Humanizing Teacher Professional Development: Critical Race Dialogue Among High School Teachers

• In Event: Roundtable Session 24
  In Roundtable Session: Meaningful, Relevant, and Responsive Education: A Review of Ethnic Studies Policy, Politics, Pedagogies, and Praxis

Abstract

This paper examines the professional development of a critical community of Ethnic Studies teachers in an urban public school district. The central question of this paper is: How do we prepare teachers to effectively teach race and confront racism in the classroom? In this ethnographic study, I explore the role that critical race dialogue plays in the training of high school Ethnic Studies teachers, where the teaching of race, power, oppression, and resistance is central to curricular content. Data collected through participant observation of weekly professional development meetings and semi-structured interviews reveals a humanizing pedagogical tool for developing a critical collective consciousness, building professional learning communities, and nurturing teachers as intellectuals, which informs how teachers viewed themselves, each other, their students, and Ethnic Studies.
Critical race dialogue is the vehicle that exposes teacher epistemology and addresses the role of teacher as intellectual, where teacher development enables teachers to not only understand the root causes of the oppression they teach but also provide an avenue to locate themselves in and be critical of power structures in schooling. Findings illuminate the significance of developing a collective critical consciousness as key to teacher humanization, curricular continuity among district-wide Ethnic Studies classrooms, and teacher community accountability.
This study demonstrates several implications for the field of education, particularly complicating teacher education and training. Teachers participate in collective processes of curriculum development and individual processes of professional and personal growth. Through an Ethnic Studies professional development model, interrogating teacher epistemological stance and nurturing a critical collective consciousness are key components in ensuring teachers are prepared to effectively teach courses that centralize issues of race.

Author

• Jocyl Sacramento, California State University - East Bay