionals for success in these roles, providing them with the background and experience they need to support children and families with their services.

The Importance of Childhood Development

Early childhood is a key period of mental and emotional growth, and what children perceive and experience can shape their future: Our childhood environments and how we respond to them can predict the course for our health and well-being as adults. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports, "Although the brain continues to develop and change into adulthood, the first eight years can build a foundation for future learning, health, and life success. ... How the brain grows is strongly affected by the child's experiences with other people and the world."

To understand the environment's impact on a developing child, let's look at the three main ways children process the information around them as they grow.

Classical conditioning. Drawing associations between a stimulus and response. For example, children in religious families might associate bedtime with prayers.

Operant conditioning. Drawing associations between a reward and an action. For example, children might receive dessert after eating their vegetables.

Observational learning. Absorbing and copying what they see from others in real life or in the media. For example, a child might say, "Time to clean up" because a teacher says it in school.

Children learn, therefore, by observing and making associations about their surroundings. Exposure to positive influences can favorably impact a child's development, while exposure to toxic or stressful influences can negatively impact development.

All else being equal, a child's cultural influences at birth are neutral. All too often, however, some elements of cultural background may not be accepted or understood by the society in which a child grows up - potentially harming a child's self-image and development.

In other words, the social cues a young child takes in from others about cultural background can help or hamper development because developing children readily internalize what they see and hear. When a young child's cultural background differs from the prevailing culture - for example, the child's family might speak a different language at home, eat different foods, or observe different holidays - it can affect self-image. This is especially the case if peers or even teachers treat the child in a way that reveals bias or casts the child in the role of an outsider.

According to the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), childhood exposure to dominant social biases - such as favoring people who are white, Christian, heterosexual, able-bodied, thin, wealthy, fluent in English, natives rather than immigrants - can trigger developing children to judge themselves unfavorably by the same limiting standards. When children do that, their development suffers.

Recognizing Cultural Influences on Child Development

Culture influences development from the moment we're born, making an impact on us as we grow. For instance, culture can affect how children build values, language, belief systems, and an understanding of themselves as individuals and as members of society.

Children can receive these cultural influences in different ways, such as through their parents, their environment, and the media. How society shows an understanding of diverse cultures can impact a child's development in many ways, such as how confident in themselves or how comfortable interacting with others they become as adults.

Parental Influences on Child Development

Parents' culture can influence their children's development. A 2019 study, for example, found that cultural values often influence the way parents raise their children, including how they discipline and set boundaries. It makes sense that parents raise their children based on cultural influences because they're preparing them to develop behaviors necessary to operate and thrive in that culture. However, when the social environment and home culture clash, developmental issues can arise.

Collectivist vs. Individualistic Cultures and Parental Discipline

Parents' cultural influences can impact how they discipline a child's behavior. This, in turn, can affect a child's development, particularly if those methods of discipline differ from the dominant cultural tradition.

Before delving into the methods of discipline and culture, what do the terms "collectivist" and "individualistic" mean exactly? Essentially, a collectivist culture values and rewards the prioritization of community needs over individual needs, as well as generous, kind, collaborative behavior. Collectivism is the norm in Asian, Central American, South American, and African cultures.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, an individualistic culture values and rewards assertiveness and independent action, stressing the importance of the individual over the group. Individualism dominates in North American and Western European cultures.

The 2019 study cited earlier found that parents from individualistic cultures discipline differently from parents from collectivist cultures. The former group of parents might discipline their children by taking something away that matters to them personally. On the other hand, parents from collectivist cultures might tell their children to think about how their behavior affects others.

The study found that children raised in individualistic cultures often described themselves based on their unique attributes, such as "I am good at math." Meanwhile, children raised in collectivist cultures were more likely to describe themselves based on their relationships with others, such as "I am my mother's daughter."

Child development can be influenced if parents or teachers discipline children according to the dominant culture - the U.S. has an individualistic culture - rather than the culture of their family of origin. For example, children whose parents have disciplined them to value cooperation over competition might become confused or upset when a teacher urges them to be competitive.
Parental Influences on Children's Social Behavior Varies by Culture
Children learn how to act by interacting with their parents. For this reason, the parents' cultural background often influences a child's behavior.

Communication style is a case in point. Children tend to communicate in a style that resembles their parents' way of communicating, and diverse cultures converse and explain things in different ways.

Children who communicate based on an individualistic cultural model will often tell long, self-focused stories with themes of autonomy and personal preference. Conversely, children who communicate based on a collectivist cultural model will often tell brief, other-oriented stories with themes of authority and interrelationships.

