Critical Race Theory and the Analysis of White Prospective Teachers’ Reflections in E-Portfolios

• In Event: Roundtable Session 85
  In Roundtable Session: Antiracism, Diversity, and Critical Race Theory: Perceptions From the Field

Abstract

This paper reports on an analysis of White prospective teacher ePortfolio reflections using the theoretical framework of critical race theory (CRT). Our CRT perspective and stance gave us both inductive and deductive approaches to coding for qualitative analysis. Results indicate that prospective teachers talk about race and racism in three major ways: (a) they simplify issues of race and focus on earning acceptance among African American children; (b) they distance themselves from both the problems of African Americans and from the issue of racism insisting that they are not racist; (c) they hold up themselves as someone who should be emulated by African American children so that they may be “successful.” Implications of these findings are discussed in the paper.

Authors

• Michael K. Thomas, St. John's University

• Katrina Liu, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater