Proliferation of Hypocrisy: Black, Indigenous, and People of Color Teacher Candidates' Identifications and Negotiations of Conflicting Messages Within Teacher Education

• In Event: Conduits of Change: Centering Midwest Black, Indigenous, and People of Color Teacher Candidates' Voices to Transform Teacher Education Programs

Abstract

Purpose and Objectives:
The context of this study is a large teacher education program at the flagship campus within a state university system located in a Southeast large city. The purpose of this study is to identify the particular institutional knowledge, resource, and expertise gaps in relation to teacher diversification, identified by BIPOC teacher candidates at the Southeast large city campus. To achieve this purpose, the researchers focus on two objectives: 1) to explore our campus’s BIPOC teacher candidates’ experiences and negotiations of the predominantly white institutional (PWI) space; 2) and to reckon with the potential contradictions between the racial-justice-oriented narratives espoused within the pre-kindergarten to grade 16 (PK-16) educational institutions and the enacted policies and practices.

Perspective(s)/Theoretical Framework:
A critical perspective is essential when research intentions are focused on interrogating root issues such as systemic racism, classism, sexism, and linguicism within social and institutional structures (Gist, 2018; Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995; Matsuda et al., 1993). Therefore, the theoretical frameworks undergirding this study are critical race theory (CRT) and Latina/Latino critical race theory (LatCrit), recognizing that BIPOC students are “holders and creators of knowledge who have the potential to transform schools into places where the experiences of all individuals are acknowledged, taught, and cherished” (Delgado Bernal, 2002, p. 221).

Methods and Data Sources:
As part of a larger cross-institutional, multiple case study, the two faculty members researching this case identify as one BIPOC woman teacher educator and one white woman educational researcher. Using an exploratory case study approach (Yin, 2013), they conducted in-depth individual interviews and one focus group interview with ten BIPOC teacher candidates over a four-month period. All interviews were recorded and transcribed. Preliminary analysis of data included open coding of interview and focus group transcriptions by both researchers individually, and then thematic coding across both data sources was done collaboratively (Saldaña, 2013).

Results:
In relation to purpose #1, initial findings reveal BIPOC teacher candidates a) commonly experienced or witnessed micro-aggressions towards themselves and/or others across varying contexts; and b) dealt with consistent misinterpretations of their identities and perspectives by peers and faculty. In relation to purpose #2, participants a) noted distinct contradictions between the expectations for cultural responsiveness placed on teacher candidates (particularly BIPOCs) and the often culturally devaluing and race-evasive practices of the university and school faculty, and b) BIPOC teacher candidates provided numerous race-centric critiques of and insights for teacher preparation programs related to climate and relationship-building, curricula, and professional field experiences.

Scholarly Significance:
While the number of BIPOC students in K-12 schools continues to grow nationally in all regions of the country, the racial/ethnic gap between BIPOC students and their teachers is also growing (Schaeffer, 2021). Through the use of BIPOC voice and counterstory (Delgado, & Stefancic, 2012), findings from this preliminary study identify immediate and enduring gaps as well as powerful insights and potentialities for more inviting, affirming, and empowering systemic approaches to BIPOC teacher recruitment, preparation, and induction.

Authors

• Amanda Morales, University of Nebraska - Lincoln
  Presenting Author

• Amanda L. Witte, University of Nebraska - Lincoln
  Presenting Author