Racially and Socially Just Curriculum, Instruction, and Mentorship: Designed to Prepare Future Educators of Color

• In Event: Cultivating Teachers of Color: Culturally and Linguistically Affirming Programs and Spaces, Research, and Racial Justice

Abstract

Objective
Teacher education preparation programs can be ideal sites for developing and preparing future educators of Color, yet too often, they are not (Petchauer & Mawhinney, 2017). Instead, teacher education programs often serve as institutional gatekeepers–cemented in White supremacy–that keep people of Color out of the teaching profession (Kolman et al., 2017), prioritize the interest and needs of White students, and exclude the experiences of racially/ethnically underrepresented groups (Sleeter, 2001). This study focuses on an undergraduate course, Developing Teachers of Color (DTOC), at a predominately White institution (PWI), which was designed as an undergraduate-to-teacher-education-pathway for future educators of Color (FEoC) with a focus on racial and social justice. The research investigated how the curriculum, instruction, and mentorship prepared and supported students to become critical educators of Color.

Theoretical Framework
This study integrates the scholarship of teachers of Color pathway and pipeline programs (Gist et al., 2019; Hanover Research, 2019; Valenzuela, 2016) and culturally responsive and sustaining pedagogies (Howard, 2019; Paris & Alim, 2017). Particular Grow Your Own programs have utilized curricula that draw from the experience of youth of Color, center educational justice, and cultivate students’ critical consciousness (Bianco & Marin-Paris, 2019; Wong et al., 2007). Building on this work, the project incorporated pedagogies and practices that build on FEoC identities and intellect (Muhammad, 2020), reimagine education, and advocate for abolitionist teaching (Love, 2019) while inspiring collective hope and healing (Ginwright, 2016).

Methods and Data Sources
The research utilized a teacher inquiry stance (Cochran-Smith, 2003), focus group methodology (Morgan, 1996), and document analysis (Merriam, 2009) to examine curriculum, instruction, and mentorship within an undergraduate course for FEoC. The researcher, a former high school teacher of Color, served as the instructor of DTOC. The course enrolled twenty students of Color over two academic terms. Data included a semi-structured focus group interview to capture the group effect of FEoC experiences. Also, an analysis of teacher-created materials, journal entries, and student work to assess teaching and learning in DTOC.

Findings
Findings highlighted an emphasis on a collectivist approach to cultivating educators of Color. The curriculum centered on FEoC, who shared distinct experiences alongside course content, forefronted the genius of scholars of Color, and built democratic relationships through restorative circles and structured fem-mentorship. Assignments had students arouse reflection and action by developing individual plans of action to become educators of Color and through community engagement and activism. Lastly, students reimagined teacher education to include an intergenerational network of critical educators of Color to provide pathways into teacher education, sustaining their teaching practice, and avenues for educational leadership to create institutional change.

Significance
As previously mentioned, teacher education is ideal for cultivating educators of Color. The voices of FEoC urge undergraduate and teacher preparation programs to unapologetically design curriculum, practices, programs, and fem-mentorship to not only open pathways but to transform the racial and ethnic composition of the teaching force. The study allows us to heed Delpit’s (1995) call to create intentional cohorts and programs for future teachers of Color.

Author

• Oscar Navarro, California State University - Long Beach