Table Of ContentResearching Bias
A Look at “Lookism”
A Critical Analysis of Teachers’ Expectations
Based on Students Appearance
Debra DeCastro-Ambrosetti & Grace Cho
Introduction theory that analyzes racial inequity and 350 elementary teachers in a large, urban
the social construction of race and dis- district. Each teachers was given a color
As educators in the United States, we
crimination. These concepts are present photo of each student along with the stu-
have been socialized to believe that our
in the work of many notable scholars, dents’ progress reports. The participants
mission in teaching is to play nice and treat
including Gloria Ladson-Billings whose were asked to predict, based upon the
all of our students the same, regardless of
writings on Culturally Relevant Pedagogy documents they were given, how a student
race, ethnicity, class, or gender. What is
(1995) has been a major contribution to would fare in terms of attitude, work hab-
often missing in this teaching-all-equally
the understanding of educational equity. its, parental interest, and peer relations.
approach is a counter-narrative that ques-
Further, distinctions have surfaced within They found that attractiveness may have
tions whether teachers can in fact suc-
CRT which seek to account for such factors influenced the teachers’ perceptions of
cessfully act as the gate keepers of equal
as gender, language, and oppression. students initially, but that the student’s
educational opportunities.
Persell (1977) has offered four pos- record was the most influential factor.
The concept of educational inequality
sible reasons why teachers may hold lower While this early research, now several
has been the focus for many researchers,
expectations for certain students. The first decades old, is of interest and potential im-
each trying to arrive at the root of the
reason is tied to the distinct personality of portance, the critical question currently is
problem in order to offer possible solu-
the teachers themselves. The second sug- whether similar issues of student appear-
tions. These different perspectives and
gests that teachers are exposed to certain ance play a gate-keeping role in teaching
possible answers have ranged from a
socializing experiences in addition to their today. Whether photos or written records
focus on IQ as in Jensen’s deficit of Blacks
own prejudices. The third considers how are influencing teachers’ expectations of
theory (Jensen, 1969), to IQ deficit as it re-
teachers are influenced by research and students, both must be considered short-
lates to the lower social classes (Eysenck,
ideas such as the IQ deficit and cultural sighted and inappropriate ways to make
1971; Herrnstein, 1973), and continuing
deficit theories. Finally, Persell suggests judgments and are an invitation to exercise
with the cultural deficit theory which re-
that certain educational structures, for underlying and possibly even unconscious
lates familial, linguistic, cognitive, and at-
instance tracking, influence teachers’ ex- prejudices on the part of teachers.
titudinal backgrounds to lower academic
pectations of students.
achievement (Valentine, 1968).
Studying
What each of these theories has in
Considering Teacher Expectations
common is that they position students
Physical Appearance
within structures of dominance that are To gain further insight on these issues,
indicated by race or class and more indi- Another influencing factor that may our study focused on the teacher and on
rectly by appearance and/or language. The contribute to teachers’ expectations for the expectations he or she may hold for
problem with this is that such structures their students can be linked to the stu- students based on their physical character-
of dominance implicate teachers and place dents’ physical appearance. The concept istics. We anticipated that the responses
blame on students as victims rather than of physical appearance influencing a would be complex. Initially, however, we
holding responsible the larger frameworks teacher’s expectation of specific students were guided by one simple question: What
or institutions that imposed these societal was first noted by Clifford and Walster do teachers think of their students based
constraints. Further, these structures of (1973). Their study found that the physi- on the students’ physical characteristics?
dominance negatively influence teachers’ cal attractiveness of a student was directly These characteristics were assumed to
expectations for students. related to the teacher’s expectations of include race, gender, and, to some extent,
Critical Race Theory (CRT) is another the student’s intelligence, popularity, and social class.
educational motivation. In addition to this initial question, we
Debra DeCastro-Ambrosetti Adams and LaVoie’s (1974) study asked ourselves what perceptions, racist
and Grace Cho are professors looked at the effect that physical attrac- or otherwise, might teachers have about
in the College of Education tiveness had on teachers’ expectations of their students? Are teachers, as they have
at California State University, Fullerton, students. They examined the responses of positioned themselves within classroom
Fullerton, California. discussions and debates, neutral and color
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Linguistically Diverse Students & Their Families
blind, treating all of their students the adolescent’s race and gender. The ado- respondents associated academic success
same way? Or do they base their assump- lescents in the photos were all in the 15- with students of Asian heritage.
