Why is DEI important?
To achieve our mission, the UPchieve platform must be an environment in which ALL students feel comfortable asking for help. We must strive to make sure that students feel welcome and supported during their sessions on UPchieve regardless of their gender identity, physical and mental ability, citizenship status, race, sexual orientation, and more. Volunteers play a critical role in fostering a supportive environment by becoming self-aware of any potential biases they may have, using intentional language, and believing that all students are capable of success.
Go to https://app.upchieve.org/training/course/upchieve101 to review our entire DEI policy.
What is implicit bias?
Implicit bias is a form of bias that occurs automatically and unintentionally, and nevertheless affects judgments, decisions, and behaviors. Check out this 2 minute video for more information.
Why is it important for you to combat implicit biases?
Depending on your own background, what you were taught growing up, where you live, and other dimensions of your identity, it’s very common for individuals to have biases that they’re completely unaware of. These implicit biases can influence your actions in ways you don’t notice, ultimately hampering your ability to provide high-quality academic support to students from marginalized groups. In fact, research has shown implicit bias held by educators and tutors negatively impacts the students we work with in a variety of ways.
What actions can I take to work on eliminating my biases?
At UPchieve, we want our coaches to work on recognizing and combating their biases on an ongoing basis through taking concrete 5 actions:
Action 1: Become aware of your own biases
One way to do this it to take the well researched implicit association test: https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/takeatest.html
Action 2: Question your biases & engage in perspective taking
Once you’re aware of biases, you can become more mindful of them. When you feel yourself slipping into a negative bias, ask yourself why. What lived experiences, personal values, social norms or parts of your identity are influencing your actions? Could there be another way of viewing the world or interpreting the interaction?
Example: I don't think this student is ready for college
What is informing this assumption? Because I had to write a lot in college and her writing during this session wasn't very good.
Is this the only possibility? No, she might just not have given this scholarship essay a lot of time.
Action 3: Pick up lots of sessions
It's much more difficult to rely on stereotypes, or incorrect implicit biases, about low-income students as a whole if you have meaningful experiences with people from that group. This is also known as intergroup contact and exposure to counter-stereotypical examples.
Action 4: Keep learning!
Here’s a great resource to learn more about how implicit biases impact the students we work with in general.