Education Back at the Crossroads: Intersectionality as a Framework for Strengthening Teacher Education

• In Event: Frameworks and Tools for Critical Discourse in Teacher Education

Abstract

This case study examines intersectionality as a framework for teacher education. The researchers examined a diversity course for education majors and its accompanying field experience, a mentoring program with a local high school. The education majors mentored minoritized ninth-grade students labeled by their school as “at-risk.” What emerged from the data was that teachers and administrators viewed minoritized students from a deficit perspective, resulting in unequal and inequitable education. Through the accompanying course, which utilized an intersectional framework and included readings and activities examining the intersections of race, class, gender, and sexuality, the majority of mentors recognized the importance of understanding and valuing students’ backgrounds and gained skills to help them approach their future students from an intersectional standpoint.

Authors

• Sheri Carmel Hardee, University of North Georgia

• Kimberly Griffin, University of North Georgia