Understanding the roots of stereotypes and prejudice in our society

Culture is not just a list of holidays or shared recipes, religious traditions, or language; it is a lived experience unique to every individual. As ECEC providers, it is our job to stimulate the intellectual development of infants and toddlers and, in this era, it is simply not enough to operate on the axis of “racial color-blindness.” To truly engage students, we must reach out to them in ways that are culturally and linguistically responsive and appropriate, and we must examine the cultural assumptions and stereotypes we bring into the learning environment that may hinder interconnectedness.

Your willingness to examine your own possible biases is an important step in understanding the roots of stereotypes and prejudice in our society. Through the combined efforts of psychologists from Harvard, the University of Virginia, and the University of Washington, “Project Implicit” (Links to an external site.) provides a research-based questionnaire created to measure unconscious or automatic biases.

Read this page, click “I wish to proceed” at the bottom.

Click the blue boxes on the left to answer test questions about each category.

To complete this assignment:

First, complete the Project Implicit Questionnaire.

In the discussion forum, generally explain your questionnaire results (to the extent to which you are comfortable) by answering the following questions:

Did your results surprise you? (If so, what was surprising about your results? If not, why not?)

Do you feel these results were valid and/or impacted by Western culture?

Discuss the anticipated challenges associated with biases and not validating the racial and ethnic identities of the students and families you work with.