First name-based Assessment among Teachers. The Effect of Name Popularity on Teachers' Grading

Seminar paper from the year 2023 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, grade: 2,7, University of Koblenz-Landau (Anglistik und Amerikanistik), course: Forensic Linguistics, language: English, abstract: This term paper's study examines whether prejudice toward unpopular names negatively influences teachers' assessment in German schools. Furthermore, if the present study results revealed first name bias toward unpopular first names, the second research question was to investigate whether a bias-driven assessment happened consciously or unconsciously. Before conducting the study, it was assumed that teachers' grading was not influenced by first-name-based bias. Intending to make sense of our world, cultural study research has shown that we must categorize objects, people, and events into general classificatory schemes to apply meaning to things we recognize. This premise especially applies to items we have not seen before, as the production of meaning relies on our cultural perspectives. Unfortunately, stereotyping is an inevitable byproduct of typing. While cultural studies commonly limit themselves to race and gender bias, onomastic studies have shown that names are also a significant reason for stereotyping, causing inequalities in all areas of our society. The US job market illustrates this problem, as one study found that job applications sent by African American-sounding names tend to receive less feedback than those with white-sounding names. Stereotyping and bias against disliked first names not only influence adults in their search for a job, but can also influence how children are perceived and assessed by teachers in school. There is a strong connection between society's perception of people regarding their socioeconomic status and whether they have a popular or unpopular name. Since parents choose their children's first names, they must also be held responsible for potential bias and prejudice against their children's names. According to Aldrin, school teachers in Sweden neither have these biases nor are their assessment of students affected by stereotypes. However, name prejudice toward unpopular and ethically marked first names was found in German schools.