Student Perceptions of Teacher Ethnic Bias: A Comparison of Mexican American and Non-Latino White Dropouts and Students

Student alienation from school is a major cause of dropping out of high school and poor teacher-student relationships are often cited in describing student alienation. An under-studied aspect of poor teacher-student relationships is student perception that teachers treat some students differently because of the student's ethnicity. Previous studies on this topic have been isolated to dropouts and minority students, and have been conducted using small numbers of participants. Thus, it is unknown what the prevalence of such perceptions in the overall student population are, as well as perception differences by dropout status and ethnicity. The present study addressed these issues by utilizing a large-scale dropout database to describe student perception of teacher ethnic bias in Mexican American and non-Latino white dropouts, students at risk of dropping out, and students in the overall school population. Results indicated that although perceptions of teacher ethnic bias are not rampant, such perceptions exist, more so in dropouts, Mexican American adolescents, and males. Implications for future research, schools, teachers, and teacher preparation programs are discussed. Introduction Dropping out of high school continues to draw attention in educational literature. Such attention is justified, as the problems which can result for an individual who drops out are well-documented (Ekstrom, Goertz, Pollack, & Rock, 1986; Rumberger, 1987; Wehlage and Rutter, 1986). Often, studies are focused specifically on dropout issues in the Latino population because of the high Latino dropout rate (Rumberger, 1993). Many causes and correlates of dropping out have been identified, one of which is the nature of the school-student relationship. School alienation is thought to be a significant factor when explaining dropout and low academic achievement, particularly so among minority students (Calabrese & Poe, 1990; Fine, 1991; Jordan, Lara, & McPartland, 1996). Quite simply, dropouts often leave school because they do not like school (Ekstrom et al., 1986; Jordan et al., 1996; Wehlage & Rutter, 1986). More specifically, poor teacher-student relationships can be expected to contribute to negative feelings toward school since these relationships are at the very heart of the educational process. Dropouts report poor relationships with teachers (Turner, Lana, Shapiro, & Perez, 1993), and poor teacher relationships are often cited as a reason for dropping out (Ekstrom et al., 1986; Jordan et al., 1996; Tidwell, 1988). It has been suggested that the teacher-student bond is particularly important for Mexican American students (Alva and Padilla, 1995). One aspect of poor teacher-student relationships results from student perceptions that teachers treat students differentially according to ethnic background. As Calabrese and Poe (1990) note, education is viewed as an equalizer in the United States, and recognition of bias in an institution which professes to offer equal opportunity creates a sense of alienation and distance. Given Alva and Padilla's (1995) findings, this may be especially true for Mexican American students. Alton-Lee, Nuthall, and Patrick (1993) state that when presented with a school situation which is a cultural mismatch, some minority children may reject the situation as belonging to "them," and not "us." Thus, student perceptions of teacher ethnic bias are part of the constellation of experiences which make some students uncomfortable with school, often hindering academic achievement. In fact, Katz (1999) reported that discrimination was the primary cause of Latino student disengagement from school. Students report many different manifestations of perceived teacher ethnic bias. Some are less overt, such as low academic expectations of Latino students (Aviles, Guerrero, Howarth & Thomas, 1999; Katz, 1999). Participants in Aviles et al. reported that being of Mexican descent, they were often not part of the "in-group" in their school and felt that this often led to differential treatment by the faculty. …