International Experiences as a Catalyst for Racial Identity Development

• In Event: Exploring Race and Identity in International Education Experiences

Abstract

Objectives:

CW Mills (2007) introduced the idea of white ignorance, the act of intentionally not recognizing blackness and deriving privilege from the disadvantage of others. This denial of blackness is rooted in collective amnesia about the suffering of people of color, leading to inequities in schools. Further, as Yuen (2010) notes, teachers serve as the gatekeepers for what is discussed in classrooms. When teachers present race as a forbidden topic, it suggests that race is a shameful or taboo topic. To engage in transformative and meaningful racial conversations, teachers must first understand themselves and their racial identity. Immersive international educational experiences prompt educators to engage in critical exploration of the self (Authore, 2023). An essential component of this self-exploration is the international context, which prompts new questions, yielding new insights about one’s identity. Drawing on theories of racial development (Helms, 1990; Poston, 1990; Sealey-Ruiz, 2020) and theories of transformation (Krillova, Lehto & Cai, 2017), this research examines how critical reflection, intentional questioning, and international immersion led to transformed self-understanding.

Methods and Data Sources:

This research interrogates the international experiences of two educators whose experiences abroad changed how they came to understand their own identity. In order to understand their identities, the authors engage in autoethnography, where “the research is the subject of the research, and also the subjective voice in the narration.. the author takes the reader on a journey – mental and physical, real and metaphorical – into and through her own social world” (Chaplin, 2011, p.4). Data includes written and oral reflections on identity, race, and culture, which were thematically analyzed to capture their understanding of racial identity.

Findings:

The findings of this research highlight the process of questioning and critical self-reflection that participants engaged in while abroad and emphasize racial identity development as an ongoing process. Both participants’ understanding of their racial identity was greatly impacted by their international experience. For author one, coming to recognize their white identity occurred while they were living in a majority non-white nation. For author two, their experience in a racially diverse and multicultural place led them to recognize their previously suppressed multiracial identity. For both authors, their experiences challenged them to confront their own notions of race and grapple with challenging questions about themselves.

Scholarly Significance:

This research adds to our understanding of how meaning making occurs in international experiences. Gaining a more nuanced understanding of teachers’ racial identity development is crucial (Sealey-Ruiz, 2020). Thapa (2020) notes that many future teachers anticipate and expect their classrooms to be full of students who look, talk, and think like them. Yet, this is not the reality of today’s classrooms (NCES, 2023). This research suggests that immersive international experiences and critical self-reflection and exploration can be a powerful driver of racial identity development. Ultimately, this process of critical reflection, intentional questioning, and international immersion led to transformed understandings of the self and the development of positive racial identity.

Authors

• Jon Simmons, University of Connecticut

• Lauren Midgette, Teachers College, Columbia University