He does not discount the impact of external factors such as socioeconomics, parent educational background, or poor access to schooling on student achievement disparities. Steele applies these concepts to vanguard black students taking GRE tests and women in science and engineering programs taking math tests. The higher the stakes, the more invested the student is in achieving, then the more likely the threat will undermine his efforts. Steele and his colleagues discovered that when a person is in a situation that triggers vigilance about a specific stereotype, and he is invested in the efficacy of a task, and he is performing at the frontier of his abilities, his preoccupation with confirming or counteracting this stereotype interferes with his performance. The corrosive nature of chronic exposure to stereotype threat has long-term, detrimental effects on post-secondary choices and career paths, as well. Steele emphasizes that this causal nexus, this self-feeding loop of all-consuming thoughts, does more than just embezzle a student’s ability to execute the cognitive task at hand. being racially insensitive-even prejudiced). Preoccupied with either confirming or counteracting the negative stereotype associated with being White (i.e. He is unable to contribute to the classroom discussion because he is In his characteristic conversational-yet-captivating tone, Steele gives an anecdotal account of an otherwise articulate, white student at a prestigious university whose critical thinking and communication skills are hijacked when he attempts to engage in discourse in an African American political science class with a majority of black students. This occurs with Blacks, Whites, elderly, youth-virtually every social group that exists. Stereotype threat occurs when an individual perceives that his identity is treacherously different from the ambient group identity-and that this separateness is a source of perceived negative judgment from the dominant culture. as common as crabgrass and just about as unruly.”(p.189). Steele asserts that stereotype threat is ubiquitous, “. He welcomes you to witness the intimate details of the unfolding, groundbreaking discoveries as he refers to the players by their first names and chronicles the evolution of stereotype research. He generously incorporates the contributions of numerous researchers, colleagues, and graduate students into the narrative, and seamlessly interweaves research findings with personal accounts. Despite Steele’s impressive resume as a pre-eminent scholar in the field of social science, Provost of Columbia University, and current Dean at the Stanford University School of Education, he delivers an understated and accessible style of writing that permeates the book. It is like having an across-the-fence discussion with your neighbor-who just happens to be the Niels Bohr of social identity research.
His unassuming style and minimum use of psycho-social jargon makes this book a kind of Everybody’s Guide to Understanding How Stereotype Affects Achievement.
Steele lures the reader in to the compelling account of the evolution of identity, stereotype, and achievement research. You may be surprised, however, when you gain a glimpse of how you fit into this story, and how this insight becomes the window through which you peer into the world of underachieving minorities. If you are curious about how research on stereotype and identity has evolved over the last three decades to produce intriguing solutions to the minority achievement gap, then Whistling Vivaldi and Other Clues to How Stereotypes Affect Us by Claude Steele is a must-read.
#Whistling vivaldi professional#
Reviewed by Felicia Darling Stanford University School of Education, USA.Īre you Black? White? Old? Young? How about Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Native- American, Asian, Hispanic, Middle-eastern, of humble origins, wealthy, foreign-born, handicapped, under-educated, over-educated, mentally ill, physically ill, overweight, or underweight? If you answered yes to at least one of these, then it is likely that stereotypes about your identity have already compromised your performance in some arena of your personal or professional life. Whistling Vivaldi: And Other Clues to How Stereotypes Affect Us.
0 kommentar(er)