tions on a lifetime lived in a greater society to-17 years-of-age range and were shown In response to the statement “identify
in which racism and stereotypes exist? in typical school attire and settings. The which student is most likely to excel in ath-
Historically the teachers’ role has been photos showed their faces and upper torsos letics,” the participants identified Hispanic
to evaluate their students from the earliest only. They all appeared well groomed. All and Black males as the most likely destined
years of schooling, beginning with screen- of the adolescents were dressed casually. for athletic success, at 66% and 17% respec-
ing for kindergarten. In performing these None were in dress clothes. Their attire tively. Since we purposely chose photos of
responsibilities, do teachers approach consisted of stylish tee shirts, sweaters, well groomed adolescents of different races
their students with ingrained beliefs which polo shirts, etc. and gender in neutral attire, with none
influence their perception of students? Below the photos were a series of of the subjects shown in athletic attire, it
To illuminate these possibilities our selected, intentionally inflammatory state- seems clear that our respondents perceive
aim was to examine a specific form of ments specifically written to elicit each athletic success to be associated with the
prejudice known as lookism, which Ayto participant’s perception of specific racial Hispanic and Black racial groups.
(1999) defines as “prejudice or discrimina- group members. Participants were then We felt that responses to the state-
tion on the grounds of appearance” (p. 485). asked to link each statement to a photo ment “identify which student is most likely
How do such prejudices impact whether which portrayed a specific racial group. to: join a gang, get involved in drugs, and,
students will be treated equally? For instance, one statement asked the par- finally, commit a crime before graduating”
ticipants to identify which student would reflected the perceived as outsiders cat-
Methodology be most likely to commit a crime before egory. We chose this label to indicate the
graduating high school. students who were, for whatever reason,
The participants for our study were
Based upon their own experiences, perceived as marginalized from the larger
226 secondary education teacher candi- students were asked to pair the photo society. Notably, perceived as outsiders was
dates enrolled in professional education which best represented the statement. By a male dominated category. For example,
classes in a suburban university in South-
asking the participants to choose the pho- 39% of the respondents identified the Black
ern California. To attain a representative
tos which best represented the statements male and 24% of the respondents selected
sampling of teacher candidates in each
we hoped to uncover their individual un- the Asian male as most likely to have gang
level of our program in secondary educa-
derlying perceptions, or hidden prejudices. affiliations. The photos that were used to
tion the participants—students in nine
By including 226 participants in the study, represent both the Asian and Black males
education classes—completed an anony-
we intended to highlight 226 individual again aimed at neutrality and depicted
mous, attitudinal survey.
perceptions that teacher candidates have these students in academic attire—not
An attitudinal survey was chosen as
about adolescents. From these percep- identifiable gang-wear.
the primary research instrument in order
tions we then hoped to identify a pattern In response to the question about
to solicit teacher candidates’ perceptions
of thought illuminating how teacher can- which student would be “involved in
about adolescents based on the adoles-
didates perceive adolescents based upon drugs,” 39% of the respondents identified
cents’ physical characteristics. The survey
their physical characteristics, recognizing the White male and 21% chose the Black
consisted of a series of eight photos of
that such characteristics are by nature tied male. Females of all four racial groups
adolescents from four major racial groups
to racial groups. scored very low compared to the males. In
(Black, White, Asian, and Hispanic) and
addition, 48% of Black males and 17% of
10 statements formulated to elicit deep-
Findings White males were identified as “most likely
seated perceptions.
to commit a crime before graduating from
Each racial group photo included both The participants’ responses were
high school.” Interestingly, this category
male and female members of that group. categorized into five major themes: aca-
was also gender driven, with 78% of the
For example, some of the photos depicted demic success, athletic success, perceived
responses consisted of males from the four
both male and female African-American as outsiders, academic adversity, and chal-
racial groupings.
adolescents. All photos used in the study lenging classroom authority. In this report The theme academic adversity focused
were obtained through public access us- our findings will focus on the two photo-
on students who are on the outskirts of
ing the internet. In doing this, we hoped graphs that had the highest frequency of
the high school social network. The stu-
to ensure anonymity and to minimize the responses.
dent who drops out of school is no longer
chance that some of the adolescents in the The first category, academic success,
privy to many of the social opportunities
photos would be recognized. was drawn from the responses to the state-
afforded to high school students. They are
Following the suggestions of Adams ment “identify which student is most likely
now marginalized and become a group
and LaVoie (1974), who criticized their to excel in academics.” Seventy percent of
unto themselves, set apart from the daily
own study for not including a wide range the respondents designated Asians, both
routines of high school life. The majority
of personal appearance and dress, we male and female, as the group most likely
of responses in this area, 51% of the total,
purposely chose photographs that depicted to fulfill this prediction. The respondents
identified the Black male (26%) or the
students dressed differently from one an- were also asked to “identify which student
Hispanic female (25%) as most likely to
other. The search process for the photos is most likely to attend an Ivy League
drop out of high school.
