Nursing Education and Gender and Linguistic Bias and Learning Styles
Gender and Linguistic Bias In Nursing Education, Learning Styles In Nursing Education
Gender and Linguistic Bias In Nursing Education
Everyone is capable of bias and therefore is
not and cannot be all knowing and completely objective; this is true also for
members of the scientific community as well as faculty and staff in nursing
programs. Thus, for faculty, understanding their own biases as well as their
students’ beliefs and biases is a component of cultural due diligence and a
prerequisite to establishing an inclusive learning environment.
In a class with
diverse students, it is prudent as well as necessary for faculty to be attentive
to responses by anyone in the class that may be perceived as dismissive or
minimizing. Unconscious bias plays a part in the way faculty and students are
perceived by others.
Faculty and students can determine their biases by taking
assessment tools, which can be a springboard for getting in touch with personal
subconscious biases in a safe manner. The results can be transformative in
terms of self-awareness.
Promoting equity in
teaching also means that teachers are aware of subconscious biases and
differential treatment. As psychologist Claude Steele’s (2010) research
indicates, even the fear that one will be judged according to extant
stereotypes can depress academic performance.
Examples of bias include gender
bias and reactions to students who are culturally and linguistically diverse
(CALD). Research on gender bias in classrooms has supported tendencies for
teachers to interact with one gender more than another (Salter, 2004).
Specifically in classrooms with predominantly majority students, there is a
tendency for teachers to interact with white male students more than they
interact with women and men of color. With this awareness, teachers should make
concerted efforts to provide equal treatment by engaging all students.
This
includes the quiet student who speaks up infrequently. Deliberate actions can
be taken to accomplish this by devising a system for engaging students
regardless of gender or ethnicity. One frequently used technique is placing
index cards in an accessible manner where individuals can write their comments
or questions anonymously. This provides insights on where students are
struggling with concepts or have concerns that must be addressed.
With
increasing numbers of male students in nursing programs, gender dynamics become
important, and it is essential to deploy gender-neutral language unless
specificity of gender affects the lesson being taught or the point being made.
Faculty may also have a bias for students who are culturally and linguistically
diverse (CALD).
In fact, language differences is a key source of discrimination
on the part of faculty, students, and patients, causing students for whom
English is not their first or only language to feel devaluated (Smith &
Smyer, 2015).
English language learner (ELL) students, also known as CALD
students (Fuller, 2013), must be able to learn, write, take tests, and
communicate with classmates and patients in two languages, first translating
the concepts or communication into their own language and then back into
English.
If a student has an accent, challenges in communications may arise
between the ELL student and other students or between the ELL student and
faculty; class participation that requires verbal responses may be a challenge.
In such situations, faculty may refer students to accent reduction or
modification programs.
Carr and DekemelIchikawa (2012) reported favorable
results for international students who participated in an accent modification
course. Assumptions and beliefs undergird all interactions with others.
For
example, non-verbal behaviors such as frowns, furrowed brows, and intense
concentration may not be deliberate behaviors; rather, their use may be related
to efforts to try to capture what is being voiced by the student, and faculty
and students should seek to understand the meaning of the behavior rather than
make assumptions about it.
Unless clarified, these non-verbal behaviors may
have an effect on students’ future participation in discussions and classroom
interactions. They may refrain from participation or not respond to or ask
questions because of the panicky feelings they may experience at having to
speak in class.
Efforts can be made to address some of these differences by
incorporating strategies to improve linguistic competence such as the use of
assignments for reading with a study guide, for writing (including brief
written assignments, accepting paper drafts, and ongoing writing), and for
speaking and listening (Guttman, 2004).
Faculty can pay attention to techniques
that are used for questioning, for example, asking “why” and “how” questions
and encouraging and requesting students to “take risks” at no cost and to
explore “possibilities.” Questions framed in an open manner tend to be less
intimidating than those that give the impression that only one answer is
possible.
