ERIC Number: EJ1229813
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019-Oct
Pages: 4
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0013-189X
EISSN: N/A
"Achievement Gap" Language Affects Teachers' Issue Prioritization
Quinn, David M.; Desruisseaux, Tara-Marie; Nkansah-Amankra, Akua
Educational Researcher, v48 n7 p484-487 Oct 2019
The term "achievement gap" is regularly used to describe between-group differences in educational outcomes. However, critics of the term argue that it implies the problem is merely one of student performance and may depress support for policies aimed at structural solutions. We hypothesized that the phrase "racial achievement gap" would elicit lower levels of issue prioritization than the phrase "racial inequality in educational outcomes" due to the latter's connotations of social justice. In a randomized survey experiment with a national teacher sample (N = 1,549), our hypothesis was confirmed. However, language did not affect teachers' explanations for existing academic outcome disparities.
Descriptors: Achievement Gap, Racial Differences, Educational Policy, Equal Education, Teacher Attitudes, Knowledge Level, Language Usage, Needs Assessment
SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2814
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A