Honoring Kat’s Voice: The Racialized Experiences of a Black Preservice Teacher

• In Event: An Imaginary of Reflective Practice

Abstract

This presentation highlights the self-reported experiences of Kat, a Black elementary preservice teacher, as she navigated and responded to Tools of Whiteness (Picower, 2009) in her teacher education courses and field placement classroom. As part of a larger study, Kat engaged in a semi-structured interview that involved responding to eight different equity-related prompts according to personal relevance. Findings suggest that Kat’s lived experiences reflect concepts expressed in the Tools of Whiteness framework (Picower, 2009) and complexities in the ways she managed and responded to these racialized experiences. Implications and recommendations for practice are shared related to the ways in which teacher educators can use the voices of Black PSTs for reflection and for reimagining teacher education.

Authors

• Amy Brass, University of New Mexico

• Andrea McCloskey, Pennsylvania State University

• Anne M. Marshall, Lehman College - CUNY