Waiting up to 10 to 12 seconds for a reply provides an opportunity
for students to formulate and translate their thoughts from their native language
to English. An additional way to engage students in language use is to use a
learning activity that requires them to write a question related to the
assignment each week and ask them to read the question in class or small peer
group.
This activity has a high potential for opening dialogue, decreasing
shyness, and enhancing community building with the class. Furthermore, faculty
must be willing to address students’ affective issues that influence their
feelings about English.
According to Halic, Greenburg, and Paulus (2009),
graduate students from various countries outside the United States who
participated in a phenomenological study about their language identity
expressed major concerns about how faculty and peers perceived them as they
developed a stronger grasp of the English language.
Also, these students shared
their own notions of English as a barrier and a “channel of access” given their
interactions in classroom settings (Halic et al., 2009, p. 82). It is not
uncommon in informal settings for students to share personal feelings of
exclusion or isolation. Opportunities should be provided for informal
conversations outside of the classroom.
The use of “gatherings” as a support
strategy has been reported to be beneficial for CALD students, as well as for
other underrepresented students (Stokes, 2003). This support initiative
provides a forum for students to openly discuss issues and concerns in a
supportive nonacademic environment.
As a result, students have increased
confidence in their abilities and may make more frequent participation in
informal and more formal classroom activities, including discussions. Faculty
must also be aware of students’ use of voice registers. According to Payne
(2005), every language in the world has five registers. Joos (1967) found that
it is socially acceptable to go down one register in the same conversation.
However, to drop two registers or more in the same conversation is to be
socially offensive. Faculty must be sensitive to the subtleties in student
vocalizations and the voice registers they use; for example, in some cultures,
it may be appropriate to be what might be considered by the dominant culture as
“soft spoken” or “loud.”
Learning Styles In Nursing Education
Recent evidence indicates that students’
learning styles may also differ by race and ethnicity (see Chapter 2). For
example, using the Kolb Learning Style Inventory, Fogg, Carlson Sabelli,
Carlson, and Giddens (2013) reported that there were distinct differences in
learning style based on self-identified racial ethnic group: there was a good
likelihood that African American students were assimilators, whites were
convergers, Hispanics and Latinos were accommodators, and Asian Americans were
divergers.
These findings are significant in light of the underrepresentation
of minority students in nursing education. Using multimodal methods of learning
may help students regardless of learning style.
Because learning styles are not
static and can change over time, faculty can assist students with the
identification of their learning style and conduct sessions for students to
optimize their learning style throughout the nursing curriculum (Kyprianidou,
Demetriadis, Tsiatsos, & Pombortsis 2012).
Another area in which there are
reported cultural differences is the need for context, or the amount of
background information students need to facilitate their learning (Giddens,
2008). American Indian students and students from Asia, Japan, Saudi Arabia,
and Spain tend to require more context.
For students from these high-context
cultures, meaning comes from the environment, is more human oriented, and is
sought in relationships between the ideas expressed in the communication
process. These students benefit from learning activities such as storytelling
and description.
On the other hand, students from Anglo or European cultures
tend to require little context to support their learning, these low-context
students place meaning in exact verbal descriptions or direct forms of communication,
and benefit from having limited amount of detail and enrichment for learning.
Students from different cultures also vary in their preferences for having
faculty present and for studying alone versus studying in groups. Some students
have the implicit expectation that faculty will transmit all the knowledge;
they may be reluctant to raise questions, but instead will memorize information
as presented (Amaro, Abriam Yago, & Yoder, 2006).
This hierarchical
perspective can affect the manner in which students respond to classroom
activities. In classrooms in the United States, students are expected to be
active learners, to participate in group activities, to ask questions, and to
openly express thoughts.
On the other hand, the responses of Asian students to
classroom activities such as group exercises may not be highly regarded because
the “authoritative figure” is not primary and center. Group and team work also
may not be an effective approach for all students.
Self-organizing groups work
well, but can leave those who are perceived or seen as different left out, with
a sense of not being wanted or welcome. Faculty must ensure that cliques do not
form when they or students make group or team assignments.