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29.4.2: Recognizing and Removing Bias

  • Page ID
    142511
    • Amanda Taintor
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    Bias Observations

    Search the word bias on an internet search engine. You will get a definition similar to: "prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, usually in a way considered to be unfair."

    It is important to realize we might not be fully aware of all our biases, even if we are aware of some. Our biases are at play in our interpretations of behaviors we often observe without recognizing their influence. For example, when a child says, "give me some milk!" Our first response might be, "how do you ask?" We might not realize that manners (or lack of them) influence our reactions in a specific way. Caregivers must recognize how they feel towards the child's behavior influences how we see them and thus what we choose to observe and document.[1]

    Common Subjective Mistakes to Avoid When Writing Observation Evidence

    • Making Conclusions: "Billie can't do anything by himself because he is the youngest in a large family, and they do everything for him"; "Sharon's parents are getting a divorce, so she is sad"
    • Making Assumptions: "Annie never shares"; "Denise always hits Thomas"
    • Labeling: "Rosie is mean"; "Jeff is such a good boy"
    • Comparing: "Tommy can't ride the bike as well as Sam"; "Zoey was the best listener at circle time."
    • Focusing on Feelings or Emotions/Mood: "Max looks so sad today"; "Jax looks so happy as he slides down the slide."
    • Adding Opinions/Subjective: "Martha likes playing dress-up; she is in the dramatic play area every day."; "Suki is shy and never says anything during circle time." (put in your parking lot). [2]

    To the extent possible, caregivers need to acknowledge biases and the influences of our cultural lens and then remove those from observations and be intentional in removing them from the documentation. The necessity to remove subjective and sometimes biased observations does not automatically imply "wrong-ness." The subjective thought could align with the caregiver's cultural, personal, or religious values. What a person believes is often what makes us unique (remember the definition of objective?), but those unique views and reflections do not belong in our objective observation or documentation. Biases get in the way of what behavior is happening. When you first begin to document your observations, a helpful exercise is to physically write down the subjective thoughts into a separate area; some choose to label this the "parking lot" or select another label identifying it as a place to move subjective observations. As you complete more observations, the act of moving subjective thoughts out of the way of our objective observations will become easier. [3]


    [1] Recognizing Your Biases is shared under a CC BY license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Gina Peterson and Emily Elam.

    [2] Peterson, G., & Elam, E. (2021). Observation and Documentation - The Key to Intentional Teaching. In Observation and Assessment in Early Childhood Education is licensed under CC BY.

    [3] U.S Department of Health and Human Services ECLKC Child observation: The heart of individualizing responsive care for infants and toddlers is in the public domain


    This page titled 29.4.2: Recognizing and Removing Bias is shared under a mixed 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Amanda Taintor.