The Onus of Change: A Search of Inclusive Practices in a Predominantly White Rural School

• In Event: 45.092 - MTCC Roundtable Session 17
  In Roundtable Session: 45.092-3 - (Dis)Covering Whiteness: Dilemmas and Practices Across Contexts

Abstract

The burden of change and social justice often (unfairly) falls on people of color. To find collaborative methods of change that work across contexts to foster equity and inclusion, as a scholar of color, I decided to take a critical ethnographic approach to study existing discourses in a predominantly white rural midwestern classroom. I conducted Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) in an 8th grade science classroom to understand the existing discourses around differences and inclusion across generations. Following on my previous work, I used a guiding critical framework of inclusion (CTM Practices) to understand the role that power plays in shaping the narrative of equity and inclusion; and whether these discourses have potential for social and intercultural inclusion.

Author

• Rohit Mehta, California State University - Fresno