The idea that teachers are unconsciously biased, is being widely shared as though it is an absolute truth. In 2017 I had to review the research on teacher bias and found it woefully unconvincing. This short thread provides a prime example. 1/

One of the first, most influential and frequently cited studies is the Harlen Review, 2004. Their initial search found 431 papers but after using exclusion criteria they were left with only 30 studies. All were written in English: but only 15 were conducted in England, 2/

...12 in the US and 1 each in Australia, Greece and Israel. All studies involved students between the ages of 4 and 18. Of the 30, 11 involved primary school or nursery students only, 13 secondary students only & *just 6* involved both primary and secondary students. 3/

According to the authors, the most highly weighted and persuasive of all of these, "found considerable error and evidence of bias in relation to different groups of students” BUT…when I read this single study, upon which the review ultimately relies for its conclusion, 4/

I discovered it had only involved 6 & 7 year olds…in 1993. I will leave people to judge for themselves whether or not that provides any kind of credible evidence that unconscious bias is an important problem in school classrooms. End.