Emotional Geographies of Whiteness and Ability in Teacher Education

• In Event: Preservice Teacher Identities and Emotions

Abstract

This study critically interrogated how white teacher candidates (TCs) used emotional practices to position themselves in relation to ability while navigating hegemonic school geographies. Intersecting oppressive ideologies (e.g., ableism, racism, classism) co-naturalize notions of “normalcy” and deviance in school spaces, enticing TCs to participate in and uphold systems of white supremacy and ableism. White teachers’ investment in dominant racial ideologies is well-documented, and recent scholarship has highlighted the importance of interrogating the role of white emotionality in these processes. However, the ways white TCs emotionally invest in oppressive constructions of ability has been under-examined. We argue that such an analysis can inform how teacher education programs design experiences for dismantling intersecting oppressions.

Authors

• Margaret R. Beneke, University of Washington

• Molly Elizabeth Siuty, Portland State University

• Tamara Handy