Racial Microaggressions by Secondary School Teachers Against Students of Color

• In Event: Considering Issues of Race and Culture in Educational Leadership

Abstract

Racial microaggressions are the subtle, often unconscious words or actions that are
committed against people of color that denigrate them and may cause emotional and
physical harm (Sue, Capodilupo et al., 2007). The purpose of this research is to study the
racial microaggressions that secondary school teachers may enact against students of color.
This research utilized a mixed model of to determine the experiences of secondary students.
The Student Life Experiences Survey (SLES), a twenty-one question survey was administered to
342 twelfth grade students in a large, racially diverse public high school and measured the
student’s perception of the frequency of racial microaggressions by teachers over a four-year
period and written instances of racial microaggressions that students experienced or observed.

Authors

• Barbara C. Roquemore, Georgia College & State University

• Mary Anne Percy Meeks, Gwinnett County Public Schools