Creating Racially Just Educational Spaces: Voices of Teacher Candidates

• In Event: 67.068 - MTCC Roundtable Session 32
  In Roundtable Session: 67.068-7 - Whose Voice Matters? Diverse Perspectives About Teacher Education

Abstract

The education system in the United States has continued to produce predictable racial disparities. Pre-service teacher education provides an opportunity to shift this history of racial inequities, in part by increasing the number of Black and Brown teacher candidates. However, teacher education can be a hostile environment for many teacher candidates of Color. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to use Critical Race Theory’s tenet of counter storytelling, presented in the form of composited narratives, to share the journeys of teacher candidates of Color enrolled in a predominantly white teacher education program. Their voices provide direction to reshape teacher preparation and should inform the work of P-12 schools to create more racially just spaces.

Authors

• Robbie Burnett, Minnesota State University - Mankato

• Beth Beschorner, Minnesota State University - Mankato