Local Police Ride Alongs for Teacher Candidates: Examining Our Social Context

• In Event: Sheraton Roundtable Session 11
  In Roundtable Session: Navigating Violence, Deservedness, and Law Enforcement in the Social Contexts of Schooling

Abstract

Teachers need to know their local contexts in intimate and nuanced ways. With the actions of police officers continuing to dominate the media, with vividly graphic images provoking public discussion around the roles and actions of law enforcement officers, conversation has increasingly focused on the role of race and other aspects of identity in these interactions. As such, 86 teacher candidates enrolled in an urban university teacher preparation program engaged in police ride-alongs, to learn about the ways the work of law enforcement officers intersects with our work as educators, and to consider the implications of race, class, gender, and other aspects of identity. This research explores the lasting insights, changes, and questions held by participants.

Author

• Anita Bright, Portland State University