Action Research:“Combating Racist Attitudes in

High School Classrooms”

Amy EverhartSecondary: English, Political Science

Research Question

• Observation:– Issues of racism with some students

• Research Question:– How effective is social learning about racism

in changing students' attitudes/beliefs about social issues?

Background Research

• Importance of safe environment for open, honest dialogue

• Social learning unit plans – personal narratives

• Reflective questions for self-assessment in unit plans – promoting equity

Background Research

• Critical thinking skills and self reflection open-mindedness

• Intensive lessons with pre-tests and post-tests to gauge change in thought

• Whole classes centered around social learning

Research Plan

• Gradual social learning fused with unit– Informal data through discussions & journals– Mock election ballots

• One-day intensive social learning– Pre-test– Video clip: A Class Divided– Discussion & post-test

• Is gradual or intensive learning more effective? Are either effective?

Data Collection

• Mock election ballots– Candidate– Reasoning

• Journal entries throughout Inherit the Wind unit

• Pre-test and post-test– A Class Divided

Pre-Test

• Free write about social learning• True or false:

– People of different races should stick with their own kind.– Historical tensions among different groups of people have no

relevance to today’s society.– Racism is still an issue in America today.– Affirmative action is necessary to make up for the current social

injustices that have been caused by slavery in historical America.

– “White” people are privileged in current-day America.– “White” people deserve to be privileged in current-day America.– Certain races are just naturally smarter than others.– Segregation is a thing of the past.

Post-Test

• Re-do true/false questions

• Did any of your answers change from what you said before you watched the clip? Which ones? Why?

• What questions do you have about social & racial issues in America? For you, what would be the most effective way to learn about these topics?

Data – Mock Election

McCain

Obama

Nader

Other

Data – Mock Election

• 37.9% - Agree with political beliefs

• 24.3% - Republican/Democrat

• 19.3% - Parents

• 12.1% - Don’t like idea of African-American President

• 4.3% - Like idea of African-American President

• 2.1% - Like idea of Woman VP

Data - Journals

• Racism–generational issue in Parma

• Importance of deciding opinions for self

• White supremacy

• Short-sighted

• Still developing ability to take another perspective

Data – A Class Divided

0

5

10

15

20

25

A B F G

Pre-Test

Post-Test

• Points for all racist statements went down, although not by much

Data – A Class Divided

• “I don’t even feel like it’s an issue anymore, and I’m more annoyed that we have to learn about black discrimination in all my classes. But it’s sad that that happened to them but it’s over now.”

• “I saw how whites were more privileged.”

• “Black people are not equal to whites… If it ain’t white it ain’t right… white > black.”

Data – A Class Divided

• “Why do black people get angry at others because of something that didn’t happen to them, and that we didn’t do? Why do others feel like we owe them? We’re sorry, but we didn’t do it.”

• “Before I saw segregation as a thing of the past, but now I can see how it can still exist today.”

Data – A Class Divided

• “Racism will happen no matter what so let it happen.”

• “Why don’t we have better border control? Idk. Biology. 1 black person I like is my cousin.”

• “My opinion on affirmative action changed. I feel that they should at least try to put a stop to racism.”

Data – A Class Divided

• “I think the only problem with our school are the people who believe the south will rise again and the few black people we have at Western are very very heavily judge upon. The south will not rise again they need to realize. For goodness sake we now have a ½ black President.”

Data Analysis

• Best to be explicit – intensive learning is probably best

• High schoolers too old to change their thoughts?

• Social learning should be implemented into lessons throughout school year

• Safe environment to share honest opinions – crucial

Action Plan

• Gradual but explicit social learning from beginning of school year

• Intensive lessons

• Intensive units

• New high school course - ?

• Hands-on experiences

Sources

• PBS Frontline A Class Divided: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/divided/

• Rozema, H. (1997, November 21). Using personal narratives to incorporate diversity into the basic communication course. National Communication Association.

• Lawrence, B. (2000, April 28). Reflections of a white teacher teaching a course on racism. American Educational Research Association.

• Bambino, D. (2005). Learning to see with a third eye: working to address inequity effectively. Educational Horizons.

• Klein, T. (1992, May). Teaching tolerance: prejudice awareness and reduction in secondary schools. Master’s thesis, Dominican College.

Questions?