Favouritism in the classroom: A barrier to educational equity
Abstract
Educators are responsible for helping students achieve both academic and character development success. However, in the real world, teachers may sometimes display both positive and negative behaviors. One such negative behavior is favoritism. This report discusses the definition and concept of favoritism in educational settings. Favoritism shown by educators towards certain students can cause others to feel neglected, confused, and demotivated, which may lead to negative effects on their academic performance and emotional well-being. The study also examines several factors that contribute to favoritism, including students’ physical appearance and their social and economic backgrounds. Hence, this report also provides recommendations on how to address and reduce favoritism in schools and higher education institutions.
Full text article
References
Ali, A., Khan, D. M., & Hussain, M. (2018). Causes of teacher’s favouritism and its effects on university students: A case study. Global Social Sciences Review, 3(2), 369–384. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/345603006
Arshad, A. (2023). Effects of teachers’ favouritism on students’ motivation towards learning at university level. Bulletin of Business and Economics (BBE), 12(3), 935–942. https://doi.org/10.61506/01.00421
Bayram, I., Duyar, Y., Karakose, T., & Kaplan, H. I. (2024). An investigation of teachers’ perspectives on favouritism in schools: Implications for educational policy and practice. Educational Process International Journal, 13(4). https://doi.org/10.22521/edupij.2024.134.6
Beckman, L. J. (1976). Causal attributions of teachers and parents regarding children’s performance. Psychology in the Schools, 13(2), 212–218. https://doi.org/10.1002/1520-6807(197604)13:2<212::AID-PITS2310130218>3.0.CO;2-9
Chemaly, S. (2015, February 12). How teachers’ hidden biases are hurting our girls. TIME. https://time.com/3705454/teachers-biases-girls-education
Dağli, A., & Akyol, Z. (2019). The relationship between favouritism behaviours of secondary school administrators and organizational commitment of the teachers. Journal of Education and Training Studies, 7(7), 35–44. https://doi.org/10.11114/jets.v7i7.4191
David, J. P. (2016, November 22). Favouritism. Academia.edu. https://www.academia.edu/30019288/Favouritism
Favouritism and nepotism. (2025). Aliftaa.jo. https://aliftaa.jo/article-en/5770/Favouritism-and-Nepotism
Favouritism. (2024). In Oxford Advanced American Dictionary. Oxford University Press. https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/american_english/favouritism
Harshman, E. (2021, December 3). Favouritism shown by teachers can lead to an imbalanced and divided classroom. The Central Trend. https://thecentraltrend.com/112658/opinion/favouritism-shown-by-teachers-can-lead-to-an-imbalanced-and-divided-classroom
Hussain, T., Abid, N., & Rafique, N. (2019). Educators’ favouritism: Evidence-based opinions of pupil teachers. Literacy Information and Computer Education Journal, 10(1), 3128–3132. https://doi.org/10.20533/licej.2040.2589.2019.0410
Hussain, T., Rafiq, N., & Malik, M. (2020). Effect of teachers’ favouritism on academic sabotage: An empirical evidence of elementary education students in Pakistan. Journal of Elementary Education, 29(2), 100–108. https://pu.edu.pk/images/journal/JEE/PDF/7_v29_2_19.pdf
Ifitikhar, Z. (2021, March 26). Understanding of favouritism. Psychology Roots. https://psychologyroots.com/understanding-of-favouritism
Information Resource Teacher Bias and Its Impact on Teacher–Student Relationships: The Example of Favouritism. (n.d.). University of California, Los Angeles. https://www.smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/teacherbias.pdf
Jiang, S., & Dong, L. (2020). The effects of teacher discrimination on depression among migrant adolescents: Mediated by school engagement and moderated by poverty status. Journal of Affective Disorders, 275, 260–267. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2020.07.029
Kamran, F., Afzal, A., & Rafiq, S. (2022a). A study to explore students’ satisfaction level regarding support services provided by University of the Punjab. PalArch’s Journal of Archaeology of Egypt/Egyptology, 19(3), 1434–1447.
Kamran, F., Afzal, A., & Rafiq, S. (2022b). Teachers’ behavior influencing the classroom participation of university students. Journal of Social Research Development, 3(2), 173–192.
Kenas, J. (2023, September 27). Do teachers have favorites: Signs, causes and how to handle it. LearnPar. https://learnpar.com/signs-teachers-have-favorites
Lal, D. (2016). A journey of teacher education…. International Journal of Peace, Education and Development, 4(1), 9–15. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315478549
Merriam-Webster. (2020). Favouritism. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/favouritism
Muhammad, G., Awan, S. N., Sheikh, S., Ali, H. A., Ahmed, B., Qambrani, I., & Khan, U. M. (2023). Students’ learning: Exploring the role of teacher favouritism and classroom management. Journal of Management Practices, Humanities and Social Sciences, 7(5). https://doi.org/10.33152/jmphss-7.5.3
People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research. (2020). Investigating teachers’ and pupils’ attitudes towards favouritism as an influencing factor on pupils’ academic achievement: Case study—Secondary school pupils at Mohamed Benyoub High School, Guelma. https://dspace.univ-guelma.dz/xmlui/handle/123456789/10749
Rasheed, M., Sittar, K., & Shahid, Q.-A. (2025). Exploring students’ perception regarding teachers’ favouritism at the university level. Proscholar Insights, 4(1), 107–114. https://doi.org/10.62997/psi.2025a-41051
Saeed, U. Q. D. M. D., & Muhammad, D. A. A. M. (2021). A study on teachers’ favouritism and its effects on students’ academic learning at university level in Multan District. Psychology and Education Journal. https://psychologyandeducation.net/pae/index.php/pae/article/view/4243
Teacher favouritism. (2024, April 24). Greenfield High School. https://www.greenfieldhs.org/apps/pages/IsTeacherFavouritisminevitable_ChristianRaya
Tsai, Y. Y. (2022). Does undue preference lead to unfairness? The impact of teacher favouritism on teacher treatment and student achievement. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, 101, 101941. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socec.2022.101941
Ulug, M., Ozden, M. S., & Eryilmaz, A. (2011). The effects of teachers’ attitudes on students’ personality and performance. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 30, 738–742. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/271889744
Usman, B. I. (2019). Influence of teacher favouritism on classroom management and social skill of pupils in Kwara State [Doctoral dissertation, ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global]. https://www.proquest.com/docview/2356750927
Wang, F. (2024). The relationship between students and teachers and its implications. Journal of Education, Humanities and Social Sciences, 29, 390–395. https://doi.org/10.54097/rzvpb402
Zakaria, Z., Ismail, A., & Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. (2023). Akhlak guru Muslim: Antara realiti dan ideal [Muslim teacher personalities: Between reality and ideal]. Islamiyyat, 45, 3–18. https://journalarticle.ukm.my/23265/1/Islamiyyat_SI_1.pdf
Zaki, K. A., Rafiq, S., & Afzal, A. (2023). Impact of teacher–student favouritism on students’ learning outcomes at university level. Journal of Social Research Development, 4(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.53664/jsrd/04-01-2023-01-01-14
Zuwati Hasim. (2023, February 7). Diskriminasi pendidikan sekat pengembangan potensi pelajar. Berita Harian. https://www.bharian.com.my/rencana/lain-lain/2023/02/1060761/diskriminasi-pendidikan-sekat-pengembangan-potensi-pelajar
Authors
Copyright (c) 2025 Mohd Erfino Johari, Khadijah Safiyyah Zainuddin, Aisyah Humaira Mohd Najid, Ainun Aqila Maisara Mohd Ridzuan, Afrina Batrisyia Azhar, Ain Aflah Mazuki

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.