These cultural influences on children's language development can help or hinder them on the playground, and later in the workplace. If children's culture is respected at school, including the way the children interact verbally with others, then they'll be more likely to experience the acceptance and respect they need to grow and develop. They're more likely to become adults with a healthy self-image who feel understood and capable of confident, fruitful interactions. If not, however, they may become adults who hesitate to raise their voices and be heard for fear of being ridiculed or misunderstood.

Environmental Influences on Child Development

Environmental influences on child development can include influences from community and culture as well as from environmental health hazards. Pollution from a nearby power plant, contaminated water, or lead in the home, for example, can cause lasting impacts on children's health. As the CDC reports, environmental contaminants can cause greater harm to children than to adults because children's bodies are still developing.

In fact, children take in more air, water, and food per pound of body weight, making them more vulnerable to health issues from environmental hazards. The health issues might not show up until later in life, causing difficulty in school, work, and socialization. A child exposed to polluted air, for example, might develop asthma as a teenager.

Children of low-income communities are most likely to be at risk of exposure to environmental hazards. As the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) reports, low-income communities may have poor infrastructure, making them more vulnerable to the effects of natural disasters, such as contaminated water and damaged drainage systems. They may also be located closer to factories and highways, both of which contribute to high levels of pollution in the air, soil, and water.

Media Influences on Child Development

Media influences on childhood development include movies, TV shows, video games, and other online content. Research that the American Psychological Association (APA) has shared shows that children's exposure to violent media can result in aggressive behavior; exposure to advertising for non-nutritious foods can increase rates of childhood obesity; and too much screen time can be linked to lower brain development in preschoolers.

A study from the Cognitive Impacts of Digital Media Workgroup found that children begin to learn from TV programs at around 2.5 years old. Educational programs, such as "Sesame Street," can positively influence their knowledge and social skills, preparing them for school. However, after they turn 6 years old, children begin to watch more entertainment programming, which can, in turn, influence their behavior negatively. In addition, while video games can help children develop visual processing skills, they can also yield aggressive behavior. The effects on cognitive skills and behaviors are often specific to the games played.

As a result of these findings, the study suggests that clinicians and early childhood service providers should work with parents to limit TV exposure before children turn 2 years old. As children begin to learn how to read, clinicians and service providers should advise parents to regulate children's media consumption - with a focus on providing educational media content - and encourage reading habits.

The connection with cultural background is clear: Diverse cultures have different attitudes toward TV and other entertainment media, as well as different abilities to afford access to such media. A child from a collectivist culture, for example, may be encouraged to help infant or elderly family members in lieu of watching educational TV after school. Indirectly, culture influences these children's ability to benefit from such experiences.

In addition, to take the example further, children whose culture discourages educational TV and other media may be ridiculed by school peers for missing out on popular pastimes other children engage in.

Another way that media in popular culture can influence child development is by depicting and perpetuating cultural stereotypes. For example, a movie might show women or minorities in a negative light, or not at all. A sitcom might feature only white characters, never those of diverse races or ethnicities.

Clearly, the absence of role models in entertainment media, or the presence of negative stereotypes, can affect children's self-esteem. This can cause media to become a negative cultural influence on a child's development.

A Crucial Understanding of Childhood Development

Educators, parents, caregivers, and social workers need to understand how children's cultural influences affect their development. With this knowledge, adults can better guide students of different cultures and backgrounds through their growth processes and ensure that they're being exposed to healthy influences. They can also provide them with the tools they need to cope with negative influences, such as cultural biases and prejudices against diverse cultures, in schools and in society at large.

According to the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP), for example, early childhood programs can foster children's development - physically, mentally, and socially. Consider the Head Start program, which provides children from low-income families with services to promote their educational and emotional growth. Children who participated in programs such as Head Start grew up healthier and engaged in less harmful activities, such as drinking and smoking, than those who didn't.

Educators and social workers need to be aware of their own implicit biases about cultural differences. As the NAEYC reported, teachers can exhibit biases in their treatment of children according to the child's race, ability, socioeconomic status, and behaviors. The biases can inhibit teachers from effectively helping these students and, therefore, prevent students from developing at the pace that's best for them. By understanding the cultural influences on child development, including their own cultural biases, professionals in these roles can better make an impact on children's lives and deliver the care they need.

Careers That Incorporate Cultural Influences on Child Development

An understanding of cultural influences on child development is important for professionals in a range of roles.

