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No Way Around Weight: A Mixed-Methods Study of How Body Weight May Unconsciously Influence the Decision to Hire or Not Hire a Teacher

Turney, Terrie
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ysu1558873140973607

Abstract Details

2019, Doctor of Education (Educational Leadership), Youngstown State University, Department of Teacher Education and Leadership Studies.
Even though society is becoming increasingly more progressive in theory, practice, and policy, educational institutions have been slow to adapt and change. Even with attempts to provide a safe and equitable environment, bias still occurs. Appearance-related forms of discrimination, particularly body weight and attractiveness, have gone unaddressed in the field of education. Until administrators confront implicit biases and reform hiring practices by implementing bias-reducing interview strategies, they will continue to turn away some of the most qualified candidates from the job. This mixed-method study investigates how body weight might influence the decision to hire a teacher. The study utilizes an Implicit Association Test (IAT). Developed in the mid-1900s, IATs quickly became the standard for assessing implicit attitudes, stereotypes, self-concepts, and self- esteem (Greenwald, Poehlman, Uhlmann, & Banaji, 2009, p. 19). These tests measure the strength of association for one of the two concepts in this particular study: thin and fat. The theory behind an IAT is that “this sorting task should be easier when the two concepts that share a response are strongly associated than when they are weakly associated” (Nosek, Greenwald, & Banaji, 2007, p. 267). This mixed-methods study will employ Harvard’s Project Implicit IAT for Weight (facial), which is a timed test that associates pictures of thin and fat individuals with positive and negative words, thus measuring preference for one over the other. The questionnaire will collect self-reported data and will assess feelings towards thin and fat individuals. The study will investigate the gap between the administrator’s self-reported weight bias and the preference indicated by the score on the IAT. Although research has revealed the presence of implicit bias and workplace discrimination against overweight employees, there are few laws and procedures in place to protect them; however, administrators have a moral and ethical responsibility to conduct fair evaluations of applicants and hire the best candidate for the position.
Karen Larwin, PhD (Committee Chair)
Susan Horne, PhD (Committee Member)
Kenneth Miller, PhD (Committee Member)
Patrick Spearman, PhD (Committee Member)
94 p.
Education; Educational Leadership
implicit bias; weight; attractiveness; discrimination

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Turney, T. (2019). No Way Around Weight: A Mixed-Methods Study of How Body Weight May Unconsciously Influence the Decision to Hire or Not Hire a Teacher [Doctoral dissertation, Youngstown State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ysu1558873140973607

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Turney, Terrie. No Way Around Weight: A Mixed-Methods Study of How Body Weight May Unconsciously Influence the Decision to Hire or Not Hire a Teacher. 2019. Youngstown State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ysu1558873140973607.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Turney, Terrie. "No Way Around Weight: A Mixed-Methods Study of How Body Weight May Unconsciously Influence the Decision to Hire or Not Hire a Teacher." Doctoral dissertation, Youngstown State University, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ysu1558873140973607

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ysu1558873140973607
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This open access ETD is published by Youngstown State University and OhioLINK.