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WHY ARE MANY PROFESSIONAL FORMS CULTURALLY BIAS?. Jeremy Ledford EPSY 341.001 Code 16. Professional Forms?. Intelligence testing College admission forms Census forms Surveys. Intelligence tests. A true culture-free test is impossible to make. Culture-fair tests should be made instead.
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WHY ARE MANY PROFESSIONAL FORMS CULTURALLY BIAS? Jeremy Ledford EPSY 341.001 Code 16
Professional Forms? • Intelligence testing • College admission forms • Census forms • Surveys
Intelligence tests • A true culture-free test is impossible to make. • Culture-fair tests should be made instead. • The problem with standardized tests is diverse cultural barriers.
Example #1 – Joseph Laturnau • A question on an intelligence test reads: • Her tooth came out so she put it • On top of the refrigerator • Under the tree • Under her pillow • None of the above
Answers from some students… • Young girl from Korea • In her culture, they would throw the tooth on top of the roof so the new one would grow in straight. She answered “on top of the refrigerator” because she new it meant up. • Young boy from the Marshall Islands • In his culture, they throw their teeth in the ocean for good luck. He tried to explain this to the teacher, but the teacher told him to remain silent and take the test, she could not help him.
Example #2 - Joseph Laturnau • The three colors of a traffic light are: • Red, yellow, blue • Red, yellow, green • Red, black, green • Red, white, blue
Answer from a student • Young boy from Samoa • The boy had no idea what a traffic light was because in Samoa there were no traffic lights. He asked a friend also from Samoa, “what is a traffic light?” The girl answered, “I have no idea, I think it is the thing on top of a pole.” • The boy thought of a flag, it is on top of a pole. His answer was Red, white, blue.
Example of a survey I was asked to fill out here on campus: What is your ethnicity? Caucasian Asian Pacific Islander African-American Hispanic American-Indian African Other Other biases…A survey
Caucasian? • “White people, as a majority in U.S. society, seldom think of themselves as ethnic – a term they tend to reserve for other, more easily identifiable groups” –Sonia Nieto, Affirming Diversity • By using the term “Caucasian” all people from a European ancestry are “lumped together” and one’s ethnic background is lost.
Caucasian? • Not all “White” or “Caucasian” people are from Europe. • Example in the textbook is many Jewish people are white but did not come from a European ancestry.
American-Indian • American-Indian is another example of bias toward culture. • This classification brings all tribes that exist in the United States into one category of “Indian” • Over 50 different tribes still exist in North America. • Many different tribes = Many different cultures
Why are these forms culturally bias? • Answer: Our society and today’s generation are not educated multiculturally. • The generation now that is making these forms were not exposed to diversity and the many different cultures that exist in our society today. • Technological advances in transportation and better economic status has made travel easier for many people throughout the world.
What needs to happen? • The educational system needs to improve. • Schools need more multicultural education • Discussions • Assignments • Projects • Events • Children need to be exposed to more diversity.
References: • “Cultural Bias in Intelligence Testing”. (2004). Retrieved March 1, 2005, from http://www.wilderdom.com/personality/inte lligenceCulturalBias.html • Dove, A. The "Chitling" Test. From Lewis R. Aiken, Jr. (1971). Psychological and educational testings. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. • Lang, Steve., Bilingual Testing. (1994). Retrieved March 15, 2005, from http://www.rasch.org/rmt/rmt81k.htm • Laturnau, Joseph., Cultural bias in standardized tests. (2002). Retrieved March 1, 2005, from http://www.prel.org/products/paced/aug02 /pc_tests.htm
References: • Ledger, Lorraine. (1997). Cultural Bias in IQ testing. Retrieved March 1, 2005, from http://www.liberalartsandcrafts.net/content catalog/social/bias.shtml. • Ledger, Lorraine. (1997). Intelligence Testing. Retrieved March 1, 2005, from http://www.liberalartsandcrafts.net/contentcatalo g/learning/IQtests.shtml. • McGinley, Stephanie. (2002, December). The ESOL Multicultural Newsletter. Story 15. Retrieved March 15, 2002, from Fort Hayes State University website: http://www.fhsu.edu/~rbscott/news.dec/story15.htm. • "Taking the Chitling Test," Newsweek, July 15, 1968.
References: • Redden, P. M., & Simons, J. A. (1986). Manual for the Redden-Simons "Rap" Test. Ankeny, IO: Des MoinesArea Community College. • Nieto, Sonia. (2004). Affirming Diversity: The Sociopolitical Context of Multicultural Education. Boston: Pearson.