Antiracist Praxis: Developing Racial Literacy in Majority White Teacher Professional Development

• In Event: Confronting and Decentering Whiteness in the Development of Social Justice Educators

Abstract

Here we present the results of a study of in-service teachers’ responses to equity-based case studies focused on racialized classroom incidents. This study was conducted in the context of an ongoing research practice partnership aimed at integrating computer science concepts in elementary grades. Our work took place in a public school district that enrolls primarily students of color, while largely employing white teachers and administrators. Using a racial literacy framework (Guinier, 2004), we conceptualized a continuum and developed codes to analyze teachers’ responses from racially liberal to racially literate. Our preliminary results describe positions along the continuum, including those that reside in the middle. These results will provide insights for the development of further equity-based professional learning for teachers.

Authors

• Sneha Veeragoudar, university of massachusetts, amherst

• Florence R. Sullivan, UMass, Amherst