was extensive in order to identify photos college such as Yale or Harvard.” Again,
Additionally, the student who becomes
that depicted adolescents of approximately the majority of participants (55%) stated
a parent is also marginalized and placed
the same age and physical appearance that Asians were the group most likely to
in a position where academic success is in
with the only notable difference being the attend an Ivy League school. Clearly, the
jeopardy due to the added responsibility of
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Researching Bias
caring for a baby and the time constraints potentially creating caste-like situations We believe that this may have been due
of being a parent and providing for the in their classrooms. to an increased number of multicultural
child. The respondents identified the His- By positioning minority adolescents education classes being offered and taken
panic female (53%) and Black female (25%) in the categories with the least desirable by students. It appears, however, that such
as most likely to become a parent before attributes, these teacher candidates’ per- perceptions about race and gender are too
high school graduation. ceptions as revealed in our study support deeply rooted to be eradicated by one or two
The final category is termed chal- Ogbu’s (1978) earlier research that focused courses. When presented with the survey’s
lenging classroom authority. When asked on the stratification of ethnic and racial statements, it is possible that the respon-
to address the statement related to this minority groups within the larger frame- dents may have experienced some conflict
theme, 32% identified White males as work of society. Significantly, he found that if they consciously knew it was wrong to
most likely to cause trouble in the class- within society certain groups hold higher respond with stereotypical answers.
room. Black males were second in this status, and that this stratification would
category, with a response rate of 29%. necessarily lead to an unequal educational Conclusion
Conversely, both Asian males (0.4%) and system created not by politicians or the
To formulate an opinion of students
females (3.5%) were rated as the least untrained populace, but instead by those
based on their racial and ethnic appear-
likely to cause trouble in the classroom. to whom we entrust the education of our
ance is undeniably a detrimental form of
This corresponds to, or is the reverse side children—the teachers. Unfortunately, our
of their high scores in the area of academic findings suggest that this likely remains gate-keeping by teachers. Stereotypical
success. true 40 years after Ogbu first offered this perceptions of students can lead to un-
equal treatment in the classroom, which
conclusion.
in turn translates into unequal access to
Discussion A small number of the teacher can-
educational opportunities. According to our
didates were vocal, adamantly stating
The participants’ responses to the findings, this predisposition toward stereo-
that they did not possess any prejudices
photos reflected perceptions of adoles- typing students based on their appearance
or racial stereotypes. These participants
cents that were clearly related to race went completely unnoticed by most of the
went on to suggest in a very negative tone
and gender and, as such, revealed their participants, many of whom were adamant
that they responded to the survey in a way
own personal stereotypes and prejudices. that they did not hold these attitudes.
that they believed the researchers wanted
We felt this finding was reinforced by the It is our assumption that the teacher
to hear. In addition to these verbalized
fact that the photos used intentionally candidates’ lack of awareness of their own
remarks from the teacher candidates, a
presented adolescents dressed in similar deep-seated prejudices will be harmful
handful of surveys included unsolicited
attire in order to neutralize the effect that to the students they will teach and will
written statements such as,
dress may have. ultimately perpetuate such gate-keeping
According to data from the study, our These abilities are not determined by how practices. Ignorance of the existence of
participants rated Asian adolescents as a person looks, but here is a stereotypi- such perceptions and thoughts leaves these
cal answer to this test [referring to the
most likely to achieve academic success. teacher candidates unprepared to address
responses the participant gave on the sur-
This concurs with the notion that Asians them. These perceptions can utimately
vey]. In reality, all students can excel.
are the “model minority” (Takaki, 1998) manifest in negative interactions with
and traditionally achieve academic suc- Since only a small number of the respon- their future students in the classroom.
cess. The Asian male and female were also dents refuted the concept of racial profil- A crucial step toward any reform is
rated as the least likely to cause trouble ing, it is our view that the bulk of the the identification of a problem, but just as
in the classroom, contributing further to completed surveys represent a majority important is the acknowledgement that a
this overall stereotype. response that is racially motivated and problem exists in the first place. Possessing
Additionally, the majority of the par- stereotypical. For example, Asians as a a bias toward a student is wrong on any
ticipants identified either the Black female group who do well academically and the level, but specifically a bias based on a
or the Hispanic female as most likely to Black male being seen in a gang clearly fit student’s physical appearance is even more
become a parent before graduating from such stereotypical and racist beliefs. problematic because it is not something
high school. It is interesting to note that A small number of the survey results, that can be altered, nor is it accurate or
the particiants chose minority females those from the self-proclaimed “unpreju- reflective of the student in question.
