When Accommodations Are Not Enough: A Multi-Study Examination of Teacher Bias Toward Students with Special Educational Needs Across Student Gender

This research examines how teachers’ evaluations of student performance are influenced by special educational needs (SEN) when accommodations are provided, and whether these effects vary by student gender. Across three preregistered experimental studies (N = 1214) with pre-service and in-service teachers in France, we investigated whether students with SEN receiving reduced-exercise accommodations were systematically devalued in grades and competence judgments, and whether this devaluation—a backlash effect—was moderated by fairness perceptions. In Studies 1 and 2, students with SEN received lower grades and competence ratings than non-SEN peers, regardless of student gender or relative performance. Study 3 introduced a cross-gender comparison, testing whether female students with SEN faced heightened backlash compared to male non-SEN peers. A consistent backlash effect emerged across studies, unaffected by gender contrast. Notably, fairness perceptions consistently mitigated this bias. These findings highlight persistent SEN-related backlash and suggest that fairness-focused interventions may foster more inclusive evaluations.