Teacher-Student Social Distance
Observational StudyJournal Article
Formal teachers in developing countries often belong to higher social classes than disadvantaged primary students, resulting in social prejudice, low empathy, and reduced teaching motivation for struggling learners.
Picture this
When instructors view teaching disadvantaged students as a charitable gesture rather than a core professional duty, communication breaks down, resembling a coach who ignores struggling beginners because they expect only natural athletes to succeed.
What the evidence says
Paraprofessionals sharing community backgrounds with students achieved 0.60 standard deviation learning gains, whereas formal teachers expressed social biases viewing instruction as doing a favor for disadvantaged groups.
- Who was studied
- Primary school teachers and marginalized urban primary students (including lower-caste and migrant children) in municipal schools in India.
- How
- Qualitative teacher motivation surveys integrated with randomized field trial evaluations.
What to do
Recruit local educational aides or paraprofessionals who share community and social backgrounds with students to eliminate social distance in foundational learning.
From the source
"Ramachandran et al. argue that social attitudes and community prejudices may limit teachers' effectiveness and that teachers feel as if 'they were doing a big favor by teaching children from erstwhile "untouchable" communities or very poor migrants.'"
Remedying Education: Evidence from Two Randomized Experiments in India