“I Was That Student”: The Untapped Potential of Paraprofessionals to Enact DisCrit

• In Event: Enacting Equity-Based Reform Through Humanizing Pedagogies: Supporting Professional Learning Spaces for STEM and Special Educators

Abstract

Objectives:
Paraprofessionals represent an undervalued reservoir of inservice educators of color with experience in schools, often in special education settings, and in communities with the highest need. The purpose of this research was to explore the mindsets of paraprofessionals who are, or have professional goals, to become credentialed teachers in diverse urban settings to identify best practices for alternative pathways to teacher certification. This research will expand access for Black and Brown teacher candidates and build their capacity to provide equitable instruction for students with multiple marginalized identities. Minoritized students now make up the majority of students attending public schools in the United States (Aud et al., 2013) while 80% of teachers are white (La Salle et al., 2020). We need teachers of color who are from students’ communities. Research indicates that Black and Brown students do better when they have even one Black or Brown teacher (Papageorge et al., 2018).

Methods and Data Analysis:
Our participants included inservice teachers, specifically paraprofessionals considering pursuing teacher certification, paraprofessionals currently enrolled in teacher certification programs, and former paraprofessionals who now work as teachers. The majority of our participants were people of color who worked in special education settings as paraprofessionals. We used in-depth, qualitative interviews, education journey maps, focus groups and content analysis to answer the research questions: What mindsets related to dis/ability and race do paraprofessionals bring into classrooms and teacher preparation programs? What experiences/coursework shaped their perceptions of how dis/ability and race play out for students with intersecting marginalized identities? Multiple data sources allowed us to deeply explore participant’s understandings of race and dis/ability and how their conceptualizations influenced their work in the field (Creswell, 2015).

Theoretical Framework:
A DisCrit lens allowed us to consider how participants (who themselves embodied multiple marginalized identities) understood the impact of the conflation of race and dis/ability on students (Annamma et al., 2016). This framework is useful as it surfaces the normalized racist and ableist assumptions embedded in the foundations of schooling.

Findings:
During initial conversations, participants shared views aligned with dominant, medicalized conceptualizations of dis/ability that focus on deficits within the individual. Upon further exploration, participants revealed beliefs that conflicted with these deficit views. When participants problematized dis/ability, their concerns emanated from their life experiences rather than perspectives introduced through coursework or professional development indicating the need for programming that directly addresses the racialization of dis/ability and espouses the tenets of DisCrit.

Significance:
Paraprofessionals, especially those with the goal of becoming classroom teachers, represent a critical pool of future teachers with the potential to become asset-based advocates for students with intersecting marginalized identities. This potential, however, is squandered by teacher preparation programs that intentionally or unintentionally continue to promote deficit perspectives. Paraprofessionals in urban settings represent the voices of marginalized students more than the larger teaching force. In failing to honor their work and life experiences we submit to the status quo and deny marginalized students the benefits of learning from Black and Brown teachers.

Authors

• Tanya E. Friedman, Hunter College - CUNY

• Armineh Hallaran, City College of New York - CUNY