The representation of people of color in undergraduate general chemistry textbooks

TitleThe representation of people of color in undergraduate general chemistry textbooks
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2007
AuthorsKing D, Domin DS
JournalJournal of Chemical Education
Volume84
Pagination342-345
Date PublishedFebruary
KeywordsAfrican American, Chemistry, Course content and curriculum, Discrimination, Diversity Institute Literature Review, Latino, Minorities, Stereotypes
SummaryIn this study, King and Domin documented four types of bias in general chemistry textbooks. These types of bias relate to the underrepresentation or misrepresentation of people of color. The most commonly noted bias was "invisibility" - there are fewer people of color shown in chemistry texts than there are in the general population (over 35%). All three of the other types of bias were also present: "cosmetic" bias, "fragmentation/isolation," and "stereotyping."
Extended SummaryIn addition to helping students understand scientific phenomena, illustrations in science textbooks also can affect students' attitudes toward science and their perspectives on who can become a scientist. In this study, the authors evaluated instructional bias in the representation of ethnic minorities in general chemistry textbooks. Their analysis omitted photos of the authors, and categorized the remaining images of people in the texts as "historical, person of color, not a person of color, or ambiguous." The images of people of color were then categorized to determine whether any of the following four types of bias were present:1. "Invisibility" occurred if people of color were underrepresented in the book (as compared to recent U.S. census figures). Invisibility was also noted if the people of color were portrayed in a non-science-relevant context. 2. "Stereotyping" was considered an issue if an illustration reinforced a generalization about a minority group (i.e., Asians studying). 3. "Fragmentation/isolation" occurred if the people of color were only represented together with other people of their same ethnicity, or if the image was part of a boxed section. 4. "Cosmetic bias" was present if an image including a person of color was placed prominently in the text, but the text otherwise contained few representations of ethnic minorities. The authors found that all the textbooks in their study met the first criterion for invisibility - simple numerical underrepresentation. The only book which contained a somewhat higher number of images of people of color, Chemistry in Context, was intended for non-majors. Fragmentation/isolation occurred in six of the eleven texts. Stereotyping appeared in four texts. Finally, cosmetic bias was found in two textbooks. The authors provide recommendations for textbook authors at the end of the paper.
RecommendationsThe recommendations below are intended for science textbook authors.1. "Show people of color doing science."2. "Place more photographs of people of color in earlier chapters as opposed to later chapters."3. "Place the photographs in chapters that are more likely to be covered."4. "Show people of differing ethnicities in the same photograph as equals."5. "Avoid photographs that perpetuate stereotypes of specific ethnic groups."