Niceness as a Feature of In-Service Teachers’ Small Stories of Sociopolitical Issues and Education

• In Event: Saturday Roundtable 7:45 am
  In Roundtable Session: Resisting Niceness, Whiteness, and Political Neutrality (Table 39)

Abstract

This narrative inquiry uses a small story approach to explore patterns of “niceness” in the of conversational stories teachers within an informal learning space associated with an advanced master’s class. This study analyzed the conversations among in-service teachers during their weekly online discussion groups. Analysis identified four main features of niceness in teachers’ small stories: lack of explicit disagreement, implicit disagreement via couching language, questioning language, and sanitized language. The use of small story approaches in research on teacher education enjoys a growing literature base. This study contributes to understanding aspects of teachers’ small stories that act as tools of whiteness and prevent critical interrogation of personal experiences and beliefs.

Author

• Rebecca L. Brusseau, Longwood University