Counter-Stories of Teachers of Color: Photovoice Narratives From Educators Who “Walked in Their Shoes”

• In Event: Saturday Roundtable Session 9:45 am
  In Roundtable Session: Building Brave Spaces for Truth and Equity: Activation of Critical Discourse in Theory and Praxis (Table 14)

Abstract

This paper illuminates how teachers of Color make meaning from their storied experiences as educators. Working within the context of an increasingly non-White student body but an overwhelmingly White teaching force, teachers of Color often endure dehumanizing experiences that lead to demoralization and attrition, even as they strive to serve as agents of change. Teachers of Color from across the professional lifespan were recruited to participate in critical dialogues using photovoice methodology and empowered to make sense of their experiences in educational systems. Their counterstories demonstrate that adults who walked in the same shoes as children and share social identity offer a sense of shared meaning, purpose, and a deep understanding that all people need a space to be themselves.

Authors

• Carol R. Rinke, Marist College

• Lynnette Mawhinney, Rutgers University - Newark

• Laura Krystal Porterfield, Rutgers University - Newark

• Christina Wright Fields, Marist College

• Deborah Bartley-Carter, Montclair State University