Stereotypes Are Good At Math And Science

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The Merriam-Webster English Dictionary defines a stereotype as “a standardized mental picture that is held in common by members of a group and that represents an oversimplified opinion, prejudiced attitude, or uncritical judgment”. Stereotypes are ubiquitous and a major cause that contributes to stereotypes could be the inevitable cultural differences. Therefore, educators must think about some pedagogical questions as they approach their students when dealing with different stereotypes: did I engage all learners by creating a classroom that has a positive emotional climate where all students can freely express their opinions? Are they emotionally safe and personally meaningful? Does school privileges certain kinds of learners? In this paper, I would like to share my personal experience and a research I have done to examine the stereotypical statement, “Asians are good at math and science”. …show more content…

According to the journal, “stereotype threat research has shown that when children are reminded of a negatively stereotyped identity, members of the stereotyped group perform worse on achievement tests than they do when the stereotypes are not activated” (Schmader, Johns, & Forbes, 2008). The research introduces a detailed examination of how students underachieve academically when they are aware of negative stereotypes; for instance, it provides an analysis on whether or not elementary and middle school students believe racial stereotypes about who can be good at math, especially the Asian = math