This Who Believes? A Critical Race Discourse Analysis of the Association for Middle Level Education's This We Believe

• In Event: 14.039 - Negotiating Differences in Middle-Level Education

Abstract

This We Believe is the foundational text for middle grades educators for public school teachers and administrators in addition to preservice students and teacher educators concerned with middle level teacher preparation. While the text addresses issues of diversity in middle grades education, it does so superficially, without attention to the racial inequities that plague intermediate and middle schools. This paper is attentive to the racial inequities that exist for students of color in middle grades as research indicates that this subgroup suffers socially and academically in middle school. Using sites of suffering to frame the extant literature on children of color in middle school, I provide a critical race discourse analysis of This We Believe.

Author

• Christopher L. Busey, University of Florida