Reducing Implicit Bias: Strategies for Educators, Counselors, and Higher Education Administrators
Conference Strand
Social Change, Leadership, and Advocacy
Abstract
This presentation will highlight implicit bias within K-16 educational settings. Implicit bias and how it manifests will be explored, including an examination of how it can negatively impact the academic, career, and personal/social development of k-16 students. Strategies that educators, counselors, and higher education administrators can employ to reduce implicit bias and increase advocacy within their respective settings will be put forward.
Evidence
Fitzgerald, C. & Hurst, S. (2017). Implicit bias in healthcare professionals: A systemic review. BMC Medical Ethics, 1-18
Kirwin Institute (2017). Understanding implicit bias. Retrieved September 19, 2019 from: http://kirwaninstitute.osu.edu/research/understanding-implicit-bias/
National Center for Education Statistics (2016). Public high school graduation rates. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/pdf/coe_cge.pdf
National Center for Education Statistics (2019). College enrollment rates. Retrieved October, 10, 2019 from: https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/pdf/coe_cpb.pdf
Safir, S. (2016). 5 keys to challenging implicit bias [Web Blog]. Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/keys-to-challenging-implicit-bias-shane-safir
Spencer, K.B., Charbonneau, A. K., & Glaser, J. (2016). Implicit bias and policing. Social & Personality Psychology Compass, 10 (1), 50-63
Sue, D. W., & Sue, D. (2016). Counseling the culturally diverse: Theory and practice (7th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Format
Individual Presentations
Biographical Sketch
Tylon Crook, a national certified counselor, is currently a core faculty member within Walden University’s School of Counseling. He earned his master’s degree in mental health/school counseling from Mississippi State University and his doctorate in Counselor Education and Supervision at Auburn University. He is engaged in the counselor education core areas of teaching, scholarship, and leadership. Dr. Crook’s research agenda includes topics such as spirituality and depression among minority men, social justice advocacy, and the school-to-prison pipeline. In addition, Dr. Crook travels the country providing professional development in the areas of school counseling program development, social justice, multiculturalism, and mental health issues within the African American community. He can also be found engaged in motivational speaking within schools and communities across the country. As a USAF veteran, Dr. Crook is also a member of numerous organizations, most notably Counselors for Social Justice (CSJ) and the American School Counselor Association.
Torialyn Crook, is a higher education administrator with over a decade of experience working in a variety of offices at 2 year and 4 year colleges. She earned a Master's of Science degree in Higher Education Administration from Kaplan University and is currently in the dissertation stage of her doctoral program in higher education leadership at Walden University. Mrs. Crook's experiences working in advisement, program and event coordination, and student affairs have fueled her interests in areas such as retention among racial minority students and mentorship experiences among African American women in higher education administration.
Location
Session Six Breakouts: Embassy Suites Salon B
Start Date
2-8-2020 11:45 AM
End Date
2-8-2020 1:00 PM
Recommended Citation
Crook, Tylon and Crook, Torialyn, "Reducing Implicit Bias: Strategies for Educators, Counselors, and Higher Education Administrators" (2020). National Cross-Cultural Counseling and Education Conference for Research, Action, and Change. 29.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/ccec/2020/2020/29
Reducing Implicit Bias: Strategies for Educators, Counselors, and Higher Education Administrators
Session Six Breakouts: Embassy Suites Salon B
This presentation will highlight implicit bias within K-16 educational settings. Implicit bias and how it manifests will be explored, including an examination of how it can negatively impact the academic, career, and personal/social development of k-16 students. Strategies that educators, counselors, and higher education administrators can employ to reduce implicit bias and increase advocacy within their respective settings will be put forward.
Description
In today’s k-12 public schools, racial and ethnic minority students constitute 50.5% of the student population in spite of racial minorities constituting only 33% of the US population (NCES, 2016). In addition, college going rates of racial minorities have steadily increased since 2000 (NCES, 2019). In light of trends showing increased enrollment of racial minorities in k-12 public schools and in going to college it is imperative for professional stakeholders (educators, counselors, and higher education administrators) to continue increasing their level of multicultural competence. Continuing to develop multicultural competence is essential for stakeholders if they are to engage in social justice advocacy to address issues such as the achievement gap and disparities in college retention based on factors such as race.
At the core of multicultural competence is increasing our awareness of our own cultural worldview (Sue & Sue, 2016). This involves being aware of our biases, implicit and explicit. Our implicit biases include the attitudes, stereotypes, and prejudices that unconsciously impact our understanding, actions, and decisions (Kirwan Institute, 2017). Implicit biases manifest in many of our institutions to include the healthcare system, justice system, and educational system (Fitzgerald & Hurst, 2017; Safir, 2016; Spencer, Charbonneau, & Glaser, 2016). As such educators, counselors, and administrators must be able to acknowledge that implicit biases exist, be able to identify how they manifest, and then be willing to work to reduce their negative impact in k-16 settings. As such the objectives of this presentation include the following: