In many nations, ethnic minorities struggle to be as academically accomplished as the major ethnic groups. This performance gap has gained the attention of educators, researchers, and policy-makers due to its unfavorable implications. Education is one of the determinants of quality of life as it affects a person’s job prospects, income potential, the circle of friends, and even their self-image. Peterson et al. (2016) name education as one of the factors that predict socioeconomic status (SES). The scholars describe a mechanism that seems to keep communities in a cycle of academically underachieving and failing to support their children with material goods or moral guidance (Peterson et al., 2016). However, as recent longitudinal studies suggest, academic achievement gaps cannot be fully ascribed to SES, which makes it compelling to research other possible predictors.
The Bible does not provide a clear stance on social justice and racial inequality. Yet, its position can be inferred from the Holy Scripture. For instance, Galatians 3:28 states that “[people] are all one in Christ Jesus,” which shows that God does not discriminate by any traits and accepts all. According to Proverbs 6:16-19, one of the things that the Lord hates the most is “a person who stirs up conflict in the community.” It may also refer to those who express hatred and hostility to people of other races, and such behavior is clearly frowned upon by Christians.
In terms of strategic communication, any organization cares about its reputation. Public image is fragile as even one incident may turn even the most loyal clients away from a company. It is especially true for educational institutions as they bear the burden of public expectations and are held to high standards. For this reason, institutions need to tackle social justice issues from within and identify the roots of racial inequalities. Therefore, the research question is as follows:
Does the academic staff’s explicit and implicit racial bias result in poorer academic achievement in ethnic minorities?
Reference
Peterson, E. R., Rubie-Davies, C., Osborne, D., & Sibley, C. (2016). Teachers’ explicit expectations and implicit prejudiced attitudes to educational achievement: Relations with student achievement and the ethnic achievement gap. Learning and Instruction, 42, 123-140.