even though the statement specifically diced” participants, exhibited a reverse pat- By better understanding the percep-
asked about becoming a parent, not who tern whereby their response was a “mirror tions that teacher candidates hold, we can
would become pregnant. As such, their image” of existing stereotypes. For example, enact program reform that will provide
views illustrated both racial and gender in response to the statement regarding future teacher candidates with a better
stereotyping. excelling academically, a few identified the understanding of issues and pedagogy
Our findings demonstrated that the Black male, which runs exactly contrary to relevant to working with culturally diverse
teacher candidates’ carried preconceived typical racial stereotyping. The same effect student populations.
notions about the adolescents they were was apparent when these teacher candi- As evidenced in a previous study (Cho
shown in the photos and that these notions dates were asked to identify the adolescent & DeCastro-Ambrosetti, 2006), we found
were stratified clearly along gender and most likely to attend an Ivy League school. that teacher candidates are being done
racial lines. In all probability, these ste- Here these “unprejudiced”participants a disservice if they trust that, by taking
reotyped ideas will at the very least have identified Asians as the least likely to do so. a single isolated course in multicultural
the potential to translate into the teach- All in this group of responses followed this education, they will overcome their own
ing approaches of these future teachers, pattern of “mirror imaging” stereotypes. prejudices and tendencies to stereotype.
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Linguistically Diverse Students & Their Families
Therefore, our standard U.S. teacher edu- good or bad by relying on their initial judg- High School Journal, 89(2), 24-29
cation program, predominantly populated ments of them to influence their later, Clifford, M., & Walster, E. (1973). The effect of
by White, middle class students, needs to consequent impressions of them. physical attractiveness on teacher expecta-
tion. Sociology of Education, 45, 248-258.
be revised in order to include an emphasis As such, it is quite likely that our
Eysenck, H. J. (1971). The IQ argument. Free-
on CRT, with special attention paid to the participants based their perceptions of
port, NY: Library Press.
understanding of the diverse cultures and students in the photos on the ideas they
Ladson-Billings, G. J. (1995). Toward a theory
families teacher candidates will encounter initially held about certain ethnic and of culturally relevant pedagogy. American
when they become teachers. racial groups. Certainly they did not ap- Education Research Journal, 35, 465-491.
We recommend that teacher prepara- proach the study devoid of stereotypes, as Herrnstein, R. J. (1973). IQ in the meritocracy.
tion programs include instruction about they had the accumulation of a lifetime of Boston: Atlantic-Little, Brown.
the underpinnings of CRT while also edu- experiences with and established biases Jensen, A. R. (1969). How much can we boost
I.Q. and scholastic achievement? Harvard
cating candidates on issues of diversity, in- about persons different from themselves,
Educational Review, 39, 1-123.
cluding gender, racial, and cultural equity. largely based on characteristics of race,
Ogbu, J. U. (1978). Minority education and caste:
By analyzing racial inequity as the social ethnicity, and gender. In addition, these
The American system in cross-cultural per-
construction of race and discrimination, were feelings that they generally did not spective. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
we can bring these ideas and stereotypes acknowledge. Persell, C. H. (1977). Education and inequality.
to the surface and ultimately disarm them. Therefore, it is our recommendation New York: The Free Press.
By doing so, we can address the miscon- that future researchers consider expand- Takaki, R. (1998). Strangers from a different
ceptions held by teacher candidates about ing this kind of study to include both shore: A history of Asian Americans. San
Francisco: Back Bay Books.
the populations they will be serving. This quantitative and qualitative components.
Thorndike, E. L. (1920). A constant error on
will lay the groundwork necessary to build In addition, researchers may want to con-
psychological rating. Journal of Applied
classrooms that are fair and equitable for sider interviewing of future respondents
Psychology, IV, 25-29
all, regardless of race, gender, or culture. individually as a means of ascertaining a Valentine, C. A.(1968). Culture and poverty.
Future researchers may want to con- deeper understanding of personal biases. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
sider the issue of a “halo effect” among
the research participants. The halo effect References
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they think of people as either basically tudes toward multicultural education. The
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