Available online 26 May 2024, 100231

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Educational neuroscience samples have historically been homogenous.

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This promotes inaccurate conclusions which may affect teaching practices and policy.

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Aspects of the research process and attitudes towards research can impede diversity.

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Addressing these factors fosters neuroscience work with equitable learning benefits.

AbstractBackground

Educational neuroscience research, which investigates the neurobiological mechanisms of learning, has historically incorporated samples drawn mostly from white, middle-class, and/or suburban populations. However, sampling in research without attending to representation can lead to biased interpretations and results that are less generalizable to an intended target population. Prior research revealing differences in neurocognitive outcomes both within- and across-groups further suggests that such practices may obscure significant effects with practical implications.

Barriers

Negative attitudes among historically marginalized communities, stemming from historical mistreatment, biased research outcomes, and implicit or explicit attitudes among research teams, can hinder diverse participation. Qualities of the research process including language requirements, study locations, and time demands create additional barriers.

Solutions

Flexible data collection approaches, community engagement, and transparent reporting could build trust and enhance sampling diversity. Longer-term solutions include prioritizing research questions relevant to marginalized communities, increasing workforce diversity, and detailed reporting of sample demographics. Such concerted efforts are essential for robust educational neuroscience research to maximize positive impacts broadly across learners.

Section snippetsBackground

Researchers in educational neuroscience across the globe utilize transdisciplinary methodologies to characterize the neurobiological mechanisms that support human learning. However, the samples generally collected in human subjects research, including this field, are often composed mostly of white, middle-class individuals who reside in suburban communities, which excludes most human populations [1], [2], [3], [4], [5]. Study samples in neuroimaging research are especially lacking in

Why representation matters

Behavioral learning and brain structure and function are each complex outcome measures that display significant interindividual variability [17,18]. Understanding the extent to which findings in educational neuroscience generalize to the wider population thus requires studying larger, more diverse samples in order to account for the myriad factors that relate to differences in these outcomes. Neglecting to do so through nonrandom sampling or the use of convenience samples (i.e., drawing from

Attitudes among prospective participants

Biased sampling common in human research including educational neuroscience both results from and contributes to negative attitudes within marginalized communities. Many marginalized individuals express hesitation to participate in research, in part because they have little precedent to do so [34,35,3]. This may be attributed to the negative research outcomes portrayed for people of marginalized identities in much of the scientific literature and media (e.g., the Tuskegee Untreated Syphilis

Suggestions moving forward

The following section introduces some recommendations for increasing the diversity of study samples which are particularly relevant to educational neuroscience research (Table 1). Note that these recommendations are by no means comprehensive. Other articles which discuss strategies towards more equitable sampling practices in the context of other research disciplines may also serve as useful resources for researchers irrespective of their discipline (Table 2).

Conclusions

Educational neuroscience encompasses research aimed at enhancing learning for individuals through study of the learning brain. However, the lack of socioeconomic and racial-ethnic diversity within its samples has reduced the robustness and generalizability of its findings to the target populations that they aim to characterize. Research in educational neuroscience must contend with the compounding effects of the methodological limitations and attitudes associated with psychological,

Funding

This work was supported by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development [R01HD100429], theNational Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke [R01MH100028], and the Presidential Fellowship in Collaborative Neuroscience from the University of Virginia Brain Institute, Neuroscience Graduate Program.

Ethical Statement

I, the Corresponding Author, declare that this manuscript is original, has not been published before and is not currently being considered for publication elsewhere.

I can confirm that the manuscript has been read and approved by all named authors and that there are no other persons who satisfied the criteria for authorship but are not listed. I further confirm that the order of authors listed in the manuscript has been approved by both of us.

I understand that the Corresponding Author is the

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Analia Marzoratti: Writing – review & editing, Writing – original draft, Conceptualization. Tanya M. Evans: Writing – review & editing, Conceptualization.

Declaration of competing interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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