Counter Moves to Trouble Whiteness in Teacher Preparation: A Conceptual Framework

• In Event: 77.058 - MTCC Roundtable Session 36
  In Roundtable Session: 77.058-4 - Developing Preservice Teachers' Cultural Competence

Abstract

In this paper we present a conceptual framework for troubling whiteness in teacher preparation. We assert that we must reimagine our practices and processes in teacher education, specifically at predominantly white institutions (PWI). Drawing from a critical theoretical frame, we begin by describing the ways that whiteness permeates the spaces in which teacher education takes shape. We offer three strategies: diversity by design, reflective practice, and relational learning. We illustrate the practical application of these strategies by sharing a pilot project, GHS221, where pre-service teachers learned side-by-side with high school students in an urban high school. We conclude by sharing the lessons we learned, both the practices that proved to be generative and those that required further reflection.

Authors

• Timberly Louise Baker, University of Southern Indiana

• Joy Howard, University of Southern Indiana