Changes in Educators’ Attitudes toward Racial Inequality in Two Small City School Districts during COVID-19
By Dr. Kathryn Schiller & Beth Anne Horning
Dr. Kathryn Schiller, a NYKids’ Co-investigator and Chair and Associate Professor in the Educational Policy and Leadership Department at University at Albany, along with doctoral student and research assistant Beth Anne Horning presented new research at the first session of the 2021 Summer Symposium on Differential Impacts of Covid-19 in New York State on June 21, 2021.
Their project “Changes in Educators’ Attitudes toward Racial Inequality in Two Small-City School Districts during Covid-19” was developed as part of an ongoing NEA grant titled “Empowering Early Career Educators for Racial Justice” (E3RJ) in partnership with NYSUT and three regional urban school districts serving large populations of racially diverse and economically disadvantaged students.
In their presentation, Dr. Schiller and Beth Anne discussed preliminary research results based on two school climate surveys developed by the E3RJ team and administered to partner districts in April 2019 and March 2021. While some questions about teacher attitudes on race and ethnicity appeared on both surveys, the 2021 survey included several questions about educator experiences during Covid-19 in order to gauge how the pandemic has impacted faculty, students, and families in these districts. Of particular interest were questions on how teachers perceived racial inequality and the attention given to multicultural or BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) issues in schools before and during Covid-19.
Research Highlights
Perceptions of multicultural or minority (BIPOC) issues
- The survey results showed that untenured teachers are more likely to disagree that multicultural or minority (BIPOC) issues are receiving too much attention in schools compared to tenured teachers and mentor teachers. This trend was consistent across both surveys. While all teachers were more likely to disagree with this statement in 2021 than 2019, almost 90% of untenured teachers either strongly disagreed or disagreed that these issues are receiving too much attention in 2021. Future analysis will consider the potential impact of the Black Lives Matter Movement and events such as the murder of George Floyd on these responses.
Racial and ethnic inequalities during Covid-19
- Results from the 2021 survey suggest untenured teachers are more likely than their tenured colleagues to agree that racial and ethnic inequalities are more prominent during Covid-19 in comparison to prior to the pandemic. 50% of untenured teachers strongly agreed that inequalities were more prominent during Covid-19, whereas 37% of mentor teachers and 30% of tenured teachers responded they strongly agreed. In an open-ended comments section at the end of the survey, some teachers offered examples of inequalities they have witnessed in their own districts and classrooms around student academic performance and digital access. Many expressed a growing awareness of the digital divide between students in their districts during remote and hybrid instruction along racial and socioeconomic lines.
Student mental health needs during Covid-19
- While 80% of surveyed teachers agreed to some extent that many students are struggling with mental health needs during Covid-19, untenured teachers were again the group most likely to agree with this statement. Teacher comments addressed the limited time and resources afforded to teachers to help students with mental health and relayed concerns that grading and testing practices have not been adapted to reflect the multitude of changes students have faced in the last school year. Significantly, the expectations put on students to perform to the same standards as any other school year during remote or hybrid instruction disproportionately impacted the academic outcomes of BIPOC students.
Dr. Schiller concluded the presentation by emphasizing that while all teachers have faced challenges during remote instruction, the challenges of novice teachers are different from challenges veteran educators experience. Additionally, teachers in urban schools face unique issues during Covid-19 due to the exacerbation of racial and ethnic inequalities in their districts, which have become more visible and pronounced through remote instruction.
For other NYKids’ blogs focused on racial inequality as well as our research results page highlighting our latest student study findings go to our website.
Also stop in at 9:15 am on Monday June 28th for NYKids presentation on our current study titled “Discovering Differential Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Education Workforce” at the 2021 Summer Symposium: Addressing Differential Impacts of COVID-19 In New York State .
As always we welcome you to reach out to us with any comments or questions about our research or to request direct support for planning for reopening in the fall at: nykids@albany.edu