Child Life Specialist

A child life specialist is clinically trained to help families work through the developmental impact of serious injury or illness. For example, a child life specialist might work with families to help children cope with illness or stress in a hospital setting. This work includes identifying stressors, encouraging self-expression, and ensuring that children can make their voices heard in often overwhelming situations.

Understanding how the healthcare system approaches cultural diversity helps child life specialists assist families from various cultural backgrounds. Further, a child life specialist understands that the trauma of illness or injury looms large in child development and thus seeks to mitigate the impact, while taking into account each child's cultural background.

Mental Health Counselor

Mental health counselors treat people for issues such as behavioral disorders, substance abuse, anxiety, depression, and stress. They might work in a range of settings, including individual and family services, community care centers, and government facilities. Mental health counselors can train to work specifically with children and families, helping them work through mental health issues, access necessary resources, and navigate treatment plans.

By understanding cultural influences on child development, mental health counselors can more effectively help children and families get to the root of their issues and work through them.

Community Health Worker

Community health workers help individuals and groups access healthcare information, resources, and services. For example, if a community is exposed to an environmental hazard, community health workers might connect people with screenings for lung cancer or asthma. Another example is if an impoverished community has difficulty accessing food, community health workers might connect the community to local services, such as food banks. These professionals also advocate on behalf of vulnerable communities, providing local government representatives, healthcare providers, and health educators with data about people's health status and needs.

Community health workers learn about the factors that influence child development to help families access the healthcare resources they need. They also understand the influence of culture on how families and communities seek aid and respond to stress in crises.

Child Care Center Director

Child care center directors build and manage programs for before- and after-school care, including educational programs, and social activities. Directors also hire and train staff to run these programs and work with children. With an understanding of cultural influences on child development, child care center directors can be prepared to support children outside their home, resolve issues when they arise, and provide working families with the extra help they need in supervising their children.

Social Worker

Social workers assist individuals and families on a case-by-case basis, helping them navigate stressful situations, such as unemployment, illness, and substance abuse. On top of providing these services, clinical social workers are licensed to diagnose clients with mental health issues and intervene in emergencies, such as child abuse. Social workers understand how cultural influences can impact behavior and development.

Social workers can also train in specialty areas, including the following:

Child and family social work
Example: Guiding children through the adoption process or the foster system, or locating community child care services

School social work
Example: Helping students with behavioral issues find a therapist

Mental health social work
Example: Connecting children who have anxiety or depression with a psychiatrist or support group

Healthcare social work
Example: Supporting children through a diagnosis and hospital visits

All social workers are trained to be aware of the factors that influence people's behavior, including their childhood development and how their culture may be influencing it. If a child is acting out at school, for example, a social worker considers how cultural influences at home might affect the child's acceptance by peers at school or how the child responds to challenging school demands, such as competition or collaboration.

Make an Impact in Childhood Development

Maryville's online Bachelor of Arts in Human Development and Family Studies program offers students the knowledge and skills they need to work with families and children in different stages of their lives. Through the program's comprehensive curriculum, students explore the human experience and how individuals develop in their societies and interpersonal relationships. They also gain real-world experience through fieldwork, research projects, and service-learning opportunities in a range of settings where they can begin making an impact in their roles.

If you're interested in learning more about cultural influences on child development - including parental, environmental, and media influences on child development - exploring Maryville's online Bachelor of Arts in Human Development and Family Studies can help you pursue your professional goals.
Recommended Reading Early Childhood Education vs. Childhood Development Nature vs. Nurture Child Development: Exploring Key Differences How to Become a Child Life Specialist Sources American Psychological Association, Kids & the Media Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Child Development Basics Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Children's Environmental Health Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Early Brain Development and Health National Association for the Education of Young Children, The Social-Cultural Context of Child Development and Learning National Environmental Health Association, Children's Environmental Health Equity Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Early Childhood Development and Education Pediatrics The Conversation, "How Culture Influences Children's Development" The Urban Child Institute, What Do We Know About Social and Emotional Development in Early Childhood? The Washington Post Verywell Mind, "Experience and Development" Verywell Mind, "Individualistic Cultures and Behavior" Verywell Mind, "Understanding Collectivist Cultures" U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Health Educators and Community Health Workers U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Preschool and Childcare Center Directors U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Social Workers U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Child Life Specialist" Wiley Online Library, "Environmental Influences on Health and Development: Nutrition, Substance Exposure, and Adverse Childhood Experiences" , "How Different Cultures Shape Children's Personalities in Different Ways" , Digital Screen Media and Cognitive Development

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Cultural Influences on Child Development | Maryville Online

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Explore cultural influences on child development, and learn how educators, parents, and social workers can use this information to improve services and care.

