Stereotype Threat and Academic Performance. Life Sciences Essay

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Student's Name
Institutional Affiliation
Life Science
Life Science
1 Stereotype Threat and Academic Performance
Teachers and employers in learning institutions and workplace respectively need to embrace concepts that will help reduce stereotype threats. Stereotype threat is a situation predicament whereby members of a particular group that is negatively stereotyped cannot perform to the best of their ability. It is a situational predicament whereby people are likely to be faced with the risk of conforming to the stereotypes associated with their social group. According to Schmader and Hall (2014), it has been identified as among the contributing factors that tend to lead to challenges related to racial and gender gaps in aspects such as academic performance and success in workplaces. Notably, stakeholders in higher positions in the education sector are responsible for ensuring that certain students do not achieve their ability due to stereotype threats.
Societies need to have policies that provide equal opportunities to all people irrespective of their backgrounds. Although many U.S. policies have sought to eradicate discrimination based on sex, gender, and race, most minorities tend to be faced with systematic underrepresentation challenges. Social psychological that negative stereotypes to groups such as women and racial minority can act as barriers through stereotype threat. This is a psychological aspect whereby individuals are concerned that stereotypes may hamper their success. In essence, one of the challenges that result from stereotype threat is that it tends to undermine academic and work performance for women and minorities (Schmader & Hall, 2014). Stakeholders in the education and education institutions need to identify and integrate policies and programs that can help stereotype threat and ensure all students achieve their potential. In the education sector, any person will underperform due to having feelings of being treated with less importance than other group members. The first study on stereotype was done on Claude Steele (1997), which aimed to understand how situations can trigger one not to perform efficiently due to negative stereotypes directed towards their social group (Simmons, 2011). In essence, most studies have demonstrated racial, and gender stereotypes can be attributed to performance both in schoolwork and workplaces. For example, these stereotypes have been attributed to reduced academic motivation, undermining women's and minorities' interest in science and technology courses, among others. As a result, stereotype threat is a condition that limits a person's or groups' educational pursuits. According to Simmons (2011), stereotype threat can lead to less motivation, job disengagement, burnout, and employee turnover in workplaces. Nevertheless, education institutions and organizations need to have policies that can reduce stereotype threats and help persons from disadvantaged populations perform to their ability.
There are several methods that can be used to reduce stereotype threats in the education sector and in workplaces. One of them is through having affirmative action policies that enhance the representation of the disadvantaged population groups. There should be aff...