Do College Instructors Have Implicit Bias Toward Latino-accented English Speakers?
Session Abstract
This session intends to expose the audience to a rarely researched area, hidden bias of college instructors toward Latino-accented English speakers. The presentation will describe a recent study and an innovative tool that measures accent bias. The implication of the results and future research recommendations will also be presented.
Target Audience
The primary audience for this session is current and future educators involved with diverse student population in higher education. The session will provide valuable new information about hidden bias of college instructors toward Latino-accented English speakers. The secondary audience is educational administrators who wants to keep up with new research and to look for new ideas and topics to discuss in diversity training, hiring practices, faculty development, and teaching assistant training.
Session Description
This session intends to expose the audience to potential bias of college instructors toward Latino-accented English speakers. The literature suggested existing prejudice toward Latinos in different sectors in society. However, the study about hidden bias, especially bias of college instructors, toward Latino-accented students has been rare. The number of Latino students has been dramatically increased in higher education institutions. The instructors’ hidden language bias can negatively affect students’ self-confidence, academic achievement, and social interactions. The presentation will describe a recent study about accent bias of college instructors toward Latinos and an innovative tool, the auditory Implicit Association Test, that was used in the study. The presenter will discuss the implication of the results for faculty and educational administrators. She will also describe the application of the results to faculty training, diversity training, teaching assistant training, and hiring practices. Future research recommendations will also be presented. In addition, any attendee who wants to try the auditory Implicit Association Test can do so toward the end of the session.