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The family is the foundation of a child's early experiences and plays a crucial role in forming their development and worldview. The family unit is the group of people, usually parents and siblings, who serve as a child's primary caregivers and social environment, greatly impacting their development across emotional, cognitive, and social domains.

Children with actively involved families typically receive higher grades, have better attendance, and show greater engagement in their studies; on the other hand, instability or difficulties within a family can negatively affect a student's ability to focus and learn in the classroom. A strong family unit can have a significant impact on a student's classroom performance by positively influencing their academic achievement, behavior, motivation, and overall well-being.

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The influence of family on student outcomes - Sutherland Institute

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Webinar co-hosted by Sutherland helped participants examine how family impacts education, health and human flourishing.

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Economic status is based on wealth and income, a person or family's economic standing describes their social class and place in society. It may also allude to the generational transmission of that rank.

Students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds frequently face obstacles like limited exposure to enriching experiences, less access to tutoring, and possibly struggling in underfunded schools, resulting in achievement gaps compared to their higher socioeconomic peers, a student's economic status can have a significant impact on their classroom experience by influencing their access to educational resources, academic performance, learning behaviors, and overall engagement. This can manifest in lower test scores, higher dropout rates, and reduced participation in extracurricular activities.

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Education and Socioeconomic Status Factsheet

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The impact of socioeconomic status on educational outcomes and reducing slow academic skills development, low literacy, chronic stress and increased dropout rates.

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Implicit bias is when you react, think and behave unconsciously. This happens automatically. Example: A teacher might believe they are giving equal opportunity, but unconsciously call on boys more frequently due to a societal stereotype that boys are better at certain subjects.

Cultural competence is the ability of being able to understand and respect values, attitudes, and beliefs that differ across cultures. Example: A curriculum that acknowledges the diversity of the student population.

Link to depaw edu explaining implicit and explicit bias deeper.

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Why should framework for developing cultural competence should include valuing diversity, conducting ongoing self-assessments, managing differences, willingness to develop cultural knowledge, and the ability to adapt to the cultural needs of the community? It ensures a comprehensive approach to fostering an inclusive environment. Valuing diversity is fundamental as it acknowledges the richness that different backgrounds bring to the community. Conducting ongoing self-assessments helps individuals and institutions recognize their biases and areas for improvement, ensuring continuous growth.

Some key components of a cultural competence framework:

1. Valuing Diversity

2. Conducting Self-Assessments

3. Managing Differences

4. Cultural Knowledge Development

5. Adapting to Cultural Needs

6. Community Engagement

7. Inclusive Policies and Practices

8. Training and Education

9. Evaluation and Feedback

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Nine Constructs of Cultural Competence for Curriculum Development

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To examine the self-administered Clinical Cultural Competency Questionnaire (CCCQ) and assess the perceived level of cultural competence of students in Xavier University of Louisiana College of Pharmacy to guide curriculum development within the…

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State of the Science: Implicit Bias in Education 2018-2020 | Kirwan Institute

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Implicit bias can lead to the teacher treating children and their families differently from each other and can result in unequal treatment in areas such as the teacher's expectations about academic achievement, the teacher's discipline regarding the student, and overall teacher-student interaction.

Knowledge of these differences may also come into play because of certain biases around things such as race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender, or, even sometimes, based on mere appearance-again, completely unconsciously.

Personal reflection: Class Participation: A teacher might always question kids who seem more engaging or more able, and more often than not this is the same cultural background or way of communicating. Therefore, those from underrepresented groups tend to go through a validation-devalued experience in the classroom.

Hypothetical scenario: Interaction with Parents: A teacher may unconsciously communicate in contrasting ways to some parents' worldviews and the cultural backgrounds of some. This means that in some cases, teachers will approach parents from the minority world more formally and distanced, which also means that the communication will thus be, potentially, much less effective, which, ultimately, may lead to much less collaboration.

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State of the Science: Implicit Bias in Education 2018-2020 | Kirwan Institute

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Over the past 10 years, the Kirwan Institute has explored developments in implicit bias research in education. Schools are oftentimes believed to have the power in promoting more positive racial attitudes and allowing all to partake equitably in society (e.g., Banks et al., 2006). However, teachers and school administrators who are entrusted with fulfilling this capacity, are themselves immersed in a social environment where implicit racial biases are pervasive (Nosek et al., 2007; Gullo & Beachum, 2020). For this multi-year State of the Science report, we examined 33 articles published between 2018-2020 that interrogated the role of implicit racial bias in education