The effects of implicit ethnic expectations and burnout on teachers’ evaluations of students’ performance

This study explores the effects of teachers’ implicit ethnic expectations and burnout on their evaluation of student performance. Ethnic minority students frequently encounter disadvantages in education, which may be partly attributed to these factors related to teachers. During the academic year of 2021/2022, 55 teachers from a central region of Italy took part in the study, including 20 preservice teachers. The Maslach Burnout Inventory was used to measure teacher burnout, and the Relational Responding Task was utilised to assess teacher implicit beliefs about students’ achievement. A linear mixed-effects model was used to examine the relationship between teachers’ burnout, implicit expectations, and their evaluation of students. Results showed that teachers’ burnout was negatively associated with teachers’ evaluations of ethnic majority and ethnic minority students, regardless of their performance level. Additionally, results suggest that teachers’ implicit expectations may negatively influence their evaluations of ethnic minority students, even when those are high achieving. These findings highlight the need to further investigate the role of teachers’ stereotypical implicit expectations and burnout in their evaluation process. Future interventions should explore strategies to address these biases and promote more equitable evaluation practices.